Language Studies

Aramaic Thoughts

Aramaic and Bible Translation

It is often the case that archaeological discoveries in the Near East, either epigraphic (written items) or material remains (such as coins, pottery, and tools) have an impact on modern Bible translations. The average lay reader (by “lay” I do not mean laity as opposed to clergy, but rather non-academic as opposed to academic) may not even be aware of these effects if they come after the particular version of the Bible that he reads. But with the proliferation of Bible versions in the last forty years, it has become more likely that the lay reader will have at least some awareness of differences between his Bible version and that used by others. In public worship, the version used by the minister may differ from the version the person in the pew is reading. In Bible study groups people may have different versions, and those in the group take note of those differences as they analyze the text.

At one time that was not the case. Until about forty years ago, almost everyone used the King James (or Authorized) Version. Other translations were available, such as the 1901American Standard Version (ASV), or The Bible: An American Translation (also referred to as the Smith-Goodspeed translation, done by a committee of faculty from the University of Chicago in the 1930’s). But these versions were neither widely known nor extensively used among the laity. Since about 1960, however, the number of Bible versions available in English has multiplied. First was the Revised Standard Version, completed in 1952 (the second edition of the New Testament was completed in 1971). The RSV quickly became the accepted translation in the mainline Protestant churches, replacing the KJV. Good News for Modern Man, the New Testament of what became the Good News Bible (also known as Today’s English Version), appeared in 1966, with the whole Bible appearing in 1976. The New International Version New Testament appeared in 1973, the whole Bible in 1978. The New American Standard Bible New Testament first appeared in 1963, with the entire Bible in 1971. Each of these versions has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, a certain level of popularity, yet many other new Bible versions have appeared in the intervening period. This proliferation of versions has drawn the attention of the Bible-reading public to differences among the translations.

Some of the differences among Bible versions are due to the differences in translation philosophy adopted by the translation committees. Translation philosophies have generally been categorized under two headings: dynamic equivalence (sometime called thought-for-thought translation) and formal equivalence (sometimes called word-for-word translation). These two philosophies, however, really define a line rather than two points. If we think of complete dynamic equivalence at one end of the line and complete formal equivalence at the other end, the Living Bible would be very close to the dynamic equivalence end of the line, and the ASV would be very close to the formal equivalence end. Each of the modern versions falls somewhere along this line.

Some of the differences among Bible versions reflect the choice of text. This is especially the case in the New Testament, with the choices made among the three major texts (see last week’s column for details). An excellent example here is the difference between the KJV and the NKJV on the one hand and all other modern versions on the other hand in 1 John 5:7.

Other differences, however, may be due to the kinds of discoveries indicated above. It will be my purpose over the next several weeks to indicate some of the versional differences that are due to discoveries that have been made in the Aramaic language, and the help those discoveries have been to the understanding of the Biblical text.

Copyright Statement
'Aramaic Thoughts' Copyright 2024© Benjamin Shaw. 'Aramaic Thoughts' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with a link to https://www.studylight.org/language-studies/aramaic-thoughts.html  2) 'Aramaic Thoughts' content may not be arranged or "mirrored" as a competitive online service.