RESUME
has. Chapter 15 (The Text of the Bible)
This chapter assesses the evidence available to biblical textual scholars as they work toward realistic goals, such as determining the first of the variant readings given by ancient manuscripts and understanding the development of biblical texts during the history of their transmission. How have ancient biblical texts been transmitted to our time? In what forms do they exist? To what extent can we trust that those shapes embody the actual words of the original authors? The writers note that the printed Hebrew Bibles and Greek New Testaments are artificial entities created in relatively modern times from ancient manuscript evidence. Repeated copying introduces alterations, and some copyists deliberately alter the text to “correct” or “improve” the original. The writers note that there are about 5,350 different manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. What can explain this wide variation among documents written so early in the history of the New Testament text? In addition to copying and typing errors, Christianity evolved rapidly during the first few centuries, and the New Testament evolved along with it to meet its needs. In general, the textual situation of the Hebrew Bible seems much more stable than that of the Greek New Testament. However, the situation is much more complicated than it seems. We must not suppose that the impulse to “correct” the text was less active among Old Testament writers than among Christian scribes. The writers note that there are passages in the Bible that are similar enough to indicate that they are derived from the same source (or from one another), but also different enough to show that there was great freedom in the handling of the text even during the time the books of the Bible were being written. Some duplicates (Psalms 14 and 53; 40: 14-18 and 70: 2-6) and triplicate texts (II Kings 18:13ff, Isaiah 36:1ff and II Chronicles 32:1ff; and Jeremiah 39:1ff, Jeremiah 52: 4ff and II Kings 25:1ff) provide supporting evidence. The textual situation of the apocryphal text, Ecclesiastics (known by the Jews as The Wisdom of Jesus sire) is discussed. The writers note that it was sometimes quoted in rabbinic literature although it was never formally admitted into the Hebrew canon.
b. Chapter 16 (Bible Translation)
It is a paradox to note that no more than one percent of Bible readers can read the Hebrew and Greek text. The implication is a heavy dependency on translation. This chapter looks at some of the challenges faced when translating the Bible. How well are readers who must rely on translations served? Can those readers be sure that translations in general, or any one in particular, will give them the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible? Gabel, Wheeler, and York are correct in noting that a completely faithful translation cannot be made into another language because there is no universally accepted text of the Bible to translate, and secondly, that complete faithfulness in translating anything (including Bible) is not always possible. possible.
Therefore, setting a text is very complex and potentially tedious. To demand a translation of “the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible” is to imagine an entity that does not exist. The ideal of translation (transferring the full meaning of the word from the source language to the “receiver language”) can never be realized. Some original meaning is left behind while an additional meaning might be imposed. How can you choose between the various translations? What criteria should guide the choice? The writers propose that readers use the characteristic combination of formal correspondence and dynamic equivalence. The first is the quality of a translation in which the characteristics of the form of the source text have been mechanically reproduced in the receiving language. The latter is the quality of a translation in which the message of the original text has been so conveyed into the recipient language that the recipient’s response is like that of the original recipients. To depend on a translation is to be at the mercy of the translators. A realistic recommendation is to use at least two or three versions to double or triple the number of available expert opinions on a given passage.
against Appendix II (Writing in Biblical times)
The Bible had been a handwritten book for much longer than a printed book. What was required to create a formal written document during those many centuries before the printing press took over? In this appendix, the writers examined the technology of writing to shed light on the conditions that gave us the Bible as a physical object.
Writing is considered a very ancient human invention. Clay, animal skin, and papyrus are identified as the three main materials used for writing in the West and the Near East until the introduction of rag paper from the Far East long after the Biblical period. The writer traces a series of biblical accounts related to the writings. Moses writes on stone labels (Ex. 34:28-29); Joshua records a copy of the Law of Moses (Joshua 8:32); Isaiah is instructed to take a large tablet (Is. 8:1) and write a symbolic name on it; Yahweh gives Ezekiel a scroll to eat, which according to the writers may be understood as a small papyrus scroll (Ezekiel 3:1-2); Jeremiah dictates an oracle about the coming destruction of Judah to his secretary Baruch, who writes it in ink on a scroll (Jeremiah 36). At the end of II Timothy, the author requests that the scrolls be brought to him, especially the parchments, and John is asked to eat a small scroll (Rev. 10:9-10). According to the writers’ assumption, the Pentateuch, the history books, Job, Proverbs and Psalms would have been written on leather (locally available in Israel) or papyrus (from Egypt). They opined that the oracles of the prophets probably circulated orally and could have been written initially in the form of notes on fragments of pottery or wood and later on leather and papyrus. The scroll, they believed, might later have been chosen as an alternative. They also tracked the movement from scroll to codex and from papyrus to parchment.
REPLY
has. Chapter 15 (The Text of the Bible)
The writers are correct in observing that the task of biblical textual scholarship is not an easy one since its theoretical goal (i.e., to rule out alterations of any kind and thus return to the original texts as the authors wrote them) will never be achieved since there will never be enough evidence to do so. It is correctly observed that the very notion of a single original text is itself an illusion.
b. Chapter 16 (Bible Translation)
The writers did very little to separate the challenges they face in translation, making it relatively difficult for the reader to fully appreciate the discussion. This is where Omanson’s (1988) strength lies. He divides problems into several categories? textual, grammatical, kinship terms and gender of the pronoun. Another vivid summary is also worth mentioning:
First, no matter how wonderful a translation is, it has limitations. The Bible was originally written using 11,280 Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words, but the typical English translation uses only about 6,000 words. Obviously, nuances and shades of meaning can be missed, so it is always helpful to compare translations (Warren 2002, 325).
It is a truism that “the translation you are using may be correct, of course, but it may also be incorrect” (Fee and Stuart 1982, 29). One limitation of this chapter is examining the history of Bible translation in English only, although the writers acknowledged the fact that an equivalent history exists for other European languages.
against Appendix (Writing in Biblical Times)
Perhaps the most impressive feature of their presentation is the way the writers portrayed the great chasm that separates our world, with its low-cost printed materials and widespread literacy, from the world within which the Bible developed? and within which it spread for so many hundreds of years. It is unfortunate, however, that his is not as impressive as Patzia’s similar presentation on writing, copying, and transmitting New Testament manuscripts (Patzia 1995). Unlike Patzia, there are no images that give a graphic illustration of how these texts appeared on different writing materials. In general, the fact that the text itself is in its third edition and has been published in twenty-seven cities reveals its importance. The writers provide essential background information of the kind that few students have the time or ability to gather from the enormous mass of published material on the Bible.
REFERENCE LIST
Fee, Gordon, and Douglas Stuart. 1992. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible. Michigan: Zondervan Corporation.
Omanson, Roger L. 1988. Can You Get There From Here?: Problems in Bible Translation. Christian century. June 22-29.
Patzia, Arthur G. 1995. The Creation of the New Testament: Origin, Collection, Text, and Canon. Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter Varsity Press.
Warren, Rick. 2002. The Purpose Driven Life: What Am I Here For in Life? Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan.