Hello!
At the end of class, Prof Ashley mentioned how the Bible has so many translations and I wanted to share a little bit of my thoughts on translation. I think the fact that the Bible can be translated shows that it can be applicable to all people. Sure, retaining words verbatim provides accuracy but I don't think accuracy, in this case, is or should be the main goal. Words are only significant because they communicate a message. And I think these translations help relay the messages of the Bible in a universal way. And if there are discrepancies between translations, a reader has access to the copies of the old original manuscripts and can use them for comparison.
I don’t necessarily think, “…the fact that the Bible can be translated shows that it can be applicable to all people.” However, I believe that because the Bible has been translated so much, it has become universally applicable. This universal application of the Bible is entirely a product of demand for God & religion. In this sense, I believe that accuracy should be of paramount importance. The message of god is essentially what the Bible is attempting to relay. Thus, shouldn’t this message be as accurate and uniform as possible?
ReplyDelete-Ethan G
I think that the Bible having many translations reflects the fact that there are many versions of the same message being portrayed. With different translations come different interpretations due to the inevitable language barriers; similar to what we talked about in class (Moses relaying the word of God provides room for human err), translators may hold biases or perspectives that are different from one another's. However, the fact that so many translations and versions of the Bible exist shows how adaptable the Bible is to communities. I do believe that accuracy in the translations is important, in the sense of relaying the correct message, but messages can be conveyed through a variety of ways.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it's not simply translation that is responsible for different interpretations. Otherwise we could simply go back to the original and we'd be able to interpret it correctly.
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ReplyDeleteoops here's a repost...it's like my first post but a bit lengthier..
ReplyDeleteAccuracy, in terms of how close the words are to those of the original copy is important..but to an extent. I got the impression from Timothy 3 (you must know the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ and all scripture is god breathed and is profitable for teaching...) that a central message of the Bible is salvation through Jesus Christ by faith, which is consistently portrayed in different translations of Scripture. Among english translations, it is usually grammar: syntax, spelling, or idioms that makes the translations different from one another. But the content is the same.
Translations are meant to facilitate understanding to all types of people. Say there is a book written in Spanish, the possibility that there is an exact equivalent of a word in that Spanish book in Korean is unlikely.
Everyone is unique and no one is uniform and so I think the Bible with its many different translations but with the same underlying message reflects our dynamic nature.