This volume, based on recently published Old Latin material, provides fascinating information and discussion on the textual pluralism attested by the Hebrew texts and versions of the books of Kings, an intriguing page in the history of the biblical texts.
Scribes and Translators is a critical reflection on the textual pluralism as reflected in the book of Kings. The first part of the book examines the diverse texts transmitted by the manuscripts. Special attention is paid to the Antiochene text of the Septuagint that is being edited in Madrid. The second part is devoted to the analysis of Old Latin readings, transmitted by a Spanish family of Vulgate Bibles, with no support in any of the known manuscripts. Finally, the whole evidence is discussed in the frame of the plurality of texts confirmed by the Qumran documents for those books. Based on Old Latin material recently published it sheds light on the text transmission of Kings and on the translation techniques and the history of the Biblical texts in general.
In this dissertation, I propose and apply a methodology that situates the Septuagint within the broader scribal culture of the ancient world. Drawing on theory from the field of Translation Studies and a comparative analysis of textual and translation data in Exodus 1-14, I argue that the phenomena of translation and textual transmission are fundamentally similar, particularly in the case of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. First, I consider the extent to which textual transmission could be considered translation, using the framework of "intralingual translation" derived from the field of Translation Studies. Second, I argue that the translator held the Hebrew from the source text in short-term memory before translating. This notion suggests that many of the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible result from changes to the Hebrew in the translator's mind before any translation has occurred. Third, I present a full investigation of the variants in Exodus 1, in both Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint, finding that the types of change are essentially the same in both transmission and translation. Finally, I consider "large-scale" variation in the Ten Plagues narrative, analyzing a much discussed pattern of insertions found in 4QpaleoExodm and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Nothing comparable can be found in the Septuagint, showing that the translator, in this case, was more conservative in the transmission of the text than were some scribes. The conclusions of my dissertation are significant: the process of translation does not, as many assume, introduce an insurmountable barrier between the Greek and the Hebrew text it represents; rather, the Septuagint should be used, though carefully, to reconstruct its source text for use in textual criticism and other studies.
In the first half of the 2d millennium BCE, translation occasionally depicted semantically incongruous correspondences. Such cases reflect ancient scribes substantiating their virtuosity with cuneiform writing by capitalizing on phonologic, graphemic, semantic, and other resemblances in the interlingual space. These scholar–scribes employed an essential scribal practice, analogical hermeneutics, an interpretative activity grounded in analogical reasoning and empowered by the potentiality of the cuneiform script. Scribal education systematized such practices, allowing scribes to utilize these habits in copying compositions and creating translations. In scribal education, analogical hermeneutics is exemplified in the word list "Izi", both in its structure and in its occasional bilingualism. By examining "Izi" as a product of the social field of scribal education, this book argues that scribes used analogical hermeneutics to cultivate their craft and establish themselves as knowledgeable scribes. Within a linguistic epistemology of cuneiform scribal culture, translation is a tool in the hands of a knowledgeable scholar.
In each area of scripture Joseph Smith, the founding prophet for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, made a translation. Joseph employed several different types of 'translations' which has caused confusion, misunderstanding and unbelief. Travis Wayne Goodsell goes over each book of scripture and explains each manner of translation utilized. The Bible has been translated incorrectly and has been corrupted by past translators. According to Joseph, "We believe the Bible to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly..." Joseph was merely restoring what was lost in translation.
"This sweeping history of the ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Iran) takes readers on a journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquest of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to bricklayers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that they faced over time are explored through their written words and the archaeological remains of the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived. Rather than chronicling three thousand years of kingdoms, the book instead creates a tapestry of life stories through which readers come to know specific individuals from many walks of life, and to understand their places within the broad history of events and institutions in the ancient Near East. These life stories are preserved on ancient cuneiform tablets, which allow us to trace, for example, the career of a weaver as she advanced to became a supervisor of a workshop, listen to a king trying to persuade his generals to prepare for a siege, and feel the pain of a starving young couple who were driven to sell all four of their young children into slavery during a famine. What might seem at first glance to be a remote and inaccessible ancient culture proves to be a comprehensible world, one that bequeathed to us many of our institutions and beliefs, a truly fascinating place to visit"--
In this unique account of 60 years of Bible translation, Eugene Nida sets out his journey with a personal touch. On the way, he reveals the importance of a solid knowledge of Greek and Hebrew as well as of the historical settings in which the Bible was created, in order to render effective translations. Through his story we get to know Nida's views on translations through the ages, in different cultures and narrative traditions, right through to the 21st Century. This book is in the first place a study in anthropological linguistics that tells the rich history of Bible translation, the Bible Societies, translator training, and cultural translation problems. Eugene A. Nida (1914) went to UCLA (Phi Beta Kappa, 1936) and the University of Southern California (Helenistic Greek, 1939). He taught at the Summer Institute of Linguistics from 1937-1952 and is past president of the Linguistic Society of America (1968). From 1943-1981 he was language consultant for the American Bible Society and the United Bible Societies which led him to study many cultures across 96 countries and to lecture in over a hundred universities and colleges to this day. His published works include Bible Translating (1946), Customs and Cultures (1954), Toward a Science of Translating (1964), Religion across Cultures (1968), The Sociolinguistics of Intercultural Communication (1996) and Translation in Context (2002).
With so many Bible translations available today, how can you find those that will be most useful to you? What is the difference between a translation that calls itself “literal” and one that is more “meaning-based”? And what difference does it make for you as a reader of God’s Word? How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth brings clarity and insight to the current debate over translations and translation theories. Written by two seasoned Bible translators, here is an authoritative guide through the maze of translations issues, written in language that everyday Bible readers can understand. Learn the truth about both the word-for-word and meaning-for-meaning translations approaches. Find out what goes into the whole process of translation, and what makes a translation accurate and reliable. Discover the strengths and potential weaknesses of different contemporary English Bible versions. In the midst of the present confusion over translations, this authoritative book speaks with an objective, fair-minded, and reassuring voice to help pastors, everyday Bible readers, and students make wise, well-informed choices about which Bible translations they can depend on and which will best meet their needs.