Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

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B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

What about translating the Bible into a language that only has five colors. How do you translate the word “purple,” as when the soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus? More importantly, how does the translation keep the original meaning, since all NT readers understood that the color purple stood for royalty and that the soldiers were making fun of Jesus’ claim to kingship? What if some other color stands for royalty? What if purple stands for merchants? Is it okay for a translator to substitute that word, even though its not the word that the Scriptures used?

b. Cases not conjunctions : Greek does not have the common English word “of.”

c. Multiple words for a singular concept : English only has one word for love, Greek has several.

d. Different gender for words with meanings for them : many languages have masculine, feminine and neuter forms, English does not.

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2. Linguistic and cultural distinctions make translation necessary.

a. Farming, ancient symbolism : some cultures have never seen sheep but they do keep pigs in much the same way as the Hebrews kept sheep. Is it okay to use an animal from their culture when translating?

b. The absence of concepts in some cultures . In some cultures, it is believed that only people who are lying mention that they are not lying. How would you then translate Paul’s statement in Romans 9.1 - “I speak the truth—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.”