The English phrase “term of art” is nicely self-referential, because it is one. A “term of art” is a term — a word or a phrase — that is used technically in a narrow context. It usually has nothing to do with “art,” except in the now antiquated sense in which “law,” “science,” etc. are…
Read more
In a widely-quoted post earlier this week on Koinonia, Bill Mounce delineates six “translation procedures”: 1. Concordance. [Translate the Greek consistently into English.] 2. One for one. Prefer a single word translation for one Greek word. 3. Less interpretive. 4. Euphony. 5. Must make some sense. But wait! Theres more! (Sounds like a Greek infomercial.)…
Read more
Frequently a Hebrew or Greek word will, in the eyes of English speakers, “mean more than one thing.” There are two ways for this to happen. The first is when there are really two foreign words, similar to the situation with “bank” in English (both a financial institution and the side of a river); that’s…
Read more
Karyn Traphagen notes that Dr. Ellen Frankel has some thoughts about making the Bible PG for children. (Dr. Frankel authored the JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible.) Seeing this reminded of something I saw some time ago in a “children’s prayerbook” along the lines of “Like wine, the sabbath is sweet.” The problem is that children think…
Read more
Professor Ellen van Wolde’s recent article about Genesis has brought the debate about the word breishit to the fore again. Some people don’t like the traditional understanding — “In the beginning” — because the Hebrew word is, literally, “in a beginning” or “in the beginning of.” (Simon Holloway recently provided a little more detail.) Accordingly,…
Read more
Even though “part” means roughly the same thing as “portion,” and “parcel” means “division,” “part and parcel” cannot equally be phrased, “portion and division.” Yet when I read many Bible translations, I feel like exactly that sort of error has taken place. The phrase “Tohu and vohu” in Genesis receives lots of attention, because the…
Read more
I think back to a radio spot for lechayim, an “auto donation program” (that is, a program for donating your car, not for donating yourself). The announcer in the ad tells listeners that if they donate their car to lechayim they will get a tax deduction, and furthermore, “it doesn’t matter the condition of the…
Read more
Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:
