Has anyone given any thoughts to the original language of the bible? Here is the upshot, if the original language of the bible was paleo Hebrew then how can the interpretations be trusted? The original language of the bible is paleo Hebrew, this is not the same a Chaldean Hebrew a variant of what is used today. The Paleo Hebrew was a non abstract language, this means the symbols use are not sounds but concepts. The beginnings of abstract language is found in the Greek language, however they did use the Hebrew Language for their alphabet, alpha greek, alif hebrew, Bet hebrew bata greek etc. That said how can the Greek translations of the bible be trusted? The original Hebrew language has only 6000 words or concepts and the English language has over 1,000,000 words? I'll get this started, the passage from the book of Genesis it says that God created the etc etc etc, however in the original language it says that God Re-created or repaired the earth! Lets talk about this without flaming, lets see where the thread goes, maybe we can all learn something, me especially. Peace Dan
i've also seen an Ad for the biblical Hebrew class offered through my University that it is "when god began to create yadda yadda yadda..."
Where English translations are concerned, a dramatic example of a major discrepancy came up on the thread about contradicitions in the Bible. I noted that in the King James version, the Revised Standard Version, and the Good News Bible, Gen. 1 and Gen.2 seem to have clearly contradictory accounts of whether animals were created before or after men. Yet in the NIV and NAS, there is no contradiction. We never did settle which version is correct. Other examples come up concerning homosexuality and the meaning of such terms as malakoi in Corinthians. If the Bible is inerrant and we are bound by its literal meaning, we'd better start learning Koine Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. But as you point out, even then some of these meanings may be lost.
Here is the real question? How can someone know what they read it the bible is true! How can someone put their beliefs to the test by reading something that has been messed up so many times by lairs of the language. Come on, you must have an opinion. If they can make people believe fairy tales by messing with the language what else can they do?
"Know" is a stronger word than I'd use. Translators are only one of the problems, my own fallibility being another biggie. I regard the Bible as only one source of information about God. I rely on reason, experience, judgment, intuition, lots of reading, discussion, and biblical scholarship to come up with a tentative opinion, and rely on "faith" (i.e., an intuition-based bet) to determine whether or not to go with it--trying to keep an open mind for new possibilities.
I'm unsure why God is always left out of the discussion. These discussions end up in arguments about what man can do or can not do but isn't God capable of doing things that man is incapable of doing? In spite of all the "problems" people say the Bible has; God has, in the Bible, stated pretty simply what he expects of mankind and what he's going to do and and why. Languages, translations and interpretations; all these things just seem like reasons to ignore what God says, so you can go ahead and do what you wanted to do in the first place. Saying that the Bible is not reliable, just man's thoughts or that it says something that it doesn't, doesn't change anything, it will still be wrong in God's eyes, so why bother?
i wEndered about that, too, but the fact still remains: God can make His words, His Bible, say anything He wants it to say. btw, i mentioned in another thread that i have been using a bunch of different translations, and, i mean, isn't translation what learning a new language is? There are so many ins-and-outs of the literal AND figurative shadings of meanings, that the better i understand my own language, the better i can understand what He's saying to me. Make no mistake ~ His words are alive, and will speak to each and every one of us. :sifone:
