Handout #5

Languages, translations, and versions

A. The original languages of the Bible

1. Hebrew: the vast majority of the text of the Hebrew Bible was composed in Hebrew. The stages of the language’s development are

a. “Archaic” Hebrew (10th – 6th century BC) as found in the Song at the Sea (Exodus 15:1-21) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5)

b. Standard Biblical Hebrew (8th – 6th century BC), which is the form of most of the Hebrew Bible

c. Late Biblical Hebrew (5th – 3rd century BC), notably found in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah

d. New Testament: there are a few Hebrew words and phrases that are preserved in the New Testament, such as: Amen, Armageddon, Hallelujah, Hosanna, Mammon, and Sabbath

2. Aramaic: there are several books of the Hebrew Bible that contain words or even sections of Aramaic text mingled into the Hebrew text.

a. The most notable examples are found in Genesis 31:47, Daniel 2:4-7:28, Jeremiah 10:11, and Ezra 4:8-68 and 7:12-26

b. New Testament: there are certain place names in the New Testament that are Aramaic in origin, and there are certain words that have entered the New Testament text, the most notable being: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” Gethsemane, Golgotha, talitha cum, and marana tha.

3. Greek: the New Testament was composed in koine (common) Greek, with the inclusion of inserted words from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin.

a. The Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) translated the Hebrew text into koine Greek over a period of centuries (2nd century BC – 3rd century AD)

B.1 Earliest Manuscripts – Old Testament

1. There are no autographs – in other words, we have no originals of any biblical book, or even a part of any biblical book

2. The oldest Hebrew manuscript of the entire Old Testament dates from the 10th century AD

3. The oldest fragmentary evidence we have of Old Testament texts in Hebrew (including the entirety of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, 2 chapters of Habakkuk, and fragments of all the other OT books except Esther) are the Qumran scrolls, dating from 160 BC to 70 AD

4. The manuscript that serves as the basis for all contemporary translations of the Old Testament is a text from the Leningrad Public Library, Ms. B 19A, written in 1008 AD (its designation is L = Leningradensis)

a. This is the manuscript used to create the Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS)[1]

B.2 Earliest Manuscripts – New Testament

1. There are no autographs – in other words, we have no originals of any biblical book, or even a part of any biblical book

2. There are three “uncials” which provide the basis for the NT, as well as the Greek OT[2]

a. Codex Sinaiticus (a), dating from the 4th century AD

b. Codex Alexandrinus (A), dating from the 5th century AD

c. Codex Vaticanus (B), dating from the 4th century AD – considered superior to all the others

3. The single oldest fragment of the New Testament is p52, which represents John 18:31-33 on one side and John 18:37-38 on the other side. It is dated about 125 AD, or about 35 years after the composition of John’s gospel (currently housed in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England)

C. Principles of translation[3]

1. Formal equivalence method: “This type of translation aims at adhering as closely as possible to the form of the original writing. The translator tries to match word for word and phrase for phrase as closely as possible.” Binz, Introduction to the Bible, 19

a. English Bible versions represented by this method include: The Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the New American Bible (NAB), and the New International Version (NIV)

2. Dynamic equivalence method: “This type of translation is not so much concerned with matching words, but with matching the ideas and thoughts of the original text. The translator aims at identifying the meaning intended by the author and then expressing it as it would naturally be rendered in English.” Binz, Introduction to the Bible, 20

a. English Bible versions represented by this method include: Revised English Bible (REB), the Good News Bible, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” Gen 12:1-3 NRSV / The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your own country, your kin, and your father’s house, and go to a country that I will show you. I shall make you into a great nation; I shall bless you and make your name so great that it will be used in blessings: those who bless you, I shall bless; those who curse you, I shall curse. All the peoples on earth will wish to be blessed as you are blessed.” Gen 12:1-3 REB
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me; you restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage. Psalm 23:1-4 (NAB) / YHWH is my shepherd, I lack nothing. In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name. Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. Psalm 23:1-4 (NJB
And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples – for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17 (NRSV) / When Jesus was having a meal in his house, many tax-collectors and sinners were seated with him and his disciples, for there were many of them among his followers. Some scribes who were Pharisees, observing the company in which he was eating, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” Hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17 (REB)
If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Cor 13:1-8a (NAB) / Though I command languages, both human and angelic – if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains – if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give way to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned – if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever. Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love never comes to an end. 1 Cor 13:1-8a (NJB)

D. Textual dynamics

1. Abbreviations: the titles of all biblical books frequently appear in an abbreviated form; thus, Genesis (Gn), Exodus (Ex), Leviticus (Lv), Numbers (Nm), and Deuteronomy (Dt); you should check the abbreviations section of your bible for the abbreviations that are used in your biblical version since there are often variations

2. Chapters and verses: chapter and verse divisions came many centuries after the biblical text and are not “inspired.”[4] Still, they are important for finding your way around the bible; these divisions usually appear in two ways

a. More common in English Bibles: Gn 1:1-2:4a means Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 2, verse 4a

b. More common in other languages: Gn 1,1-2,4a means Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 2, verse 4a

3. Textual problems and variations are usually listed in the notes at the bottom of the page. For example, check Mark 16:9-20 for the shorter and longer ending – neither of which is original to Mark

2

[1] Ernst Würthwein, The Text of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1979) pages 12-13.

[2] Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament 2nd edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989), pages 103-109.

[3] Stephen Binz, Introduction to the Bible: A Catholic Guide to Studying Scripture (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2007), pages 19-20.

[4] Stephen Langton (1150-1228) created the system of chapters and Robert Estienne (1503-1559) created the verse divisions. See Würthwein, p. 21 and Aland, page 6.