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The earliest translation of the Hebrew Bible is the Old Greek (OG), the translation made in Alexandria, Egypt, for the use of the Greek-speaking Jewish community there. At first, just the Torah was translated, in the third century B.C.E.; the rest of the biblical books were translated later.
- The Translation of The Old and New Testaments
- Introduction to Bible Translations
- Samaritan Pentateuch – About 430 BC
- Septuagint Or LXX – About 240-150 BC
- Aquila’s Version – 130 Ad
- Symmachus’S Revision – 170 Ad
- Theodotion’S Revision – 180-190 Ad
- Origen’s Hexapla – Sometime After 200 Ad
- Masoretic Text – Between 100 and 1,000 Ad
- Vulgate (Latin Form) – 383-405 Ad
Old Testament – Hebrew and Aramaic
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. The Hebrew form of the Bible was arranged in three sections – The Law (Torah), the Prophets (Neviim), and the Writings (Kethuvim). Ancient and complete copies of the Old Testament have been found. The oldest Old Testament copy is from about 900 AD, over a thousand years old. There are many discrepancies in the various biblical translations, but overall, Old Testament translations are believed to be highly accurate. The scribes operated unde...
New Testament – Greek
The New Testamentwas written in Greek. Copies from shortly after Jesus’ life have been discovered. Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is believed to be accurate but comes with its own set of translation concerns.
In general, the Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Hebrew and Aramaic parts were translated into Greek, then later translated into Latin. These four forms, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, became the basis for modern-day English translations. Below is a brief history of biblical translations. It is important to note that this is...
The Samaritan Pentateuch contains the five books of Moses. It was written in paleo-Hebrew script (a variant of the Phoenician alphabet). The origin of the Samaritan Pentateuch is not clear, but it is theorized that Samaritans took a copy of the Torah to Samariaand used it as the basis for their religion. They made changes and additions to the text ...
As Jews changed their language to Greek, the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic into Greek. The Septuaginttranslation was created in Alexandria, Egypt, around 250-150 BC. Legend says seventy men from the twelve tribes of Israel came to Alexandria to translate the Bible (the name “Septuagint” means seventy). Their translation was k...
Aquila’s version of the Bible was a translation of the Old Testament to Greek. It became the official Greek translation used by non-Christian Jews. Aquila’s version was a very literal translation. Greek words word used in the text but the use of Hebrew sentence structure made the translation difficult to read. However, because it was so literal, it...
Aquila’s version was very literal, placing great emphasis on the translation of individual words while keeping the sentence structure intact. Symmachus’s revision placed more emphasis on the meaning and structure of the original sentences. Scholars regard Symmachus’s revision as a highly accurate translation. About 250 years later, Jerome(see below...
Theodotion’s revision is believed to be a revision of either the Septuagint or Aquila’s version. It was much easier to read than Aquila’s version and thus, became a popular translation in its day.
Origen’s translation was an attempt to correct differences between the Septuagint, Aquila’s version, Symmachus’s revision, and Theodotion’s revision. Origen wanted to unify the old Greek translation and create an accurate-as-possible translation using original Hebrew manuscripts. To do this, he created a sort of parallel-bible with several columns ...
The creation of the Masoretic Textbegan around 100 AD, but translation efforts solidified around 500 AD. The Masoretic Text is mostly written in Aramaic, but parts are written in Hebrew. Masoretes copied it from a presumably accurate master copy. It is considered the authoritative text of the Hebrew Scriptures. Its accuracy was later supported by t...
The Vulgate, or Latin form of the Bible, was commissioned by the Bishop of Rome during a time when Latin was becoming the official language of the church. Latin translations existed, but they had been translated from the Geek Septuagint instead of earlier Hebrew translations. Church leaders felt the bible should be translated to Latin from its orig...
Most modern Bibles use the ancient Hebrew manuscripts for the Old Testament and the ancient Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. This timeline does not imply the ridiculous and ahistorical idea that modern Bibles are the end of long series of translations of translations of translations.
Pandita Ramabai, a high-caste Indian convert to Christianity, provides a remarkable example. At 24, she found herself destitute: an impoverished, orphaned widow. She learnt Greek and Hebrew in order to translate the Scriptures into Marathi, and completed her translation just before her death in 1922.
Jun 12, 2024 · In fact, the first major translation of the Bible into a regional language was completed more than 200 years before the birth of Jesus. Here’s a very brief, condensed timeline of the major developments in Bible translation, at least for the English-speaking world.
- Jacob Edson
biblical translation, the art and practice of rendering the Bible into languages other than those in which it was originally written. Both the Old and New Testaments have a long history of translation. A brief treatment of biblical translation follows.
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Sep 23, 2024 · The origin of a Bible translation refers to its historical and procedural background. This encompasses the commissioning body, the team of translators, the guiding principles followed, the manuscripts consulted, and the time period during which the work was completed.
