How can you translate the Bible if you can’t read/write Greek and Hebrew?
Most modern Bible version invite at least twenty Greek/Hebrew scholars (from MANY different denominations) to be on the translation committee. All of these people are expected to hold advanced degrees in their fields. They do this to avoid “sectarian bias.” In cases where there is disagreement about the rendering of certain passages, they include extensive footnotes describing that disagreement and the alternative renderings.
The New World Version of the Bible was translated by five men in 1961 (all devout members of the Jehovah’s Witness group). None of these men were able to speak, read, or write Greek and Hebrew. Only one of the five had attended college (for a year), but he did not graduate.
Since there were several million members of Jehovah’s Witnesses (7 million plus, now), why is it that they couldn’t find some people with at least a two-year college degree and at least a couple of college level classes in Greek or Hebrew? Why are there hardly any JWs with a college education? Shouldn’t this be encouraged?
Second, is it reasonable to have concerns about a Bible translation where the translators had no fluency in the original Bible languages? Why or why not?
Here's a pretty good site with info on the issue:
http://www.spiritwatch.org/jwnwt.htm
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Tagged with: bible languages • bible translation • bible version • college education • devout members • different denominations • disagreement • five men • fluency • footnotes • hebrew • jehovah s witnesses • jws • passages • renderings • sectarian bias • translation committee • translators • witness group • year college degree
Filed under: Greek - Written and Spoken
I am no friend of the NWT (John 1:1 and John 8:58 are wrongly translated, I believe, to avoid any suggestion that Jesus might be God). However they could have learnt Greek and Hebrew "on the job". But it does look organisationally amateurish since the NWT is held by the JWs to be the best translation – maybe they don’t like the free discussion environment of Universities as then the non-biblical elements of their doctrine might get scrutinised by very able people.
You need to be a Catholic. This is all about authority. The Faith already exists, Bible or no Bible.
PS I do read Hebrew, Greek and the other Bible languages.
It’s Basically what is %
You can’t. As far as I believe, I’m sure it was not translated completely as meant. The translaters would put their own interpretation on it.
I was not aware of these facts since I am not JW. IF what you say is true…. then I Totally agree with you.
A similar, though not as bad, situation is the case with the King James Version. None of the scholars who created that bible had advanced understanding of Greek or Hebrew, they did know latin though, which helped. Therefore they had to cobble together their bible from Other people’s work.
I assume a similar thing happened with the JW bible, if what you said is true.
However in their case, they have obviously taken some liberties with the interpretation side of the fence.
The NWT is not a translation, per se. It is a paraphrase and, as such, has no more value than The Message or the Living Bible. Only trust a word for word translation, such as the English Standard Version or the New King James Version.
Good question! Let’s go and knock on the main door of the Watchtower Society.
Boy, do they hate to be confuted! I KNOW them well.
To address your first question, there are Greek/Hebrew study bibles that give you the original word and its meaning. I sometimes use a few different bibles to see the different translations.
The answer to your second question is this: Some languages are difficult to translate into another language. In the Greek/Hebrew languages there are at least for or five different words for love. To describe the love for our children or spouses are two different words, yet in the English language we only use one word. I don’t think it should take a college education when you have the proper resources to do it yourself. Using a Greek/Hebrew study bible is just like using a dictionary.
If one takes a Large Print Refence Bible of the NWT with all of its footnotes and appendices, also various (non-JW) lexicons, dictionaries, concordances, and other research tools, and studies these, one can prove for ones self the fallacy of the "question" above.
You don’t have to go to college to speak more than one language.
How do you know none of those involved could not speak, read or write Greek or Hebrew…you knew them personally? they told you this? Or is it from one disgruntle man’s opinion?
Do the research yourself, don’t take our word for it, don’t take JW haters word for it.
P.S. There are many witnesses who have gone to college, many are doctors, nurses, lawyers, dentists etc.. can’t be that without a college degree. Many choice vocational schools over 4 year college due to the environment at college not being conducive to maintaining a high moral standard. We are not looking to make a name for ourselves in this world, but to make a honest living, while always putting spiritual interest first. So our standards of what is important in life are not the worlds standards, but Gods.
I know many JWs who have gone to college for various types of education, and I know at least one wealthy JW surgeon. However, worldly-wise "education" is "foolishness to God" without considering what he says in it, and just because one has a great education according to the world’s standards does not mean one has even gotten to first base in acquiring Bible understanding.
Over a hundred years ago, our faith began with a group of people who placed all the things they had learned from Catholic and Protestant etc. religions to the side and allowed the Bible to speak for itself. What they found was the beginning of our faith; God is not a trinity, hellfire is not conducive to an all-loving God, the Bible does not teach that souls are immortal, but clearly that they can and do undergo death, and more.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that our brothers who translated the NWT have taken this lightly. They consider it a weighty matter, and rightly so. They used lexicons, dictionaries, and other various Bible translations in the doing. Over time, our study of the Bible has moved us to refine our understanding to what it is today. This is the meaning of the verse which states "the light gets brighter as the day draws near." It is a weighty matter to go to peoples’ doors and offer them a different understanding of scripture than they have ever seen before, and we firmly believe that Jesus instructed his followers to do just that (Matthew 28:19, 29; Acts 20:20)
Many of the things our early brothers believed, we do still. The NWT agrees with other Bible translations, and I do not hesitate today to use the KJV or the ASV, or any Bible that a householder is comfortable with to study with that person, bar none.
Personally, I always keep learning, and I have about 50 Bible translations that I use consistently in my personal studies, and when I am preparing Bible studies for others, so that no valuable information is not covered.
: )
I guess it doesn’t matter that the New World Translation is considered by many scholars to be an accurate translation.
Let’s not let a little thing like the facts get in the way of your story.