VI.

Bible Translations: New versions by men or faithful translations of God's Word?

A. Bible versions

Some say that there are different versions of the Bible, meaning Bibles that are significantly different from each other in content and meaning. Part of this misunderstanding is due to a misunderstanding of the word "version." This word can mean one of several different variations of a story, such as a first version or draft and a second version. This is what is meant in the phrase "new, improved version." But when used of the Bible another meaning of the word "version" is in view. As the Oxford English Dictionary has it, it means, "A rendering of some text or work from one language into another; a translation." (19) That is what is meant by the titles of English Bibles. The "Authorized Version," the "New International Version," and the "New Revised Standard Version," are all titles of different translations of the Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. They are different translations of the same Bible.

Some say that there are different versions of the Bible, the Protestant, Catholic, and Greek Orthodox Bibles. Are these really different versions? No, they are not. The true Bible, containing the 66 books recognized as the true Scriptures by all Christians, forms the main part of all these "versions" and they all contain the same text, translated into various languages. The difference between them has to do with some Bibles adding other books as well as the 66. These other books are known as "apocrypha" and are discussed in more depth in the earlier section titled "The Apocrypha."

B. Principles of translation

Since there are so many Bible translations, does it mean there are many Bibles instead of just one? No. These translations are all translations from the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew languages used for the original text of the Bible. The Church has never hesitated to consider translations of these original languages of Scripture as being authentic. They considered them worthy of being called the Word of God. Islam's view of the Qur'an is a contrast here. The Arabic Qur'an is held to be the only authentic version. Translations are viewed as merely conveying the meaning or interpretation of the Qur'an and so are not deserving to be called "the Qur'an". This has never been the view of the Bible in Christianity or Judaism.

An example of this is the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint which was in use alongside the Hebrew Old Testament at the time of Jesus. Both were considered to be God's word to the Jews. Though there is no reference to Jesus naming this translation he would have known of it and probably used it. Some think that Jesus only spoke Aramaic and would not have been able to read Greek. This is unlikely in that Jesus lived in a cosmopolitan, multi-lingual culture. He grew up in northern Palestine which had a strong Greek language influence from the Greek-speaking cities nearby. This area had been dominated by Greek-speaking peoples for 200 years before Jesus' birth. Jesus was also a carpenter living near the cosmopolitan city of Sepphoris. As a tradesman in a part of an occupied country dominated by the Greek language, he very likely knew Greek as well as Aramaic. He also knew the Hebrew of the Old Testament and could read it fluently enough for private and public reading. The apostles who wrote gospels (Matthew and John) quote from the Septuagint and present Jesus quoting this version as well as the Hebrew version. The early Christians used this translation of the Old Testament, especially those from Gentile, Greek-speaking backgrounds but also those from Jewish backgrounds.

C. Style of translation

There are two main ways that translations are made. One is to provide, as much as possible, a word for word rendering of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. The Authorized Version, the New King James Version, The New Revised Standard Version and the New American Standard Version are all examples of this style of translation. The other approach to translation is to try to convey the meaning of the original in a way that is as readable and easily understood as possible. These translations emphasize the grammar and idioms of the language of translation rather than the original languages of the Bible. They use idioms of common speech and simplify wording as much as possible. The Good News Version, The New International Version, and the Contemporary English Version are all this style of translation.

There are other kinds of Bible translations available called paraphrased versions. These are translations that are then simplified and made even more readable than the second group of translations mentioned above. The Living Bible is the best known example of paraphrased Bible translations.

D. The Bible is not in a sacred language

Perhaps much of the misunderstanding is because Arabic is held to be a sacred language by Muslims. Many Muslims also believe that Arabic is the language of heaven and the only language that God hears in prayer. Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew have never been held as sacred languages or the language of heaven by Christians or Jews. They are not used as sacred languages for prayer, reading, or medicine. Since words can be accurately translated into other languages, translations of the Bible have always been held to be God's word, as well as the originals. This is held with the understanding that they are the Word of God in so far as they accurately convey the meaning of the original languages.

E. Bible translations preceding Muhammad's birth

In the following centuries, the Bible, containing both Old and New Testaments, was translated into many languages. All of these translations were held to be God's word. Here is a list of the translations that predate 600 AD (Muhammad was born about 570 AD). The list is separated into translations made of the Old Testament and ones made of the New Testament. Most of these were done by Christians. (20)

  1. Greek Versions: (Translations of the Hebrew Old Testament used in regions of the Roman Empire, done by Jews)
  1. Septuagint (also called the LXX): made by Jews in Egypt between 285 and 200 BC.
     
  2. Aquila's Version (AD 130): made by a Jew living in what is now Turkey.
     
  3. Symmachus' Version (AD 170): made by a Jew living in Palestine.
     
  4. Theodotion's Version (AD 150-200): made by a Jew.
     
  5. Other Jewish Greek versions are known but no copies or portions survive.
  1. Latin Versions: (Used in Western and Southern Europe, and in North Africa. Done by Christians)
  1. Old Latin Version (AD 100-200): translated by Christians from the LXX Version and the Greek New Testament.
     
  2. Jerome's Version, also known as the Vulgate (AD 405): Jerome was a Christian scholar who made his translation from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
  1. Syriac Versions: (Syria, Palestine, and the Northern Middle East, done by Christians)
  1. Peshitta Version (AD 100-300): translated mainly from the LXX and the Greek New Testament by Christians and underwent revisions as other older texts became available.
     
  2. Philoxenian Version (AD 508): made by a Christian named Polycarp. It was revised to form the next version.
     
  3. Harklean (or Heraclean) Version (AD 616-617): made by the Christian Thomas of Harklensis. Note: The Philoxenian and Harklean versions are known about but not available in a complete form. They can be partially reconstructed from the writings of church fathers.
     
  4. Anonymous version of the Old Testament made by Jews for Abgar, King of Edessa (modern Iraq): made about the time of Jesus, AD 150. No text of this one remains but it is known about through the writings of a Christian church father, Jacob of Edessa.
  1. Coptic Versions: (Used in Egypt, done by Christians)
  1. Sahidic Version (AD 250): this was the version used in upper Egypt and was translated from the Greek Old Testament and New Testament.
     
  2. Akhmimic Version ( AD 250-300): this was a version based on the Sahidic.
     
  3. Bohairic Version (AD 300's): this was a version used in lower Egypt translated from the Greek Old Testament and New Testament independently of the Sahidic Version.
  1. Gothic Version: (Used in central and eastern Europe, done by a Christian). This version is known to have been made for the Goths in the AD 300's by the Christian bishop Ulfilas (AD 311-381).
     
  2. Other Versions: (Done by Christians). These versions are known to have been made before the time of Muhammad, but only manuscripts from after Muhammad still exist.
  1. Ethiopic (Ethiopia): known to have been made in the AD 300's.
     
  2. Armenian (Armenia): known to have been published in AD 411 and revised and republished in AD 436.
     
  3. Georgian (Georgia): known to have been made circa AD 500.
     
  4. Nubian (Between Egypt and Ethiopia): known to have been made in the AD 500's.
  1. Portions of the Old Testament: (Done by Jews and Samaritans) Portions of the Old Testament were translated by Jews and Samaritans for various reasons. These are known to have existed but no manuscripts preceding Muhammad have been found.
  1. Onkelos' version of the Torah, AD 150-200: done from Hebrew to Aramaic.
     
  2. Jonathan ben Uzziel's version of the Prophets, circa AD 322: done from Hebrew to Aramaic.
     
  3. Samaritan Pentateuch, a Hebrew version dating back to the 100's BC at least. Though not actually a translation, it was kept in a different style of script from the other Hebrew versions of the Old Testament.

Before 600 AD (Muhammad's time) the Old testament had been translated into many languages by Jews and Christians, and the whole Bible by Christians. These translations were spread over a geographic area comprising Eastern and Northern Africa, Palestine, the Middle East, Soviet Central Asia, Asia Minor, and Western Europe. The content of all of these translations is of the Old Testament as we have it today.

F. Present day translations

Currently, the complete Bible has been translated into 307 of the world's present languages. The New Testament by itself has been translated into an additional 766 languages. 1014 additional languages have at least one book of the Bible translated into their language. These are of the 6,691 languages known to be in use today.(21) Work is also being done to translate the Bible into many more of these 6,691 languages. All of these have been done with the purpose of accurately conveying the meaning of the original languages into ordinary speech that people can understand.

G. Conclusions

Translating the Bible has been done from antiquity. Translations have always been viewed as the Word of God insofar as they accurately convey the meaning of the original languages. Contemporary versions of the Bible are translations, not alternative Bibles. The history of these translations and their geographic distribution show that in the centuries preceding Muhammad corruption of the Bible would have been impossible. The major translations of the Bible in use today are faithful renderings of the original biblical texts.