Hermeneutics Lesson II Fundamental Requirement: A Good Translation

Textual Questions: “Is this what David wrote? Is this what Paul wrote? Is this part of the original text?” This may seem like a simple task, but it is difficult because: 1. the original mss. no longer exist, and 2. of the 5-6k mss. of the NT (from the 2 nd century to medieval times), no two are identical.

Let’s Illustrate - John 3:16 Once a copyist error creeps into a mss., each successive generation of mss. will be infected with the same error.

To deal with these problems, the translator relies on the science of textual criticism, wherein two kinds of evidence are considered in making textual choices. 1.External Evidence: the age and quality of mss. Generally, the older the mss, the better it is considered to be. 2. Internal Evidence: noting the tendencies and habits of copyists and authors.

Tipes of errors fownd in tekts -“Homeoteleuton:” skipping a line because endings are the same. -“Transposition:” letters transposed. -Copyists liturgical refrains make it into the text. -Misunderstanding oral transmission. -Harmonization of related texts. -Misspelling or misreading words.

Linguistic Questions: What is our translation philosophy, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches? As much as possible, a translation should remain true to the original author’s wording, text, and thoughts, and remain free from theological bias. These are our biggest concerns with a translation, since we want to know as much as is possible the intended meaning of the author.

Translation Philosophies Literal Translation: The scholar seeks to translate word for word as much as possible, seeking to find an English equivalent for every word in the original text. Dynamic Equivalency: Translators seek to convey a sense for sense meaning where appropriate to do so. Matters of language, style, and grammar are at times altered for the modern reader. Free Translations are often little more than paraphrases (and of course some are paraphrases). Here ideas are conveyed sometimes through a radical change of words.