Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange
Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [translation-philosophy]

The philosophical basis that grounds the work of translators. Questions about specific translation problems should instead be tagged hebrew, aramaic, or greek as appropriate.

Questions that relate to the work of a translator or that compare various translation choices should be tagged .

Good questions include:

Questions that examine the meaning of specific words or grammar in the original languages should be tagged with with the source language instead:

For more information, see Wikipedia's article on Biblical translations or Translation in general.

See also , , and .

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How are statistical comparisons between bible translations calculated?

(This arose from this question which was in turn triggered by this answer.) Quoting Jack Douglas quoting Wayne Grudem: In "The advantages of the ESV” by Wayne Grudem, he states that the 2001 edition of the ESV is "92% RSV, 8% modified, or 60,000…
Susan
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Why do Bible translators translate slaves to servant?

I have heard that phrases like slaves are translated into servant so as not to portray God as slave owners. https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/does-the-bible-teach-were-servants-or-slaves-of-christ/ So even though the word doulos clearly means…
obfuscated
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What does Hebrews 5:14 mean?

Please explain Hebrews 5:14 in the simplest terms, please. Explain even those by reason of use. What does this mean? Hebrews 5:14 NIV But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Bonita Johnson
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Meaning of Psalm 139:5

Psalm 139:5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (ESV) That sounds very comforting. Other more literal translations sound different: Thou didst press me behind and before, and thou wilt place thine hand upon…
Roland Baumann
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Please discuss meaning of Spirit in 1 Peter 1:11

What are the possible renderings of ‘Spirit of Christ” in 1 Peter 1:11 - (BLB) inquiring into what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them was signifying, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories after these,
Mitzy
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Differences in translation of John 4:24

John 4:24 A spirit God (is) ... (Greek) God is a spirit ... KING JAMES II Version God is a Spirit (LASB KJV) God is Spirit (NKJV) 1&2 are from The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew, Greek, English Do these translations lead a serious Bible student to…
Tesfaye Wolde
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What is the difference between 'the Holy Spirit' and 'the holy Spirit' (NABRE)?

The term to pneuma to hagion is translated 'the Holy Spirit' in most modern translations. The New American Bible, Revised Edition, 20111 (NABRE) and its earlier form in 1970 translate the term as 'the holy Spirit' (small 'h'). Now this is how the…
Clifford Durousseau
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Scholarly opinion of the Open English Bible

My essential question is what is the scholarly view of the Open English Bible (http://openenglishbible.org/)? How does it compare to the NIV or NRSV? Is there a known bias or other issue with it, apart from the fact that it is currently incomplete?…
Dr Xorile
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New American Standard Bible vs English Standard Version: Which one's more faithful to the original text?

I've read that both the NASB and ESV versions are "formal, word-for-word translations". Is there any way to determine which is the most accurate version? Bonus consideration: Precise translation doesn't do much good if the English is difficult to…
trusktr
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Who first translated the Bible in French?

Good day, I found this ambiguous Wikipedia page that manages to say in a few lines that Pierre Robert Olivétan is the first one to have translated the Bible in French and then says that he translated the first protestant Bible in 1535, based on his…
RilDev
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Why does the KJV use "made flesh" in John 1:14 when other translations use "became flesh?"

(KJV)John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB) [14]And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw…
collen ndhlovu
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Do we know why or how translators translated the persons' names the way they did?

For instance, we read the name in the English as Ahab, but the Strong's pronunciation is akh-awb' So in this case, the k sound is missing. Why are certain sounds missing if they are known? Example: 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all…
Steve
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Neh. 5:2 "We are forced to pawn our sons and daughters in order to get grain to eat that we may live.” (competent translation?)

In the Book of Nehemiah, the NABRE is virtually alone in interpreting the people's complaint about the lack of grain in terms of having to indenture their children. Other typical translations usually read something like the NIV: Some were saying,…
Dan Fefferman
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Genesis 4:5-8. What could Cain have done differently?

Given the understanding that Cain was upset and God tried to reason with Cain to resolve Cain's discomfort, but Cain chose to cause even worse "discomfort" on Abel, how would you have applied God's Reasoning to resolve that situation?
user63121
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Is my rendering of Dan.8.11-13;11:31;12:11; concerning the "continual transgression", rather than the "daily sacrifice" an accurate translation?

The translation of (H8548, tamiyd) found in (Daniel 8:11-13; 11:31; 12:11) rendered: “the daily sacrifice”; which has the insertion of the word “sacrifice”. Due to the grammatical links found in Daniel 9:27 where "sacrifice" occurs; the links are…
ThatwemaybethepraiseofHisglory
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