>>Can Holy Scripture be translated accurately by ANYONE without a thorough knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and of course, Latin? <<
I think not. And don’t forget Aramaic.
But let us not forget the hand of the Holy Spirit (my old CCD teaching comes riding in on a white stallion of reason!).
The Bible is a guide to how we live our lives. It uses history, especially the history of His Chosen People, and of course how Our Lord Christ suffered so and died for our sins, to explain — painfully and poignantly — our relationship with God and how that relationship should influence our relationship with each other.
“Do as he says” and “treat your neighbor as you would be treated” do not have a heck of a lot of brad interpretations available — again, the sign of the Holy Spirit influences Man’s deeds.
The word “accurately” is the problem here. In Genesis I and Genesis II the Hebrew (double translated, no less) word “Yom” is used and is colloquially translated as “day.” In fact, “yom” means “defined period” (based on some scholars of early Hebrew) and the “period” is defined by the observer!
So, properly “accurate” without reading the base languages? Not possible. To understand the spiritual and theological content? The Holy Spirit guarantees it shall be so.
In my studies Aramaic was an advanced Hebrew course. They are similar enough that it is usually covered in Hebrew training, although CH’s experience may be different.
How many years of Greek, Hebrew and Latin do you have free? Just curious...
I believe many people, however, forget about the influence of the Holy Spirit in Scripture — and just think that it was men who wrote it.
A obvious example would be the voices of atheists.
freedumb2003 wrote:
“The word “accurately” is the problem here. In Genesis I and Genesis II the Hebrew (double translated, no less) word “Yom” is used and is colloquially translated as “day.” In fact, “yom” means “defined period” (based on some scholars of early Hebrew) and the “period” is defined by the observer!”
As it happens I’m rather familiar with Hebrew and Greek as well. But neither is particularly needed in the example you cite, since the “period” is there defined: “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) The Hebrew is even simpler and more concrete, calling that first evening and morning “day one.”
Also, far more useful than Latin for Bible translation, especially of the Old Testament, would be the other Semitic languages both older than and contemporaneous to Hebrew, and to a much lesser extent, Egyptian.
The period is made clear in Exodus Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.