SKE 169

Video Lecture: Completely Equipped for Every Good Work – Geoffrey Jackson

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Treasure JHVH’s word – Jesus: “Your Word is truth”

So beneficial – 2 Tim 3:16, 17 [JWL]

We need to understand God’s Word and know how to use it.

1st Century Christians:

  • Hebrew, but Septuagint in Greek. Mostly quoted from Greek rather than Hebrew, because it was widely understood and widely used.
  • Isa 7:14 – Heb: virgin, or newly married who hadn’t given birth. Gk: Virgin.
  • Needed to become familiar with both texts.

20th Century:

  • Emphasized Bible: Presence/Coming
  • Emphatic Diaglott: Matt 24:3 – JHVH’s name, John 1:1
  • NWT: King James-ese
  • We have the same challenge with the revised Bible. Enjoy the beauty of the changes.
  • 1950 NWT: People still influenced by KJV.

“Enjoy the beauty of the changes” in the revised version of the New World Translation.

Geoffrey Jackson

Three things have changed:

  1. Average English-speaking person is not familiar with KJV
  2. People like immediate comprehension.
  3. Communities have become less Biblical.

Principles behind translation:

  1. No two sentences alike in structure
  2. No modern language exactly mirrors.
  3. Meaning depend on context

e.g. Love:

Greek has 4 words: agape, storge, eros, phileo
English has one expression: Lot of different feelings with the word “love”.

Context is the key:

e.g. Runs:

He runs very quickly
The motor runs smoothly
He runs the business
The software runs on the iPad.
The bus runs every hour.
The boundary runs south.
The river runs quickly.
How many runs did they make.
He runs off.

Word-for-word doesn’t work.

e.g. Fat

Heb: uses it more extensively:

  • Deut 32:14 – “fat of sheep” = “choicest sheep”,
  • “kidney fat of grain” = “finest wheat”.
  • Prov 28:25 – “Prosper” = “will be made fat”

Lot of thought gone into not having to understand Hebrew.

Some cherished expressions have changed:

  • Soul:
  • Sheol/Hades
  • Seed
  • Loose conduct:
    • Just a little naughty in English, yet one of the ugliest words. Brazen attitude.
  • “Brazen conduct”. Heb: not so brazen, obscene and shameful = “Obscene/shameful conduct”
  • Psa 113:6 – Condescending = “stoops down”
  • Ruth 2:15 – Molest = “mistreat”
  • Josh 23:14 – in the way of all the earth – “about to die”
  • 1 Sam 18:13 – went out and came in = “led the army to battle”
  • Ex 12:6 – between the two evenings = “at twilight”
  • 1 Cor 7:36-38 – towards his virginity = “remain(ing) unmarried”
  • Psa 51:12 – support me even with a willing spirit = “Stir within me a willingness to obey you.”

Initial translation – was as close to the original meaning as possible.
Revised translation: able to quickly understand.

Other features of this revision of the NWT (page 1725 [JWL]):

  • Footnotes
    • Or: Psa 51:5, Job 21:13, Acts 15:20, 29, Luk 14:26
    • Or possibly: Eccl 7:9, Gal 5:14
    • Lit: John 2:4
    • Background info: Gen 24:32, Gen 25:8, Judg 7:19, Josh 3:4
    • “Or” Alternative ways the text could be rendered from Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek that would give the same overall idea.—Genesis 1:2, footnote on “active force”; Joshua 1:8, “undertone.”
    • “Or possibly” Alternative ways the text could be rendered that would convey a valid yet different overall idea.—Genesis 21:6, “laugh with me”; Zechariah 14:21, “Canaanite.”
    • “Lit.” A word-for-word translation from the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek or the basic meaning of an original-language expression.—Genesis 30:22, “pregnant”; Exodus 32:9, “obstinate.”
    • Meaning and background information Meaning of names (Genesis 3:17, “Adam”; Exodus 15:23, “Marah”); details about weights and measures (Genesis 6:15, “cubits”); the antecedent of a pronoun (Genesis 38:5, “He”); helpful information in the Appendix and the Glossary.—Genesis 37:35, “Grave”; Matthew 5:22, “Gehenna.”

Dead Sea Scrolls found just before NWT originally printed, but only recently released.

6 other verses where JHVH’s name should be in Bible.

  1. Judges 19:18,
  2. 1 Sam 2:25;
  3. 1 Sam 6:3;
  4. 1 Sam 10:26;
  5. 1 Sam 23:14,
  6. 1 Sam 23:16.

Double brackets now removed – it’s either there or not now.

Matt 27:49 – section taken out. Jesus pierced while alive.

1 Pet 5:2 – “Serving as overseers” added.

2 Sam 13:21 – “But he would not hurt the feelings of Amʹnon his son, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.” – sentence jumped.

These changes are not deal breakers – there’s no change to the meaning.

Matt 7:13, 14 – “broad is the gate and spacious is the road” not “broad and spacious”

Know it, so we’re equipped for every good work