The Danger of Preconceived Notions in Biblical Translations
Aug 14, 2019 12:29:20 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Aug 14, 2019 12:29:20 GMT -5
The Danger of Preconceived Notions in Biblical Translations
As a translator of the Bible, a person bears the serious responsibility of accurately conveying what was originally message that was written and and nothing more. Adding or subtracting from the original biblical message is seriously condemned in the Bible itself. Unfortunately, manuscript translators of the Bible have preconceived notions of what the Bible should be saying and they permit such notion to interfere with their translations.
preconceived notion
Noun 1. preconceived notion - an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence; "he did not even try to confirm his preconceptions"
parti pris, preconceived idea, preconceived opinion, preconception, prepossession
opinion, persuasion, sentiment, thought, view - a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty;
www.thefreedictionary.com/preconceived+notion
As an example, let's consider the word Sheol. This word is repeatedly translated as hell even though they are totally unrelated. If they were indeed identical in meaning , and involved the concept of eternal torture as punishment for sin, then Job would not have asked God to send him their in order for his suffering to cease. That would be like asking tio be removed from the frying pan and relocated into the fire that's heating it up.
Also, faithful servants of God are constantly portrayed as saying that when they die they will go to Sheol which many translations translate as hell without give a moment's thought to the ridiculous meaning it would give the scripture.
Job 14:13 - O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
[grave = sheol]
Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
[grave=sheol]
Genesis 37:35 - And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him [grave = sheol]
[grave = sheol]
Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
[grave=sheol]
Genesis 37:35 - And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him [grave = sheol]
When translated as hell, all those scriptures above become ridiculous. After all, would a faithful servant of God assume that he was going to a place of eternal punishment when he died as Jacob is supposedly doing by describing himself as going to hell when he iuses the Hebrew word sheol? ? Does that make any sense? Such contextual evidence should immediately cause a translator to hesitate before he translates sheol as hell. Yet, there it is, translated as hell many times without absolutely no contextual justification despite the fact that it definitely cannot be the place that people understand as hell. Yet, these translators will disregard these facts and translate sheol as hell. .
In short, many translations of the Holy Bible are infused with denominational theological propaganda and cannot be relied on as the authentic message that was originally conveyed under divine inspiration and written for our enlightenment.
2 Timothy 3:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
New International Version (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
New International Version (NIV)