Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
www.suscopts.org
   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Some renowned scholars believe that the New Kings James Holy Bible was not actually a translation but a blending of previous translations which had taken the church fifty years to accept because it was originally not well written. It is also believed that most bibles were translated through Hebrew and Greek instead of the original Aramaic leading to a lot of mistranslations. If that is the case, why do we choose to base our faith on a book that is full of mistakes?

It is true that the New King James Holy Bible was not a new translation but a way to simplify the authorized King James Version of the Bible. You can read about the history of the different translations at http://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=688&catid=188. It is hard to say that by adopting a certain version of the Holy Bible we are following it blindly and that our faith would change depending on which version of the Bible we use. This is not at all the case. We try to follow the version that is most reliable according to our knowledge and that has not been manipulated or changed to satisfy the beliefs of some denominations. Many believe that the 'Revised Standard Version" is a more reliable and accurate translation than the 'New King James Version'.

Regarding language, the Holy Bible was not written in one original language but in three (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). Therefore we cannot say that the whole Holy Bible was written in Aramaic and that it should be translated from this one language only. On the contrary, scholars agree that the two major languages of Scriptures are Hebrew and Greek.

Up until the 8th century B.C. in the time of King Hezekiah, we see his representatives requesting the spokesmen of the Assyrian king Sennacherib to "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall" (2 Kgs 18:26). So the common language at that time was not Aramaic, but Hebrew. Gradually, especially after the Babylonian exile, Aramaic influence pervaded the land of Palestine. Nehemiah complained that children from mixed marriages were unable to speak Hebrew (Neh 13:24). By the time of the Persian period, Aramaic became the language of international trade. During their captivity, the Jews adopted it for convenience and for trade while Hebrew became confined to the learned and  religious leaders. The Jews continued using Aramaic during the Persian, Greek and Roman periods. Eventually the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Aramaic paraphrases called Targums, some of which have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls

Aramaic could be considered as a secondary Old Testament language found in sections of the Holy Books of Daniel (2:4-7:28) and Ezra (4:8-6:18; 7:12-26). Aramaic phrases and expressions also appear in the Holy Book of Jeremiah (10:11). Aramaic is linguistically very close to Hebrew and similar in structure.

In the time of the New Testament, there is no question that Aramaic was widely used as were Greek and Hebrew. Aramaic served as a transition from Hebrew to Greek as the language spoken by Jews in our Lord Jesus' day. Few words in Aramaic were included in the New Testament such as "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" (Mt 27:46).

In the third century B.C. the Jewish community in Egypt spoke Greek, not Hebrew, so Greek translation of the Old Testament was needed. The Septuagint is the oldest Greek translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew text. The Septuagint was the standard Old Testament text used by the early Christian church. The expanding Gentile church needed a translation on the common language of the time – Greek. The New Testament writers evidence their inclination to the Septuagint by using it when quoting the Old Testament.
 
Although most New Testament authors were Jewish, they wrote in Greek, the universal language of their time. St. John the apostle used Greek words like 'logos' in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 1:1). St. Paul was acquainted with Greek authors (Acts 17:28; 1 Cor 15:33; Tit 1:12) and philosophers as well as Hebrew prophets and scholars who had influenced his language As the gospel spread and churches multiplied, Christians in various countries wanted to read the Holy Bible in their own language. As early as the second century, many translations were done in several different languages. These were translations done in Coptic for the Egyptians, in Syriac for those whose language was Aramaic, in Gothic for the Germanic people called the Goths and in Latin for the Romans and Carthagenians. This was later followed by the various English translations we have in our hands today.

There is a good book you can read called "The Origin of the Bible' by F. F. Bruce et al. published by Tyndale House Publishers Inc. It gives good information on the authority and Inspiration of the Bible, manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments and the Bible languages and translations
Home | Ask A Question | Search Q&A