racist overtones in Hermas
Maurice A. O'Sullivan
mauros at iol.ie
Sun Sep 3 19:32:02 EDT 2000
At 23:14 03/09/00, Bart Ehrman wrote:
>I'm trying
>to figure out if it's possible to translate the passage about the first
>mountain without giving it modern racist overtones (which would have been
>foreign to the world of the text).
I wonder if you are right about that, Bart?
In Osiek, Carolyn, and Helmut Koester. Ed. Shepherd of Hermas: A
Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999.
I read:
" ......here the movement from worst to best is also from black to
white, utilizing the traditional stereotype of color preferences "
So what you render as:
>>There is no repentance for these, but death. This is why they are black,
because their race also is lawless <<
she renders as:
>> for them there is no conversion, but there is death, and this is why
they are black. Their race is outside the law.<<
Although "lawless" and " outside the law " can mean the same thing there
can also be a subtle distinction between the two meanings.
Hope this helps in some way.
Maurice
Regards
Maurice
Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros at iol.ie
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