[B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?

Barry nebarry at verizon.net
Thu Feb 23 15:09:21 EST 2006


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Awohili at aol.com>
To: <hholmyard at ont.com>; <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?


> In a message dated 02/23/2006 10:00:42 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
> hholmyard at ont.com writes:
>
> So, the use  of the indefinite article in  the Sahidic does not
> necessarily mean  that the Coptic translator  understood John to have
> written "a  god."  He was not  equating the Word with the proper name
> God,  but he could have understood  John to be using theos in a
> qualitative  sense, as many Greek  scholars have argued.  Dr. Layton
> says it  is up to the reader to  decide, but is there any indication
> in the  immediate context to help us?

I researched this some time ago, and contacted a coptic scholar (I can supply 
the reference off-list, if anybody likes).  He simply said that in contexts such 
as this, the Coptic indefinite article is required, but does not necessarily 
imply what the English indefinite article implies, so that the Coptic indefinite 
does not have the same semantic range as the English, any more than the English 
definite article has the same range as the Greek.  He mentioned that he felt the 
standard English translations of John 1:1 would be a fine rendering of the 
Coptic version.

N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Adjunct Faculty, The Center for Urban Theological Studies
         Philadelphia, PA
http://www.cuts.edu
Visiting Faculty, Reformed Theological Seminary
         Washington, D.C.
http://www.rts.edu/campuses/washington_dc/index.cfm

And me:
http://mysite.verizon.net/nebarry/
http://my.opera.com/BarryHofstetter/blog/

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