[B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?
frjsilver at optonline.net
frjsilver at optonline.net
Fri Feb 24 18:25:55 EST 2006
Dear Friends --
Often it isn't enough to be able to read the text and translate it as a stand-alone document without reference to either its own context or to the matrix of understanding from which it emerges -- or to the body of doctrine it seeks to inform.
Even among native speakers of Greek, recourse is always had to the earliest homiletic sources. For the orthodox, when all these sources agree on the meaning of the text (they don't always), it appears to us that the Tradition is functioning as an interpretive apparatus, and we accept that.
While there are heterodox interpretations of JN 1:1c, there's no question that the authentically orthodox catholic Christian Tradition understands KAI QEOS HN hO LOGOS to mean that 'the Word was God', all the more so because of the emphatic construction employed here.
Compare the completely anarthrous QEOS KURIOS KAI EPEFANEN hMIN (PS 117:27 Greek, 118:27 Hebrew), which can mean nothing but 'The Lord is God....' the lack of articles here implies less than nothing about indefiniteness in translation.
A little syllogistic aside: Areios is regarded as a heretic since he denied the divinity of the Logos, Whom even he considered to be incarnate as Jesus Christ. This verse is extremely important to the Areian position, and the Witnesses of Jehovah happily admit to being Areians, and the NWT is the work of the Witnesses, who skewed the translation. Therefore, at least from the perspective of the orthodox, 'a god' is not an accurate translation of the Greek.
It's worth noting that the JWs aren't the only group who do this sort of thing, and more's the pity.
In any event, I hope this helps to advance the question a little.
Peace and blessings to all.
Father James Silver
Monk James
Orthodox Church in America
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
Date: Friday, February 24, 2006 3:15 pm
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?
>
> On Feb 24, 2006, at 2:53 PM, Joe R wrote:
>
> > Let me first say sorry for going beyond the remit of this list.
> > Let me try harder to stick to the Greek. We want to know what
> the
> > first
> > readers understood by the text.
> > Was QEOS not a word for any remarkable person and not limited to the
> > meaning that we have for "god"?
> > Is that why we get touchy about its usage whereas they wouldn't have
> > thought it so special?
>
> May I suggest that those who are seriously interested in this
> question, which is not nearly quite so simple as might
> superficially
> appear, read carefully through the full article on QEOS in both
> BDAG
> and LSJ? And probably one should also look carefully at Louw &
> Nida.
> There are more-or-less authoritative reference lexica setting
> forth
> the range and usage of QEOS in Biblical and extra-biblical
> literature. It seems to me a bit much to call for opinions of list-
>
> members on a question like this. I'm not saying that any lexicon
> tells you all that you might want to know about the range of usage
>
> and literature in which various forms of the word QEOS appears,
> but
> that, in my opinion, is a better place to start with a question
> like
> this of the meaning of QEOS.
>
> Carl W. Conrad
> Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
> 1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
> cwconrad2 at mac.com
> WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
>
> ---
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