[B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?
Mondo Pascal
mondofive at hotmail.com
Fri Feb 24 19:21:56 EST 2006
What you have brought up here is a primarily theological and not
grammatical.
On the grammatical side it should be noted that the indefinite rendering is
taken not simply because the article is missing, but also because to take
the predicate as definite would be to equate hO LOGOS with the TON QEON that
he is PROS, which would be impossible (or at least highly unnatural). There
is even more to it than that, but this is sufficient to address the thrust
of your text.
Of course there is a lot more that could be said on this matter, especially
in line with what is claimed to be orthodox, etc. Yet that moves beyond the
aim of this forum and so I will leave it at that.
Mondo Pascal
>From: frjsilver at optonline.net
>To: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
>CC: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: Re: [B-Greek] NWT: Is it an accurate translation of the Greek?
>Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:25:55 -0500
>
>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
>
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