[This is a series started by Sinaite DVE, Admin2 in 2012 . Hereunder are the sequels; hopefully she will pick up where she left off 5 years ago and enlighten our readers some more, demonstrating more examples of mistranslations in the Christian “Old Testament”:
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LOST IN TRANSLATION – 2
If you are a regular user of social media forums (Facebook, for example), you would know that there is a button that you press if you want to see a translation of posts in your wall, or in your account’s news feeds. I regularly check my Facebook account because it is the forum that I am able to stay and keep in touch with family and friends all over the world. Well, there was one instance that I inadvertently pressed the translation button while exchanging private messages with a friend in Canada. We were exchanging messages in our local Philippine dialect, Tagalog. But as the exchanges progressed, something strange was happening. Everything we were typing up was being translated to English! It was pretty hilarious, because what we were trying to communicate with each other was just lost in the translation process.
I shared the above experience to point out a fact that in translating from one language to another, nuances and fine grammatical distinctions are normally lost along the way. With this in mind, we now go back to our topic on hand – the translation of the Bible. We all know of course that the “Old Testament” was originally written in Hebrew, and if we want to learn the lessons that YHWH wants us to learn from His written word, the Torah, we need to keep this fact in mind. We also know that the Jews have never accepted the New Testament and the reasons will be presented in this and the following articles.
I shall be quoting from the blog of Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, published in jewsforjudaism.org, entitled “A Text out of Context…is Just Pretext (Why Jews Cannot Accept the New Testament) .” This blog outlines, in clear and specific terms, the deliberate inclusion of mistranslations of the Torah in the New Testament – and even wrong translations of the Torah (Old Testament) in the Christian Bible
As mentioned, translations are not 100% accurate because there are nuances and cultural contexts that cannot be fully grasped in another language. We have many Filipino words that do not have a precise translation in English. It is the same with the original Hebrew of the Torah. Hebrew words usually have more than one meaning, so it is VERY IMPORTANT to read in context. To quote Rabbi Kravitz:
Judaism believes that the Jewish Scriptures, often referred to as the Old Testament, are the inspired word of God. If passages appear to contradict one another, it is our responsibility to delve deeply and uncover a correct understanding. Unfortunately, some Christians believe that the end justifies the means and often use the following New Testament passage to justify their approach. “Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed…” [Philippians 1:18] Additionally, Judaism encourages full disclosure and an honest examination of the Bible. Therefore, when passages within Jewish Scriptures appear to contradict one another, our sages never ignored them. Instead, they always sought an understanding consistent with the entire Torah.
He then goes on to give examples of these. He starts with 1 Chronicles 21:1 which states:
“Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.”
In another passage, 2 Samuel 1, it states, however, that it was God who ordered David to number the Israelites:
“The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He incited David against them to say, ‘Go number Israel…”
The question is who ordered the numbering of Israel, God or Satan? In Hebrew, there is no Christian concept of Satan (NOTE: There are articles in the site that deals with this topic in very detailed commentaries) – an evil force opposing God. Satan is an emissary, a messenger of God, who has no free will, and whose function is to obey all that God commands him to do. The Hebrew word for messenger is “malach” (מאלך), often translated as “angel”. From the translation, there is no conflict because it is God, through His messenger, who orders David to number the Israelites. By carefully studying the ORIGINAL Hebrew text of the Torah, and reading passages contextually, seeming contradictions disappear. However, according to the article of Rabbi Kravitz, the contradictions in the New Testament are completely of a different nature. The next article will deal with this.
DVE@S6K