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No.8.
Translation.
pp. 71, 72
In the course of our pursuit for "sense" and "meaning" we come to the great fact that
God has made a revelation of His Will and Purpose; that this revelation constitutes the
Holy Scriptures, and that these Scriptures were written in Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek.
Now if these languages were our mother tongue, or if we were as familiar with them as
we are with English, the next step in our advance towards meaning, would be
denominated "Interpretation". But few if any of the readers of the Berean Expositor, are
so familiar with these ancient languages as to be independent of the office of a translator.
Those who are thus privileged are in need of no word here from us on the subject, and
those who are not cannot be turned into translators by the perusal of an article. What then
can we do? The teaching of grammar and the necessary practice in translation is quite
outside the scope of this journal, we can only look at the translator at work, consider
principles that guide him and come to whatever conclusions sound thinking and prayer
may lead us.
The word "translation" does not occur in the Scriptures in the sense in which we use it
in this article, but in the primary sense of transferring someone or something from one
place to another (Col. 1: 13; Heb. 11: 5). Metatithemi which is the word rendered
"translate" in Heb. 11: 5 is used of carrying out the body of Jacob from Egypt to Sychem
(Acts 7: 16), for the removing of the believer from the faith (Gal. 1: 6) and for the
change of priesthood consequent upon the death and resurrection of Christ (Heb. 7: 12).
Metathesis "translation" in Heb. 11: 5 is rendered "change" in 7: 12 and "removing"
in 12: 27. Methistano which is employed in Col. 1: 13 is translated elsewhere "put
out", "remove" and "turn away" (Luke 16: 4; Acts 13: 22; 19: 26; I Cor. 13: 2).
While the word "translate" occurs but once in the O.T. of the A.V. namely in
II Sam. 3: 10 "to translate the kingdom from the house of Saul", the Hebrew word thus
rendered is in constant use. It is the Hebrew abar "to cross over" as of the crossing of
Jordan. In II Samuel itself where the word abar occurs about forty-seven times, and in
every passage except 3: 10, physical transference over or across is intended, as for
example: "and there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household"
(II Sam. 19: 18).
It may be said that goods transferred by ferry boat from one side of a stream to another
remain unchanged, but if we widen the breach and transfer goods from the shores of
England to the shores of France, while the material remains the same, conformity to the
new conditions, new customs, new dues, new prices, new climatic effects, must be taken
into account. This crude illustration brings us to the first great controversy regarding the
translation of the Scriptures or of any other book from one language to another.
"With a slavish literality delicate shades of meaning cannot be reproduced, nor
allowance be made for the influence of interwoven thought, or of the writer's ever
shifting--not to say changing--point of view. An utterly ignorant or utterly lazy man, if