Bible Translation principles

[Ron_Conte]

1. Context and dictionary definitions

There is a certain approach to translation, as well as interpretation, which finds the meaning of every passage of the Bible in the dictionary definition of the words in that passage. The truths of the Bible thereby seem to be found, not in the inspired text, but in the uninspired dictionary. Now it cannot be the case that the meaning of the text is dependent solely upon what a dictionary (or concordance), because then what is inspired would depend upon what is uninspired; the Word of God would depend upon the words of man; and the decisions made by the sacred authors under inspiration could be nullified by the decisions made by the writers of the dictionary or concordance.

Obviously, the individual words used by the sacred authors have meaning which can be generally understood by a wide array of different readers, and the meaning of words can be put into dictionaries and concordances. But the meaning of the inspired text is more than the sum of the dictionary definition of each word. Often the meaning is found in the context of the words; dictionary definitions are devoid of this context. A dictionary might give some examples of a word in context, but it can never include every possible context of every word.

Much of the literal or figurative meaning of the text can be understood by the dictionary definition of each word. In practice, of course, a reader must do more than look up each word in a dictionary or concordance, but must have a working knowledge of the language. Now the dictionary gives a range of possible meanings for each word, and typically the most basic level of meaning of the text is within that range of meanings.

But the translator (or interpreter) of the text must determine where the meaning of the word or phrase lies within the possible range of meaning for each word. And this position of the word within the range of meaning is largely determined by context. Some examples follow.

In the Gospels, Jesus refers to the death of Lazarus as sleep, but the meaning in context is that Lazarus had died. In the Book of Wisdom, the Latin ‘parentes’ is used in one verse to mean parents (the usual meaning of the word):

{4:6} Ex iniquis enim somnis filii qui nascuntur, testes sunt nequitiæ adversus parentes in interrogatione sua.
{4:6} For all the sons born from iniquity are witnesses of wickedness against their parents at their interrogation.

but in another place, the word parentes has a very different meaning, which can be discerned from the context:

{12:6} et auctores parentes animarum inauxiliatarum, perdere voluisti per manus parentum nostrorum,
{12:6} and the sellers performing the ceremonies of helpless souls, you willed to destroy by the hands of our parents,

Often mistranslated, “auctores parentes,” in this context does not mean parents, but rather the performing of a ceremony or religious rite, originally a ceremony commemorating dead parents or dead ancestors.

While a dictionary may provide some help in determining the literal or figurative level of meaning, at the spiritual level of meaning, the dictionary provides very little assistance. The spiritual level of meaning is dependent upon the much larger context of the entire Bible, and of the entire Catholic Christian Faith. So if a translator does not translate the Old and New Testaments in the light of the Catholic Faith, the spiritual level of meaning may be much more difficult to discern. And when an interpreter relies mainly on the dictionary definition of each word, the spiritual level of meaning is mostly lost, and the literal/figurative level of meaning is harmed.

 

[Ron_Conte]

1. inerrancy: the Bible must be treated by every translator as a text that has God as its primary author, and which is entirely inspired and entirely inerrant.

But this idea is contrary to the current opinion of most Biblical scholars. It is appalling how many translators do not think that the text they are translating is inerrant. I would judge that many, if not most, of the problems with modern translations comes from this one problem: not believing that the text is entirely inerrant and entirely inspired.

The idea that ‘dynamic equivalency’ is the best (or only good) method of translation, i think depends implicitly on the idea that the Bible is not inerrant. The inventor of ‘dynamic equivalency’ Eugene Nida, did not believe that the Bible is inerrant. Whenever the text is loosely rephrased, there is the inherent assumption that the words can be freely changed because there are some truths in the text, but the text is not entirely inspired and entirely inerrant.

 

[Ron_Conte]

1. literal versus spiritual level of meaning

a translation can favor the literal level of meaning, or the spiritual level of meaning; most modern translations treat the text as if there were no spiritual level of meaning. Translations that favor the spiritual level of meaning are particularly useful for study and devotion.

 

[Manfred]

1. Context and dictionary definitions

In the Book of Wisdom, the Latin ‘parentes’ is used in one verse to mean parents (the usual meaning of the word):

{4:6} Ex iniquis enim somnis filii qui nascuntur, testes sunt nequitiæ adversus parentes in interrogatione sua.
{4:6} For all the sons born from iniquity are witnesses of wickedness against their parents at their interrogation.

but in another place, the word parentes has a very different meaning, which can be discerned from the context:

{12:6} et auctores parentes animarum inauxiliatarum, perdere voluisti per manus parentum nostrorum,
{12:6} and the sellers performing the ceremonies of helpless souls, you willed to destroy by the hands of our parents,

Often mistranslated, “auctores parentes,” in this context does not mean parents, but rather the performing of a ceremony or religious rite, originally a ceremony commemorating dead parents or dead ancestors.

Ron, I cannot accept your interpretation of “parentes” in Wisdom 12:6, given the context as I find it below in the RSV and the DR, respectively:

[3] Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land
[4] thou didst hate for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites,
[5] their merciless slaughter of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult,
[6] these parents who murder helpless lives, thou didst will to destroy by the hands of our fathers,
[7] that the land most precious of all to thee might receive a worthy colony of the servants of God.

3 For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst abhor,
4 Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and wicked sacrifices,
5 And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters of men’s bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy consecration,
6 And those parents sacrificing with their own hands helpless souls, it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our parents,
7 That the land which of all is most dear to thee, might receive a worthy colony of the children of God.

If anything, it might be taken as a veiled reference to the killing of the unborn.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Manfred,

The book of Wisdom has an historical level of meaning, in this passage referring to the sins of the pagans who lived in the promised land before the Israelites, and a spiritual level of meaning referring to the future, i.e. to the Church and to those who oppose or offend against the Church.

I think that the previous verse 12:5 refers to abortion as well as to the pagans who killed their own children: ‘merciless murderers of their own sons.’ So it does not make sense for the next verse to say much the same thing.

As for the RSV rendering, I’m translating the Latin, not the Greek:

animarum inauxiliatarum

both words are genitive plural: of helpless souls [or lives]

auctores parentes

the first word refers to sellers;

Now if we assume that parentes means parents, then we are left with ‘sellers parents of helpless souls’; there is nothing in these words referring to murder. The phrase ‘parents sellers’ does not make sense, and so some translations rephrase it to force the text to make sense.

Notice that in Challoner’s translation, the meaning of parentes, referring to a type of pagan sacrifice, is found in the translation (sacrificing). Unfortunately, he has misunderstood the full meaning of the phrase.

The word parentes does refer to a type of sacrifice:
to perform rites at tombs; to make an appeasement offering (to the dead)
Here is is used as a noun, plural, nominative; just as sellers is the plural noun, nominative.

So the phrase could be translated, with an interlinear approach, as:

appeasement-offering sellers
or
dead-ancestor-ceremonies sellers

This makes perfect sense in the context of describing the ancient sins of the pagans who were living in the promised land before the Israelites.

Note the progression of the sins mentioned:

{12:4} because they were doing works hateful to you, through unjust medicines and sacrifices,
{12:5} and the merciless murderers of sons, and the eaters of human entrails, and the devourers of blood apart from your community sacrament,
{12:6} and the sellers performing the ceremonies of helpless souls, you willed to destroy by the hands of our parents,

From killing their own children, to eating human entrails and blood (as part of a pagan ceremony), to combining the killing of children with ceremonies of ancestor worship.

There is no verb in

auctores parentes animarum inauxiliatarum

But I phrased the text with a verb to make it more comprehensible, so it becomes ‘sellers performing the ceremonies’ instead of essentially ‘ceremony sellers’.