Translation and Interpretation: An Example from LXX-Proverbs
As I’ve noted elsewhere on the HSF, every translation involves some level of interpretation. This is inescapable. Because of this readers must understand translation committees’ aims when producing a translation. Some translations are upfront about their intentions. Others are willing to leave the obscurity for the reader to interpret for themselves. Regardless of their methodology, the committee must make interpretive decisions. This...
Book Review: Old Testament Exegesis
Douglas Stuart, Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009). Within the Christian academic community, there are many resources for the aspiring Bible student. A cursory glance at the resource section of a Christian bookstore will show myriad concordances, Bible handbooks, commentaries, Bible translations, and more. Even with these resources, bridging Bible reading and...
Church Membership: Whose Idea Is It Anyway?
The Christian church constantly faces the challenge of tensions in its faith and practice. Believers have to look forward to heaven’s glories while avoiding gnostic tendencies toward escapism. Churches have to determine how addressing social conditions such as poverty relates, if at all, to the Great Commission. And more recently, Christians are learning to participate better in the environmental conversation while not succumbing to...
Is It Really Necessary to Learn the Original Languages?
At times, I occasionally run across someone who says something to this accord: “You don’t really need to know Greek and Hebrew in order to teach and preach God’s Word. A pastor or teacher is not going to do an exhaustive exegesis of the passage in a thirty-or-so minute sermon or Bible lesson. Besides, the commentaries will tell you everything you need to know.” Such a statement is disheartening. While interaction with the biblical...
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