And when he attempted to speak in the Hebrew tongue unto them, they silenced him, that he might say nothing further, for he vocalized badly. – (not Acts 2:22)
No. I really don’t hate it. It makes things more interesting. What I’m referring to is John Hobbin’s recent suggestion that bibliobloggers be divided into categories according to their taste for rhubarb pie and, perhaps more importantly, their knowledge of the original languages of Scripture:
(1) Those who don’t read the Bible in the original languages and are honest about it
(2) Those who read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and blog accordingly
(0) Those who don’t read the Bible in the original languages any more, or never did, and never let on to the fact that they don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to the untranslated texts
Reading the post did make me realize one thing: I don’t think I’ve made my knowledge (and lack thereof) of Biblical languages clear to you good folks. So I’ll explain, one category at a time, that I don’t fit exactly in any of them.
(1) I’m honestly not sure whether I would say I read the Bible in the original languages. I do pull out my Greek and Hebrew texts quite frequently, but I will admit that my knowledge of both languages is little more than a self-taught ability to catch a fair portion of what’s being said in the original languages. I can often catch someone who is doesn’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to the original languages, though. But I want to make it clear that I’m no authority on the Biblical languages. My understanding is still a work in progress, but one day I hope to have attained the ability to read Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek as though they were English.
(2) When I blog, I do like to reference exact Greek or Hebrew expressions from time to time. I’ll continue doing my best to make it clear to you when I know something, when I think something, and when I have no idea. My goal is to continue moving in the direction of Hobbin’s #2 category.
(3) Although I don’t have an exact knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, I do believe myself to have a pretty good grasp of how translation works. When I first began speaking, I spoke both English and Spanish. By the time I was about four years old, I had some sort of understanding of Galician as well, thanks to a woman who was like a second grandmother to me. I’ve also taken three years of Latin, two years of French, and am currently taking a Spanish-literature course, as well as an introduction to Portuguese. I’ve dabbled in Arabic and German. Although none of that makes me an expert in anything, seeing all the similarities that are constant across Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Latin, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, German, etc. has made me more sensitive to issues of translation and equivalence of expression across languages. Translation is a complex and endlessly fascinating topic, and I find myself more and more leaning toward Chomsky’s assertion that there is really just one Language in several thousand different dialects.
i hate not simply fitting into simple categories
And when he attempted to speak in the Hebrew tongue unto them, they silenced him, that he might say nothing further, for he vocalized badly. – (not Acts 2:22)
No. I really don’t hate it. It makes things more interesting. What I’m referring to is John Hobbin’s recent suggestion that bibliobloggers be divided into categories according to their taste for rhubarb pie and, perhaps more importantly, their knowledge of the original languages of Scripture:
Reading the post did make me realize one thing: I don’t think I’ve made my knowledge (and lack thereof) of Biblical languages clear to you good folks. So I’ll explain, one category at a time, that I don’t fit exactly in any of them.
(1) I’m honestly not sure whether I would say I read the Bible in the original languages. I do pull out my Greek and Hebrew texts quite frequently, but I will admit that my knowledge of both languages is little more than a self-taught ability to catch a fair portion of what’s being said in the original languages. I can often catch someone who is doesn’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to the original languages, though. But I want to make it clear that I’m no authority on the Biblical languages. My understanding is still a work in progress, but one day I hope to have attained the ability to read Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek as though they were English.
(2) When I blog, I do like to reference exact Greek or Hebrew expressions from time to time. I’ll continue doing my best to make it clear to you when I know something, when I think something, and when I have no idea. My goal is to continue moving in the direction of Hobbin’s #2 category.
(3) Although I don’t have an exact knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, I do believe myself to have a pretty good grasp of how translation works. When I first began speaking, I spoke both English and Spanish. By the time I was about four years old, I had some sort of understanding of Galician as well, thanks to a woman who was like a second grandmother to me. I’ve also taken three years of Latin, two years of French, and am currently taking a Spanish-literature course, as well as an introduction to Portuguese. I’ve dabbled in Arabic and German. Although none of that makes me an expert in anything, seeing all the similarities that are constant across Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Latin, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, German, etc. has made me more sensitive to issues of translation and equivalence of expression across languages. Translation is a complex and endlessly fascinating topic, and I find myself more and more leaning toward Chomsky’s assertion that there is really just one Language in several thousand different dialects.
Hope that helps clarify things a little.
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