Just as good poetry can convey multiple allusions, so “Deliver us from evil” can carry a variety of notions of protection from doing and experiencing evil.
John’s Targumic Allusions
However one translates John 1:17, both clauses should be positively portrayed. After all, it is John himself who states that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22) and that “the Hebrew Scriptures testify about Jesus” (John 5:39).
That Small-fry Herod Antipas, or When a Fox Is Not a Fox
We need to start translating “fox” with its proper Hebraic cultural meaning.
Inspiration, History and Bible Translation
To believe in the Christian Bible is also to believe in God’s working through the church, and to believe in the church is also to believe in its constitutional documents, the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.
Pursuing Righteousness
A reconstruction can only be adopted by a theologian or a historian. A Bible translator must translate what the text of Scripture actually says.
“And” or “But”—So What?
Writings that were originally composed in Greek tend to have a higher ratio of de to kai than writings that have been influenced by a Semitic language.
What Is the Priest Doing? Common Sense and Culture
Common sense is connected to cultural expectations. What is understandable in one culture may be opaque in another.
Matthew’s Aramaic Glue
Knowledge of the different ways of joining stories in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic can help us understand the history and relationships of the Synoptic Gospels.
What Kind of Blessing Is That?
In some cases a more informed understanding of the original setting of the Gospels can be communicated easily in a translation. A good translation will reflect that fuller, culturally appropriate understanding.
“Son of Man”: Jesus’ Most Important Title
There is a common thread uniting the views of those who think that Jesus signaled Daniel 7 by using the Aramaic bar enash in the middle of Hebrew speech. Anyone who holds this view must assume that Jesus spoke or taught in Hebrew much of the time. That Jesus used Hebrew a significant amount of the time is a sociolinguistic conclusion that has a growing number of supporters in New Testament scholarship, but one that is still a minority opinion.
Your Money or Your Life
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Jesus’ reply to the question about paying taxes to Caesar is that Jesus disarms his opponents and at the same time places a total demand on them.
The Sons of His Will
Christmas brings many carols and cards containing the words from Luke 2:14, “Goodwill to men” and “Peace to men of goodwill.” The angels praised God with words that in English may sound like a politician wishing us to “Have a nice day.” Most of us sense that these words reflect something deeper, but why did the angels use such seemingly innocuous words?