Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jonathan Robie <jonathan AT texcel.no>]

At 10:54 PM 3/30/99 +0200, Rolf Furuli wrote:
 
>I do not think I ever have accused anybody on the list for being biased. I
>do not define bias in relation to theology (as any theology other than my
>own) but in relation to language. I give the following definition in my
>book: "Bias in Bible translation is characterized by renderings that are
>either (1) contradict lexicon, grammar or syntax; or (2) definitely weaken
>or distort the meaning by addition or subtraction  of unwarranted semantic
>elements  in order to promote the translator`s own theology."
>All translations are, and must be influenced by the theology of the
>translators, and therefore, *apart from*  bias, it is possible to
>differentiate between a legitimate and an illegitimate use of theology,

I think there's an interesting chicken-and-egg problem here. The way you
create a lexicon is to examine the use of words in various contexts, and
determine their semantic range. I have several Greek lexica, and they
disagree somewhat as to the semantic range of certain words. Louw and Nida,
a well-respected Greek lexicon - one of the "big three", includes the
following definition of PRWTOTOKOS:

L&N 87.47 pertaining to existing superior to all else of the same or
related class - `superior to, above all.'

Another meaning that is given is this:

L&N 13.79 pertaining to existing prior to something else - `existing first,
existing before.'

In their discussion of the primary meaning of PRWTOTOKOS, 

L&N 10.43 pertaining to being a firstborn child 

They also mention the following:

        In Jewish society the rights and responsibilities 
        of being a firstborn son resulted in considerable 
        prestige and status. The firstborn son, for example, 
        received twice as much in inheritance as any other 
        offspring.

Since Louw and Nida have both influenced a great deal of influence on
modern linguistics, including lexicography, I assume they know how it's
done. You may disagree with their results, just as you may disagree with
certain translations of this passage.

The same holds for grammar - see my response below.

>This is an excellent example of bias as defined above. The words "the
>primacy" definitely contradict lexicon because they cannot be found in any
>lexicon as a rendition for PRWTOTOKOS. 

I had always assumed that Louw and Nida was a lexicon, and a well-respected
one. Regardless, it's just as valid to disagree with a lexicon as it is to
disagree with a translation or a commentary. I disagree with your
methodology if you believe otherwise.

>It is true that Greek genitive may
>have different meanings but anyone defending "the primacy *over*" should be
>able to tell what kind of genitive he views the Greek construction to be
>and give examples of similar genitives with the meaning "over". If this is
>not done, the translation also contradicts grammar and syntax. There can be
>little doubt that the principal reason for the choice of words is a
>promotion of a particular theological view.

Naming genitives does not prove anything, and there are different catalogs
of Greek genitives in different grammars. However, note that the Genitive
is frequently used to denote what a ruler rules over, eg:

Matt 17:25 hOI BASILEIS THS GHS

Whatever name you choose to give this particular use of the genitive, it
does seem to occur in Hellenistic Greek.

>THE CRUCIAL POINT NO ONE: IS JESUS THE CREATOR (DIRECT AGENT OF CREATION)
>OR THE INDIRECT AGENT?

>THE CRUCIAL POINT NO TWO: IS TA PANTA IDENTICAL WITH PASHS KTISEWS?

Your answers to these two questions may affect your translation, and any
answer involves theology. Obviously, each translator may have a different
understanding of how the original recipients may have read this. I think
there is more than one reasonable way to answer these. Obviously, different
translations will reflect this fact. But since lexicons and grammar both
support this as one possible meaning, I can't say I would call it biased
using the definition you gave above.

Jonathan
--
Jonathan Robie
R&D Fellow, Software AG
jonathan.robie AT sagus.com