Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jim West <jwest AT highland.net>]

At 04:38 PM 9/20/99 -0400, you wrote:

>I recently purchased a new English translation of the OT, published by
>Living Stream Ministry in Anaheim, CA.  I have owned their NT for some
>years, and have not been too favorably impressed with it.  I know enough
>Greek to be somewhat critical ( in the healthy sense ), but  I know
>nothing at all of Hebrew.  On a video they supplied, the following few
>comments about their OT were made, and I wonder what you might have to
>say about them:
>
>   1.  They primarily used the Leningrad Codex.  Does this seem OK to
>you?

Primarily???  What do they mean by that.  And regarding the Leningrad Codex-
it is the basis of BHS and the old BHK.  If their text is primarily based on
Leningrad- what else is it based on?

>
>   2.  They used the Dead Sea Scrolls for Isaiah 14:4.  Same question as
>above.

Well if you get any critical text, like BHS, they will include a textual
note regarding different readings in the same way that Nestle-Aland does in
the NT.  I suppose what they are saying is that they make use of the Qumran
materials.  Thats fine.  But the Qumran readings are not always superior.

>
>   3.  They translate Ps. 104:16 as: "The trees of Jehovah are full of
>sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted..."  Does this seem like an
>acceptable                                    translation?

If they use "Jehovah" they are perpetuating a misunderstand of the Hebrew
text which was begun in the middle ages.  God's name is Yahweh.  Otherwise
the rendering is ok.

>
>   4.  They translate YHWH as Jehovah throughout (" Jehovah is my
>shepherd...", for example, for Ps.23 ).  Acceptable?

Not so far as I am concerned.  Have you taken a look at the Revised English
Bible?  Now IT is BRILLIANT!

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
email- jwest AT highland.net
web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest