Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 12/11/2005 13:38, Rolf Furuli wrote:

> ... Word meanings exist in the minds of living people and not in
> lexicons!
>  

Normally, yes.

> ... Translators of
> literal translations try to use one English word per Hebrew word, and
> therefore they force upon the readers English connotations and nuances that
> are connected with the English words but were absent from Hebrew. ...

In other words, they force upon their readers meanings which do not 
exist in the minds of any living people, in contradiction to what you 
wrote above, but are supposed to have existed in the minds of dead 
ancient Hebrews. That is, NLT and similar translations breach the normal 
rules of the target language and of meaning and semantics. No wonder 
that they are comprehensible only to those who have effectively studied 
biblical Hebrew themselves.

> ...
>
> As for (WLM, I see two possible choices in English that can convey the core
> of the concept, namely "concealed time" and "time indefinite".  On the basis 
> of my arguments above I would
> prefer the latter. To disagree with this choice is your privilege, but it is
> unfair to criticize literal translations on the basis of the methods and
> goals of idiomatic translations (i.e., smooth renderings where the meaning
> of the source language is rendered with good idiomatic expressions in the
> target language). ...

So, it is unfair to criticise NLT for being meaningless or miselading 
because it is deliberately so?

> ...
>
> NWT has the following rendering in Deuteronomy 15:17, ... The reference of 
> (WLM
> in the case of the freed slave could be one hour, one day, or forty years,
>
>  
Now you seem to be trying to reinterpret (WLM to mean "for an uncertain 
time". But that is not what it means, it means "for ever", or at least 
"for life" i.e. there will be no end to this person's slavery.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/