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    Translation / Transliteration of Words: Greek and Hebrew

    Posted by Christian on April 26, 2009 at 3:23am
    in Torah Studies

    Shalom!

    So I was compiling a list for myself of words that I think should be left untranslated in the Scriptures (it included all place names and person names, all names for God and Yah'shuah and the Ruach, and certain technical terms like Nefesh, Qodesh, Kadosh, Olam, Sheol and so forth) and then I came to the Greek, and even though I am certain the whole Brit Hadashah was originally written in Hebrew, I was still leaning towards transliterating some Greek words as well, but as I progressed, I became very unsure.
    What do you think of leaving any of these words transliterated? (on a side note, their Hebrew transliterated equivalents could be set in their place, which is what I'm leaning towards now):

    Hades / alternatively The Grave with a capital T ?

    Tartarus

    Psuchen / Soul (Nefesh)

    Aion, Aionion, Aionion and variants, since it is supposed to carry the sense of olam, which has both a meaning of time and space.

    And obviously the Hebrew name of Yah'shuah or Yahushuah (or some acceptable variant) should be used as well as HaMashiach instead of Ho Christos.

    What's your opinion?


    Hebrew, to stay on track with the Torah so it lines up, and secondly this is what I feel is the one pure language we will be returned to in the Olam Haba, and will perhaps be teaching it, so let us do it all now, and get on track. YAH obviously spoke the paleo Hebrew with Moshe and Avraham and Yeshua with His disciples....
    Ahava in Yeshua, Rivkah

    Having had lots of discussions with different Messianics I do wonder if we will ever come to unity before Yah'shua returns. I am also sceptical of "one and only languages" like I am of "one and only true churches" and "one and only true translations" because EVERY language is corrupt, including Hebrew. Man has a way of tainting everything. I definitely agree we need to know what we can of Hebrew and make that language our primary study but until (or even if) it becomes the lingua franca of the Millennium, we need to work with our own languages and the current linga franca that is English (who knows, that may turn to Mandarin within the next decade or two).

    We know a lot about ancient Hebrew but clearly much has been lost. And Hebrew has steadily incorporated loan words from other languages, including Greek, even before the time of Yah'shua (e.g. Adonis/Adonai, which to my way of thinking is no better or worse than 'God' or 'Jehovah'). It's the same with "messianic" or "Jewish" music, which is a misnomer - most of this kind of music traces its roots to either Spain or Eastern Europe. Nothing is static in this world. Only Elohim is "the same yesterday, today and ever" and that spiritual language of communication in the Ruach which knows no words, and which can barely be expressed except as groans.

    We have evolved a vocabulary of sorts here at ME over the years. We take a 'middle approach' when compared against other messianics. Our first order of business is commnicating the gospel to the world in ITS language - I have watched simple people get turned off by an excessive use of Hebrew which then becomes a stumbling block instead of something to free them. Hebrew is for those who are grounded or getting grounded in the basics. I want to be able to communicate using vocabulary that those who speak English can understand. So that (for examples) Bibles like the RSTNE and OJB, which contain a ton of Hebrew, are fantastic as study Bibles but are useless in witnessing (except to Jews or those who already know Hebrew ... the OJB was designed especially for Orthodox Jews and does a magnificent job, in that respect). However, I think it is good early on to acclimatise new converts to a BASIC LIST which is perhaps what you had in mind. In which case, I think that is worthwhile.

    First of all, the divine Names:

    1. YHWH, Yahweh, Yahuweh
    2. Yah'shua, Yahushua, Yeshua, Y'shua, Yehoshua

    Spirit/Ruach is probably less important, though I think 'Ghost' conveys all the wrong ideas. haMashiach is a bit of a mouthful for most newbies - we started with that but then went back to the better known Messiah.

    Then come the terms which are apt of be misunderstood like soul, being, nefesh, etc..

    Difficult areas: we decided to stick with 'cross' rather than 'execution state' or 'torture stake' because over the centuries the word 'cross' has come to be associated not so much with the instrument of execution but with the whole theology of salvation. But isn't 'cross' (crux) from the Latin Church? And shouldn't we avoid it? Yes, but so what? 'Stake' reminds me of Jehovah's Witnesses by the same reverse token. We will never be 100% satisfied with language.

    Other things that bother me with 'going too far' with the language thing is that you can easily create an exclusivist, élitist and cultic attitude. People become offenders for a word what Yah'shua wants us to primarily focus on the heart.

    Hell, Tartarus, Gehenna, Hades, Sheol - difficult. So many theologies attach to these words in the popular mind. 'Christ' does not bother me - it's a part of our English language. Even 'Jesus' doesn't bother me that much - it's usually the only way we can communicate with the unconverted. And who uses 'Ho Christos' anyway? I certainly don't mind the Greeks using it. I think there is much of value to be gained from Greek study.

    Aeon is an important one, just like the different words for 'love' (where I think the Greek can be helpful too - I still use agapé alongside chesed). Psyche (our English equivalent of Psuche) I find useful, it is better understood than nefesh. Then in Hebrew people are not agreed about the neshamah/ruach distinctions - there's a whole occultic kabbalistic doctrine around them which I believe is spurrious.

    Holy, set-apart, qodesh (as you pointed out), important.

    Echad (uniplural) & Yachid (singular) - vital.

    Personally I like Bible translations that amplify (like the Amplified Version, OJB, CJB - RSTNE is a pain because you have to keep looking stuff up in an index) and have copious footnotes.

    Well, and yes, I agree, and it is each individuals walk with YHWH, based on how they fellowship with Him, and what He has laid upon thier hearts, and we are all on different legs in our walk with Him as well. So, a variety is good, giving examples, all in all, if you will.
    Ahava in Yeshua,
    Rivkah

    I think its important to add: the translation "unclean spirits" of Shadim is totally wrong, since it uses the same word as Spirit - Ruach, this mistranslation has actually had an impact on the theology and doctrines of many regarding the nature of spirit(s) and the "spirit realm".
    So they are both invisible - that is the only resemblance whatsoever.

    Lev said:
    "Psyche (our English equivalent of Psuche) I find useful, it is better understood than nefesh. Then in Hebrew people are not agreed about the neshamah/ruach distinctions"

    I think Paul's choice of Psyche as the translation of Nefesh can be a very helpful guide in determining the nature of Nefesh - but whatever we discover about the nuances of meaning in "Psuchen", it must not however contradict any specific aspect of what the Torah or Tanakh says about Nefesh.

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