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Question #29 -
QUESTION:
Can a translation be inspired?
ANSWER:
Yes, God has inspired several.
EXPLANATION: In the
Book of Genesis, chapters 42-45, we have the record of Joseph's
reunion with his brethren. That Joseph spoke Egyptian instead of
Hebrew is evident by Genesis 42:23.
"And they knew not that Joseph
understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter."
It is, of course, an accepted fact that no
translation can be "word perfect". Therefore we know
that the Hebrew translation of Joseph's Egyptian
statements as found in the Old Testament manuscripts cannot be an
exact word for word copy. We are left with quite a dilemma. WHOM
did God inspire? Did He inspire Joseph's Egyptian statements, the
Egyptian interpreter's verbal translation, or Moses' written
translation as found in the Hebrew of the Old Testament?
If God inspired Joseph, was his
"original" statement marred by his Egyptian interpreter,
or by Moses' translation? Or did God inspire Moses to pen an
"inspired translation" which would fly in the face of
many Fundamentalist's charges of "progressive
inspiration?"
This same question arises in Exodus chapters
4-14 in Moses' contest with Pharaoh. Moses, though speaking for God
to an Egyptian king in the king's native Egyptian tongue,
translates both his and Pharaoh's statements into
Hebrew when he records the account in writing. Which did God
inspire? The verbal statement made in Egyptian, a copy of which NO
ONE ON EARTH HAS? Or did He inspire Moses' Hebrew translation?
The problem of inspired translations refuses to
go away.
In Acts 22 Paul speaks to his Jewish tormentors
in the Hebrew language (Acts 21:40, 22:2). The testimony found in
verses 1 through 21 is all given orally in Hebrew. Yet there is NO
manuscript extant of Acts 22 which records Paul's
statement in Hebrew. Luke wrote it all out in Greek. Which did God
inspire? Paul's verbal statement or Luke's "progressive
inspiration"?
The answer is simple and is found in II Timothy
3:16.
"All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness."
The word "scripture" by its very
root, "script" is a term for written words.
Therefore, we can rest assured that the various translations
(there are more than the few I have pointed out)
we have in our Bible are the inspired words of
God. If a fundamentalist chooses not to believe in inspired
translations, he will have to do it contrary to
the Bible practice.
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