Most people know that God's word was originally written in Hebrew and Greek,
with some Aramaic found in portions of the Old Testament (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26;
Dan. 4:7-28; Jer. 10:11) An Aramaic expression is found in Gen. 31:47. Aramaic
also appears in the N.T. The names Bar-Jonah, Bartholomew, and Barnabas reflect
Aramaic. "Gethsemane" (Mat. 26:36; Mk. 14:32), "Golgotha" (Mk. 15:22), "Cephas"
(Jno. 1:42; 1 Cor. 1:12), "Talitha Cumi" (Mk. 5:41), "Ephphatha" (Mk. 7:34), "Eli
Eli lema sabachthani" (Mat. 27:46; Mk. 15:34), "Rabboni" (Jno. 20:16),
"Maranatha" (1 Cor. 16:22), and "Akeldama" (Acts 1:19) all reflect Aramaic usage
in the N.T. In some ways Aramaic served as a transition from Hebrew to Greek as
the language spoken by Jews in Jesus' day.
The Septuagint (LXX) is the oldest known Greek translation of the Hebrew
scriptures. The history of the Septuagint is recorded in the "letter of Aristeas" and
reported more or less fully by the Alexandrian writers Aristobulus, Philo, and
Josephus. The earliest writer to give an account of the Septuagint is Aristobulus, a
Jew who lived at the beginning of the second century B.C. He says the version of
the Law into Greek was completed under the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. The
Septuagint had been commenced prior to 285 B.C. According to legend, seventy
two Jewish translators had been employed to translate, and this was done in seventy-
two days. The Pentateuch is considered to be the best executed part, while the
books of the prophets seem to be the worst. The unequal character of the version
shows that a variety of translators was employed.
The first of the Greek versions of the Old Testament executed in the second
century was that of Aquila, a Jewish proselyte of Pontus. The date commonly
attributed to his version is about the year 126 A.D. His labor is evidently directed
in opposing the passages that Christians were accustomed to cite from the Septuagint
as applicable to the Lord Jesus. His version is noted for its literalness. Symmachus
was another Greek translator at a subsequent period in the second century. His
version seems to have been executed in good pure Greek. A third translator in the
second century A.D. was Theodotion, an Ebionite like Symmachus. Origen, the great
scholar of the third century A.D. is noted for his Hexapla ( a book containing six
columns). Two other early attempts were made to revise the Septuagint besides
Origen. In the beginning of the fourth century, Lucian, a presbyter of Antioch, and
Hesychius, an Egyptian bishop.
The Greek speaking authors of the N.T. sometimes quoted from the Septuagint
instead of the Hebrew text. There are approximately 350 quotes from the Septuagint
in the N.T. The oldest complete manuscripts of the Septuagint in existence are the
Codex Vaticanus (fourth century) and the Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century).
Significant papyri include those of the Chester Beatty collection (second to fourth
centuries), Papyrus Greek 458 of the John Rylands Library (second century), and
the Berlin Fragments of Genesis (third century).
The Old Latin Versions were based on the Septuagint as early as the second century
A.D. In North Africa and Southern Gaul, Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus) translated the
entire Old Testament on the basis of the Hebrew text. It is named the Vulgate because
it reflects the vernacular of the common people.
Parts of the New Testament were translated into Syriac during the second century
A.D. The most important of the Syriac versions of both the Old and New Testaments
is the Peshitta, the simple or plain version. The New Testament Peshitta, fourth century,
is a revision of the Old Syriac following the Greek text. Other important translations
include the Coptic Version (third to fourth centuries), Gothic (fourth century), Ethiopic
(fourth century), Armenian (fifth century), and Arabic (tenth century).
The first Bible translated from the original languages into a modern European
vernacular was that of Martin Luther (1522). P.R. Olivetan published the first French
Protestant version in 1535 at Serrieres in Switzerland. The first to represent the
chapters and verse division is credited to R. Stephanus (or Estienne) in 1553. The
first English translation of the entire Bible was that of John Wyclif in 1380 to 1382.
It was based on the Latin text. William Tyndale's work represents the first printed
English New Testament in 1525 and revised in 1534, and it was the first translation
from Greek to English. Tyndale was martyred in 1536 at Antwerp. His translation
had a great impact on later work. Nearly eighty percent of the King james Version
can be traced to Tyndale. Miles Coverdale "revised" Tyndale's translation in 1535.
Coverdale produced the first complete English version in print. T. Matthews issued
a compilation of Tyndale and Coverdale's work with minor alterations in 1537. A
revision by Coverdale using the Vulgate, Erasmus' translation, and Muster's literal
Latin translation of the Hebrew was issued, and is variously called Cronwell's Bible,
Cranmer's Bible, and the Great Bible.
The Rheims-Douay version for the Roman Catholics was published in 1609-1610.
King James I of England encouraged by the Puritan J. Reynolds, commissioned a new
translation of the Bible based on the original Hebrew and Greek. Fifty four scholars,
though forty seven names are recorded, from Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge
organized six teams, produced the basic translation, and it was then revised by twelve
representative translators. In commissioning a new translation to be made, King James
I of England gave the instructions to the translators and said, "The Bishops' Bible is
to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit...The old ecclesiastical
words to be kept, as the word church is not to be translated congregation..." (Revised
New Testament and History of Revision, pages 43ff) The King James Version as
printed today differs in many respects from the original as published in 1611. Changes
in spelling, punctuation, and the use of italics began to be made as successive editions
appeared. Completed in 1611, the work was at first sharply criticized and numerous
revisions were issued from 1612 to 1769. Revisions of the King James began as early
as 1612, 1613, 1616, 1638, 1659, 1660, 1683, 1727, 1762, and 1769.
RD
Copyright 2011
with some Aramaic found in portions of the Old Testament (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26;
Dan. 4:7-28; Jer. 10:11) An Aramaic expression is found in Gen. 31:47. Aramaic
also appears in the N.T. The names Bar-Jonah, Bartholomew, and Barnabas reflect
Aramaic. "Gethsemane" (Mat. 26:36; Mk. 14:32), "Golgotha" (Mk. 15:22), "Cephas"
(Jno. 1:42; 1 Cor. 1:12), "Talitha Cumi" (Mk. 5:41), "Ephphatha" (Mk. 7:34), "Eli
Eli lema sabachthani" (Mat. 27:46; Mk. 15:34), "Rabboni" (Jno. 20:16),
"Maranatha" (1 Cor. 16:22), and "Akeldama" (Acts 1:19) all reflect Aramaic usage
in the N.T. In some ways Aramaic served as a transition from Hebrew to Greek as
the language spoken by Jews in Jesus' day.
The Septuagint (LXX) is the oldest known Greek translation of the Hebrew
scriptures. The history of the Septuagint is recorded in the "letter of Aristeas" and
reported more or less fully by the Alexandrian writers Aristobulus, Philo, and
Josephus. The earliest writer to give an account of the Septuagint is Aristobulus, a
Jew who lived at the beginning of the second century B.C. He says the version of
the Law into Greek was completed under the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. The
Septuagint had been commenced prior to 285 B.C. According to legend, seventy
two Jewish translators had been employed to translate, and this was done in seventy-
two days. The Pentateuch is considered to be the best executed part, while the
books of the prophets seem to be the worst. The unequal character of the version
shows that a variety of translators was employed.
The first of the Greek versions of the Old Testament executed in the second
century was that of Aquila, a Jewish proselyte of Pontus. The date commonly
attributed to his version is about the year 126 A.D. His labor is evidently directed
in opposing the passages that Christians were accustomed to cite from the Septuagint
as applicable to the Lord Jesus. His version is noted for its literalness. Symmachus
was another Greek translator at a subsequent period in the second century. His
version seems to have been executed in good pure Greek. A third translator in the
second century A.D. was Theodotion, an Ebionite like Symmachus. Origen, the great
scholar of the third century A.D. is noted for his Hexapla ( a book containing six
columns). Two other early attempts were made to revise the Septuagint besides
Origen. In the beginning of the fourth century, Lucian, a presbyter of Antioch, and
Hesychius, an Egyptian bishop.
The Greek speaking authors of the N.T. sometimes quoted from the Septuagint
instead of the Hebrew text. There are approximately 350 quotes from the Septuagint
in the N.T. The oldest complete manuscripts of the Septuagint in existence are the
Codex Vaticanus (fourth century) and the Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century).
Significant papyri include those of the Chester Beatty collection (second to fourth
centuries), Papyrus Greek 458 of the John Rylands Library (second century), and
the Berlin Fragments of Genesis (third century).
The Old Latin Versions were based on the Septuagint as early as the second century
A.D. In North Africa and Southern Gaul, Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus) translated the
entire Old Testament on the basis of the Hebrew text. It is named the Vulgate because
it reflects the vernacular of the common people.
Parts of the New Testament were translated into Syriac during the second century
A.D. The most important of the Syriac versions of both the Old and New Testaments
is the Peshitta, the simple or plain version. The New Testament Peshitta, fourth century,
is a revision of the Old Syriac following the Greek text. Other important translations
include the Coptic Version (third to fourth centuries), Gothic (fourth century), Ethiopic
(fourth century), Armenian (fifth century), and Arabic (tenth century).
The first Bible translated from the original languages into a modern European
vernacular was that of Martin Luther (1522). P.R. Olivetan published the first French
Protestant version in 1535 at Serrieres in Switzerland. The first to represent the
chapters and verse division is credited to R. Stephanus (or Estienne) in 1553. The
first English translation of the entire Bible was that of John Wyclif in 1380 to 1382.
It was based on the Latin text. William Tyndale's work represents the first printed
English New Testament in 1525 and revised in 1534, and it was the first translation
from Greek to English. Tyndale was martyred in 1536 at Antwerp. His translation
had a great impact on later work. Nearly eighty percent of the King james Version
can be traced to Tyndale. Miles Coverdale "revised" Tyndale's translation in 1535.
Coverdale produced the first complete English version in print. T. Matthews issued
a compilation of Tyndale and Coverdale's work with minor alterations in 1537. A
revision by Coverdale using the Vulgate, Erasmus' translation, and Muster's literal
Latin translation of the Hebrew was issued, and is variously called Cronwell's Bible,
Cranmer's Bible, and the Great Bible.
The Rheims-Douay version for the Roman Catholics was published in 1609-1610.
King James I of England encouraged by the Puritan J. Reynolds, commissioned a new
translation of the Bible based on the original Hebrew and Greek. Fifty four scholars,
though forty seven names are recorded, from Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge
organized six teams, produced the basic translation, and it was then revised by twelve
representative translators. In commissioning a new translation to be made, King James
I of England gave the instructions to the translators and said, "The Bishops' Bible is
to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit...The old ecclesiastical
words to be kept, as the word church is not to be translated congregation..." (Revised
New Testament and History of Revision, pages 43ff) The King James Version as
printed today differs in many respects from the original as published in 1611. Changes
in spelling, punctuation, and the use of italics began to be made as successive editions
appeared. Completed in 1611, the work was at first sharply criticized and numerous
revisions were issued from 1612 to 1769. Revisions of the King James began as early
as 1612, 1613, 1616, 1638, 1659, 1660, 1683, 1727, 1762, and 1769.
RD
Copyright 2011
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