When reading the Bible have you ever wondered what it means? How are you supposed to study the Bible? I have heard people say the King James Version of the Bible is the only truly inspired translation, but when if go to the store I can easily find about two dozen versions to choose from. Which version should I choose? Did I choose the right one? My brother and I were talking about the Bible and conversation turned to which version he should read. He still had the Bible he received for confirmation, but did not read it because he did not connect with it. To help him with this I had him go online to BibleGateway.com and read a passage from the many translations that are available. This got me to examine my Bible study time.
Since I have several translations on my bookshelf I decided to turn my attention to how I was going to study the bible. In “The New Oxford Annotated Bible” five different approaches are given to studying the Bible. They are literary criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism, transmission (or tradition history), and summary (NOAB, 1977, Pages. 1519-1522).
When taking in to account literary criticism one needs to look at sentence structure, the words that are used, the way that is was phrased, as well as the different genres that could be at work in determining the meaning of a passage. Literary criticism can be problematic in that “it failed to take seriously the oral traditions that lay behind the final written form of a biblical book, nor did it adequately examine questions of the origin or life-setting of the individual units within a book.”(NOAB, 1977, Page 1519) Form criticism puts the text into context looking at where the event took place and the customs of the time. Redaction criticism is concerned with looking at what the author used to create the text by analyzing the information used. Transmission or Tradition History looks at how the stories were handed down from one generation to another and how it might possibly have changed due to each generation’s culture and settings. I find it important to look at each of the previous criticisms when studying the Bible. Not only is it important to look at the way the text is written, but you need to place the text into context and understand what the author was thinking and how the author came to write what they did. You also need to know more about how that information was originally gathered and passed from one generation to another, especially in the case of the Bible where much of the Old Testament was passed orally for several generations. This is why I find summary the form of criticism I prefer. When reading a passage I will not just read one particular translation of the Bible, instead I will consult at least three or more. For purposes of study I my favorite translations are the New International Version (NIV), the New Century Version (NCV), and The New Living Translation (NLT). I prefer these translations because they are the most familiar to me. I also will read one or more commentaries and sometimes I will look at an exegesis.
I look at as much information about a passage as possible because I know how difficult is can be to translate from one language to another, even one dialect of a language to another. My high school French final was to watch a movie in Spanish and then present an oral report in French. In the process of doing this I listened for Spanish words that sounded like French ones that I knew. I took those words and put them in English so I would understand the concept and then I translated the concept into French for the report. Because of the feedback that I received from my teacher I knew where I had hit the mark and where I had missed it completely. A similar process was likely taken to translate the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts in to our current translations of the Bible. This in itself had to make translating the Bible difficult. Add to this the different nuances of the different languages and it becomes even more difficult. Many of those who wrote the early translations meet with opposition and even death as was the case for William Tyndale. Tyndale met came up against strong opinions and views from church leaders of his time. Even today changing someone opinions and views on a subject can be very difficult and in some cases deadly. God never said follow me and it will always be easy, rather He wants us to be obedient.
To be obedient one must study the Word of God. By reading and studying the various translations of the Bible and Bible commentaries I have come to a better understanding of what the words mean and how they tie together. When studying the Bible use the techniques that are most comfortable to you. Some learn better by digging deep while others find it best to learn by studying with others. I do not agree that the King James Version is only translation that one should read. If I am reading the Bible simply to read it I like the Message. If I am studying I choose to use the NIV, NCV, and NLT translations. These translations work for me because I am comfortable with them, not everyone is and they choose other translations. As long as I am alive I will wonder if I got the right things out of my study time. It is the questions that come from wondering that help me dig deeper and get more out of the Bible. Rereading the Bible is like watching the same movie several time, you get more meaning from it each time.
Since I have several translations on my bookshelf I decided to turn my attention to how I was going to study the bible. In “The New Oxford Annotated Bible” five different approaches are given to studying the Bible. They are literary criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism, transmission (or tradition history), and summary (NOAB, 1977, Pages. 1519-1522).
When taking in to account literary criticism one needs to look at sentence structure, the words that are used, the way that is was phrased, as well as the different genres that could be at work in determining the meaning of a passage. Literary criticism can be problematic in that “it failed to take seriously the oral traditions that lay behind the final written form of a biblical book, nor did it adequately examine questions of the origin or life-setting of the individual units within a book.”(NOAB, 1977, Page 1519) Form criticism puts the text into context looking at where the event took place and the customs of the time. Redaction criticism is concerned with looking at what the author used to create the text by analyzing the information used. Transmission or Tradition History looks at how the stories were handed down from one generation to another and how it might possibly have changed due to each generation’s culture and settings. I find it important to look at each of the previous criticisms when studying the Bible. Not only is it important to look at the way the text is written, but you need to place the text into context and understand what the author was thinking and how the author came to write what they did. You also need to know more about how that information was originally gathered and passed from one generation to another, especially in the case of the Bible where much of the Old Testament was passed orally for several generations. This is why I find summary the form of criticism I prefer. When reading a passage I will not just read one particular translation of the Bible, instead I will consult at least three or more. For purposes of study I my favorite translations are the New International Version (NIV), the New Century Version (NCV), and The New Living Translation (NLT). I prefer these translations because they are the most familiar to me. I also will read one or more commentaries and sometimes I will look at an exegesis.
I look at as much information about a passage as possible because I know how difficult is can be to translate from one language to another, even one dialect of a language to another. My high school French final was to watch a movie in Spanish and then present an oral report in French. In the process of doing this I listened for Spanish words that sounded like French ones that I knew. I took those words and put them in English so I would understand the concept and then I translated the concept into French for the report. Because of the feedback that I received from my teacher I knew where I had hit the mark and where I had missed it completely. A similar process was likely taken to translate the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts in to our current translations of the Bible. This in itself had to make translating the Bible difficult. Add to this the different nuances of the different languages and it becomes even more difficult. Many of those who wrote the early translations meet with opposition and even death as was the case for William Tyndale. Tyndale met came up against strong opinions and views from church leaders of his time. Even today changing someone opinions and views on a subject can be very difficult and in some cases deadly. God never said follow me and it will always be easy, rather He wants us to be obedient.
To be obedient one must study the Word of God. By reading and studying the various translations of the Bible and Bible commentaries I have come to a better understanding of what the words mean and how they tie together. When studying the Bible use the techniques that are most comfortable to you. Some learn better by digging deep while others find it best to learn by studying with others. I do not agree that the King James Version is only translation that one should read. If I am reading the Bible simply to read it I like the Message. If I am studying I choose to use the NIV, NCV, and NLT translations. These translations work for me because I am comfortable with them, not everyone is and they choose other translations. As long as I am alive I will wonder if I got the right things out of my study time. It is the questions that come from wondering that help me dig deeper and get more out of the Bible. Rereading the Bible is like watching the same movie several time, you get more meaning from it each time.
1 comment:
Thank you for your writing on this subject. :)
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