Scripture Engagement

Any translation goes through several stages before it is published: Drafting Team check Exegetical check Test & Review Lastly a consultant meets with the team and discusses any translation issues, making suggestion for changes before it is published. I'm now going to unpack why each stage is needed and what happens during each stage. Draft: the translator studies the passage, preferably in the original language, but if not, s/he compares several different versions in several different languages, and makes an oral draft (or sometimes they listen to several different audio versions instead). They do this by closing all their books, if they have any open, then speaking the passage into a recording device (like a smartphone). At least 2-3 verses are drafted at a time, then the translator listens to their recording, and checks they haven't left anything out. They might then keyboard it into their computer, using a program called ' Paratext '. Why do we dr...

Here, just for fun, are some idioms containing the phrase 'son of' in Hebrew: בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים   – ‘sons of the god(s)’ (Gen 6:2) i.e. heavenly beings  cf  Psa 29:1 וְנֹחַ בֶּן־שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה   – ‘Noah was son of six hundred years’ (Gen 7:6) i.e. he was six hundred years old בְנֵי־קֶדֶם   –  ‘sons of the East’ (Gen 29:1) i.e. eastern peoples אֶת־בֶּן הַבָּקָר  – ‘son of the herd’   (Lev 1:5) i.e. one [animal] of the herd וּבְנֵי בְלִיַּעַל   –  ‘son of worthlessness’ (1Sa 10:27; 1Ki 21:10, 13  cf  Dan 11:14) i.e. troublemakers, scoundrels הָאָדָם   בְּנֵי   –  ‘sons of man’ (1Sa 26:19) i.e. men, humans לִבְנֵי־חַיִל   – ‘sons of strength’ (2Sa 2:7; 13:28; 17:10…) i.e. brave בְנֵֽי־עַוְלָ֖ה   – ‘sons of injustice’ (2Sa 3:34; 7:10  cf  Hos 10:9) i.e. criminals בֶן־מָוֶת  – ‘son of death’ (2Sa 12:5) – i.e. someone who deserves to die אֶחָד מִבְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים –...