I’ve had a number of people ask my opinion of Alter’s new translation. I haven’t read it. I also had several people send me the recent Wall Street Journal review by Blaire French. (Thanks to all of them!) I’ve reproduced it below. It’s a...
Translation
Review of Passion Translation of Song of Songs (Solomon): “Truly Awful”
The first few sentences of this review of the Song of Songs (aka, the Song of Solomon) in the Passion Translation (the one that is enthusiastically promoted by NAR apostles) says it all: This translation of the Song of Songs is truly awful. As a professor of biblical...
New Online Hebrew Transliteration Tool
I sometimes get email asking about transliteration (and pronunciation) of Hebrew words. Transliteration can help folks who want to try and pronounce Hebrew. This new online tool allows you to paste in Hebrew text and get an instant transliteration (an accurate one,...
Not Good News: The New NAR “Passion Translation” of the Bible
This just popped into my In box. I apologize for being so behind the curve on this but, as I noted on my “About” page, I don’t follow the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) nor do I think its distinctive teachings are scriptural. But lots of movements...
Article on Rethinking Biblical Language Instruction by Naked Bible Podcast Guests Just Published
Last November I interviewed Dr. Carl Sanders and Dr. Thomas Hudgins about their controversial paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. The paper argues that major shifts in thinking about how biblical languages are taught and what...
Get the Hebrew Bible on Kindle
Hat tip to Todd Bolen at the Bible Places blog for this post. If you have a Kindle and are into biblical Hebrew, you’ll no doubt be interested.
Is the Virgin Birth Based on a Mistranslation?
That’s the subject of the most recent podcast episode of Mark Goodacre’s NT Pod. As Naked Bible readers may know, my own answer is no. Professor Goodacre (Duke University) agrees. Have a listen!
Lexham English Bible Old Testament Now Available
Some readers know that my employer, Logos Bible Software, has been working on a new translation of the Bible for some time. The New Testament of the LEB (Lexham English Bible) has been available since 2010. Logos announced today that the LEB-OT is now available for...
There's a Lot to Think About When Translating Genesis 1:1-3
Way back in September of 2010 I had posted a lecture I gave at church where I attempted to explain the real issue involved in translating Genesis 1:1-3. Rather than meanings of words like bara’, the real issue is the relationship of the clauses (and the nature...
Which Bible Translation? A Few Thoughts
I frequently get asked about what Bible translation I recommend. In fact, I get asked so frequently that I thought I’d briefly post on it. The first thing I usually say is that the best Bible translation is the one you’ll read faithfully. I am far more...
SBL and Logos Bible Software’s New Edition of the Greek New Testament
Well, the cat’s out of the bag now, so I can blog this. Logos Bible Software (my employer) and the Society of Biblical Literature have announced the release (next month at the SBL conference) of a new edition of the Greek NT. (Free print copies will be handed...
For “KJV Only” Wrangling
The Evangelical Textual Criticism blog posted a link to this article by Dan Wallace today. It’s a nice short piece where Dan takes on the “KJV only” position. If you’re not familiar with this, please don’t read it. I’d feel guilty...
A New Blog Taking on at Least One Point of PaleoBabble
I discovered this morning that there is a new blog online that takes on the “King James Only” nonsense). For those of you who don’t know what that is, the KJV-only idea is that the KJV itself is the result of a 17th century act of divine...
Interesting Post(s) on Red Letter Bibles
From the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog . Editor's note: content from link above is reproduced below, with broken links removed,From Evangelical Textual Criticism: Chaplin on Red Letter Bibles, originally posted on Sept. 10, 2009. Chaplin on Red Letter Bibles...
1 Samuel 13:1 – The Matter of Missing Words in the Bible
1 Samuel 13:1 is sort of a classic OT textual criticism problem. The United Bible Society’s Handbook for Translators of 1 Samuel describes the problem this way:[1. Omanson, R. L., & Ellington, J. (2001). A handbook on the first book of Samuel. UBS handbook...