Most people are unaware that the translators of the first English Bibles guessed what many of the Greek words meant. They had to guess, for the first English Bibles were translated at a time when scholars didn’t know the language they were translating ever even existed.
Talk about a total information vacuum. And since the scholars didn’t know the biblical language, they had to guess the meanings of many important words. Of course, they took the best guesses they could. But given their complete unawareness of the prior existence of the language itself, their translation was ultimately based on many shot–in-the-dark guesses--nothing more, nothing less.
The discovery of the Koine Greek language caused a large rift to form in biblical scholarship circles. On one side were the scholars who were thrilled at the opportunity to examine the biblical texts afresh, with tons of new information to guide them in discovering teachings that might have been lost for almost two thousand years. On the other side were the traditionalists, who feared the possibility that the new material might show the church had embraced centuries of error because of poorly translated versions of the Bible.
Traditionalists have made every effort to downplay the significance of this monumental discovery, for when the wrongly guessed meanings are replaced with the actual meanings of the words, the Bible shows itself to be an entirely different document. The biblical passages come alive in surprising ways as they reveal the original Christian teachings, teachings which had been buried along with the language for almost two thousand years.
For example, the King James Bible has a rather strange reference to evil fruit. Fruit cannot murder. It is unable to rape. It doesn’t molest children. Fruit cannot be evil. But if we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word, this passage is breathed new life, and it reveals an incredible biblical teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
And consider 1 Corinthians 6:6-9. Modern English translations make it seem that Paul told the Corinthians to not bring lawsuits against each other because the wicked won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Was the bringing of lawsuits really wicked, or did Paul possibly say something else will prevent them from inheriting the kingdom of God, something specifically related to the lawsuits themselves? If we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word, this passage is given new life, and it also reveals another biblical teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
Let’s consider one more verse. According to modern translations Jesus’ disciple John supposedly wrote, “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” In English, the word unrighteousness is itself a synonym for sin. To the modern reader, the passage sounds like John is saying, “All sin is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death”--a very confusing sentence to say the least. However, if we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word the passage takes on new life. And it reveals still another teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
Word after word, sentence after sentence, passage after passage, biblical scholars analyzed the Bible in light of the actual meanings of the Koine Greek words. During the process a large number of lost teachings were unveiled. The Bible has shown itself to be an entirely different document than was previously believed.
Those who are avid readers of modern Bibles are likely going to be unsettled by the sudden shifts in learning that the archaeological discoveries are bringing with them. But for those who are curious to discover the teachings of the original Christian Bible, teachings buried for almost two thousand years, welcome.
(Excerpted from The Jesus Secret, Chapter One)
So Here's The Jesus Secret Time Line:
1) The Bible was written in Koine.
2) Koine became extinct during the Medieval Age.
3) The first translators of the English Bibles didn't even know Koine existed. The only Greek they knew was significantly different from Koine. And they translated the Bible based on a significantly different Greek.
4) Literally tons of Koine papyri have been discovered; given us an almost complete understanding of the Koine vocabulary, grammar and style.
5) No mainstream Bibles have yet to really use the discovered Koine meanings in any significant way.
Let's take dikaios as a case in point. The general Koine usage of the word expressed: justice, equality, human rights. Yet the first translators placed a religious spin on the word, translating it as 'righteousness'.
So what's the big deal? Does it really matter?
Words derived from dikaios appear 193 times in the New Testament. Any spin put on this word would, quite literally, put a particular spin on the entire New Testament.
The general Koine usage of dikaios expressed a person's responsibility to his neighbor. However the translators of the first English Bibles translated the word as an expression of a person's moral relationship to God.
Have 193 instances of treating others equitably been rewritten as 193 instances of moral righteousness to God?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that originally connected back to Jesus' statement, "Treat others the same way you want to be treated (i.e. treat others equitably) for this is the Law"?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that would illuminate why Paul wrote, "love of neighbor fulfills the entire Law"?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that explain why Jesus said that the kingdom will be inherited by:
What do you think?
For some time the Greek language of the New Testament confused many scholars. It was sufficiently different from Classical Greek that some hypothesized that it was a combination of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Others attempted to explain it as a "Holy Ghost language," assuming that perhaps God created a special language just for the Bible. – WikiChristian, entry for Koine Greek (02/02/10)
For centuries scholars had never come across any document that was written in the same type of Greek as the Bible, so they assumed the Bible was written in a special language, a language made specifically and only for the Bible itself. And the first English Bibles were translated by scholars who didn’t know the language they were translating ever even existed.
Talk about a total information vacuum. And since the scholars didn’t know the biblical language, they had to guess the meanings of many important words. Of course, they took the best guesses they could. But given their complete unawareness of the prior existence of the language itself, their translation was ultimately based on many shot–in-the-dark guesses--nothing more, nothing less.
But studies of Greek papyri found in Egypt over the past 120 years have shown that the Greek of the New Testament manuscripts was the "common" (koine) language of the everyday people - the same as that used in the writing of wills and private letters. – WikiChristian, entry for Koine Greek (02/02/10)
But with the dawning of the twentieth century everything was about to change. At the turn of this century archaeologists discovered so many original early Greek manuscripts that the mass of material was measured in the tons when it was shipped to London for analysis. Almost overnight, the world went from having none to literally having tons of original early Greek manuscripts. And it wasn’t long before archaeologists realized one of the biggest historical surprises – these manuscripts were written using the same vocabulary, grammar and style as the Bible itself. Archaeologists discovered the Bible wasn’t written in a special language after all; it was written in the native tongue of the common man. It was written in Koine Greek.
The discovery of the Koine Greek language caused a large rift to form in biblical scholarship circles. On one side were the scholars who were thrilled at the opportunity to examine the biblical texts afresh, with tons of new information to guide them in discovering teachings that might have been lost for almost two thousand years. On the other side were the traditionalists, who feared the possibility that the new material might show the church had embraced centuries of error because of poorly translated versions of the Bible.
Traditionalists have made every effort to downplay the significance of this monumental discovery, for when the wrongly guessed meanings are replaced with the actual meanings of the words, the Bible shows itself to be an entirely different document. The biblical passages come alive in surprising ways as they reveal the original Christian teachings, teachings which had been buried along with the language for almost two thousand years.
For example, the King James Bible has a rather strange reference to evil fruit. Fruit cannot murder. It is unable to rape. It doesn’t molest children. Fruit cannot be evil. But if we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word, this passage is breathed new life, and it reveals an incredible biblical teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
And consider 1 Corinthians 6:6-9. Modern English translations make it seem that Paul told the Corinthians to not bring lawsuits against each other because the wicked won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Was the bringing of lawsuits really wicked, or did Paul possibly say something else will prevent them from inheriting the kingdom of God, something specifically related to the lawsuits themselves? If we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word, this passage is given new life, and it also reveals another biblical teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
Let’s consider one more verse. According to modern translations Jesus’ disciple John supposedly wrote, “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” In English, the word unrighteousness is itself a synonym for sin. To the modern reader, the passage sounds like John is saying, “All sin is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death”--a very confusing sentence to say the least. However, if we restore the common Koine Greek meaning of the word the passage takes on new life. And it reveals still another teaching that had been lost for almost two thousand years.
Word after word, sentence after sentence, passage after passage, biblical scholars analyzed the Bible in light of the actual meanings of the Koine Greek words. During the process a large number of lost teachings were unveiled. The Bible has shown itself to be an entirely different document than was previously believed.
Those who are avid readers of modern Bibles are likely going to be unsettled by the sudden shifts in learning that the archaeological discoveries are bringing with them. But for those who are curious to discover the teachings of the original Christian Bible, teachings buried for almost two thousand years, welcome.
(Excerpted from The Jesus Secret, Chapter One)
So Here's The Jesus Secret Time Line:
1) The Bible was written in Koine.
2) Koine became extinct during the Medieval Age.
3) The first translators of the English Bibles didn't even know Koine existed. The only Greek they knew was significantly different from Koine. And they translated the Bible based on a significantly different Greek.
4) Literally tons of Koine papyri have been discovered; given us an almost complete understanding of the Koine vocabulary, grammar and style.
5) No mainstream Bibles have yet to really use the discovered Koine meanings in any significant way.
Let's take dikaios as a case in point. The general Koine usage of the word expressed: justice, equality, human rights. Yet the first translators placed a religious spin on the word, translating it as 'righteousness'.
So what's the big deal? Does it really matter?
Words derived from dikaios appear 193 times in the New Testament. Any spin put on this word would, quite literally, put a particular spin on the entire New Testament.
The general Koine usage of dikaios expressed a person's responsibility to his neighbor. However the translators of the first English Bibles translated the word as an expression of a person's moral relationship to God.
Have 193 instances of treating others equitably been rewritten as 193 instances of moral righteousness to God?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that originally connected back to Jesus' statement, "Treat others the same way you want to be treated (i.e. treat others equitably) for this is the Law"?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that would illuminate why Paul wrote, "love of neighbor fulfills the entire Law"?
Have we disconnected 193 instances that explain why Jesus said that the kingdom will be inherited by:
those who feed the poor (i.e. those who promote justice),
those who share their clothes with the naked (i.e. those who treat others equitably)
those who shelter the homeless (i.e. those who promote human rights).
Is is possible that modern translations of the Bible need a very serious, one fell swoop overhaul in order for them to truly express the teachings of the original Koine Greek Bible? Is it possible that such an overhauled translation would explain the doctrinal differences between modern Christian denominations and those of the Christians of the pre-Nicene Age?those who share their clothes with the naked (i.e. those who treat others equitably)
those who shelter the homeless (i.e. those who promote human rights).
What do you think?
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