The Bible Translator: Volume 24, Issue 1

Discusses some of the problems of Bible translation in light of the selection and ordering of material in order to articulate a sensible communication. The unit of translation and understanding is posited as the pericope level. It is maintained that the pericope has a unity and advances an idea in a particular way. Examples are provided through two passages, Luke 9:57–62, a dialogue style discourse, and Romans 5:12–21, an expository discourse, of the way of subdividing pericopes and analyzing them, in order to come at the meaning of a passage. View Less

A discussion of some of the translation problems of the new Spanish translation of the Bible. Examples are provided of problems encountered with vocabulary, subjective viewpoints, topographical name and rhythm. View Less

The issue the author poses is how to carry into receptor languages the precise meaning of Greek imperatives. The problem arises in observing aorist imperatives in the text where one might expect present forms. Examining ten passages in the NT the author observes the aspect of the verbal form as the basic procedure for translating apparently untranslatable distinctions in aspect. View Less

Based upon De doctrina christiana and De magistro, examines Augustine’s idea of language. Centers upon Augustine’s theory of sign, where sign is distinguished from the thing signified, and words are understood to be signs. The procedure involved in interpreting the Bible is outlined as: fear of God, knowledge of the original languages and customs of the writers, dependence upon the divine illumination. Words are important in this procedure for if words are properly dealt with the clarity of sense will follow. Augustine himself does not write much concerning translation theory for his basic concern is exegesis. View Less

English punctuation in the 16th and 17th cent. presents puzzles for us today. Examination of early copies of the English Bible turns up what appear to be deliberate attempts to create ambiguity through the use of punctuation. By comparing several examples of such instances with 18th cent. revisions where the punctuation was more logically ordered, the author concludes that 17th cent. punctuation was designed to allow trained minds freedom to maneuver. View Less