Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Exegesis

Tom Schreiner’s Top Three Commentaries on Each of Paul’s Letters

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Thomas R. Schreiner, “Select Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles,” in Interpreting the Pauline Epistles (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011), 163–66 (numbering added).

Here I list not necessarily the most scholarly commentaries but what I consider to be the three best for students, teachers, and pastors.

Romans

  • C. E. B. Cranfield. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. 2 vols. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1975–79.
  • Douglas J. Moo. The Epistle to the Romans. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
  • Thomas R. Schreiner. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

1 Corinthians [Read more…] about Tom Schreiner’s Top Three Commentaries on Each of Paul’s Letters

Rod Decker Reviews the Updated NIV

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Rodney J. Decker recently reviewed the updated NIV.

The PDF is 50 pages, but the review itself is under 40 pages. (The appendixes start on page 39.)

I read this review carefully last week, and it’s well done.

Decker is professor of New Testament at Baptist Bible Seminary. He’s the author of several books and articles, including these:

  1. Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect. Studies in Biblical Greek 10. Edited by D. A. Carson. New York: Lang, 2001.
  2. “The English Standard Version: A Review Article.” Journal of Ministry and Theology 8, no. 2 (2004): 5–56.
  3. “Verbal-Plenary Inspiration and Translation.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 11 (2006): 25–61.
  4. Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007.

Update on 3/31/2017: In my latest attempt to explain how to interpret and apply the Bible, I include a chapter on Bible translation (pp. 50–81).

Dan Wallace Reviews the Updated NIV

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Dan Wallace just reviewed the updated NIV in four parts:

  • Part 1: A Selected History of the English Bible
  • Part 2: Praise for the NIV 2011
  • Part 3: Weaknesses in the NIV 2011
  • Part 4: Conclusion

Wallace is professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He’s the author of the popular second-year textbook Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament and senior New Testament editor of the NET Bible.

Related:

  1. Rod Decker Reviews the Updated NIV
  2. The Best All-Around Book on Bible Translation
  3. Reproduce the Meaning
  4. Translation and the Doctrine of Inspiration
  5. Thank God for Good Bible Translators and Translations
  6. The Importance of Dignified Translations
  7. Correcting Bible Translations Can Seem Like This at Times
  8. The Problem of Religious Conservatism
  9. How Not to Argue about Which Bible Translation Is Best

Update on 3/31/2017: In my latest attempt to explain how to interpret and apply the Bible, I include a chapter on Bible translation (pp. 50–81).

The Importance of Dignified Translations

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Translating is complicated because it involves so many factors. One factor is dignity. And that’s not the strength of some translations or paraphrases.

Three examples:

1. 1 Samuel 20:30a

  • וַיִּחַר־אַף שָׁאוּל בִּיהוֹנָתָן וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ בֶּן־נַעֲוַת הַמַּרְדּוּת
  • NASB (cf. KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, HCSB, NIV): Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!”
  • NET: Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You stupid traitor!”
    • Translator’s note: Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
  • NLT: Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!” he swore at him.
  • The Message: Saul exploded in anger at Jonathan: “You son of a slut!”
  • Original Living Bible: Saul boiled with rage. “You son of a bitch!” he yelled at him.

2. Acts 8:20

  • Πέτρος δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· τὸ ἀργύριόν σου σὺν σοὶ εἴη εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὅτι τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνόμισας διὰ χρημάτων κτᾶσθαι·
  • NASB (cf. RSV, NRSV, ESV, NET): But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! [Read more…] about The Importance of Dignified Translations

Thank God for Good Bible Translators and Translations

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These two excerpts from Moisés Silva illustrate some ways that Bible translation is complex:

Silva, Moisés. “Are Translators Traitors? Some Personal Reflections,” in The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God’s Word to the World; Understanding the Theory, History, and Practice: Essays in Honor of Ronald F. Youngblood (ed. Glen G. Scorgie, Mark L. Strauss, and Steven M. Voth; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 37–38 (emphasis added in paragraph 3):

During my student days, while looking over a Spanish theological journal, I happened to notice an article on a topic I knew would be of interest to one of my professors. When I brought it to his attention, he asked me whether I would be willing to translate the essay into English for him. Since Spanish is my mother tongue, he figured I’d be able to come up with a rough translation quite quickly. I thought so, too, but to my surprise, the project became a nightmare. I labored over virtually every sentence and felt burdened that at no point was I communicating in a truly satisfactory manner what I knew to be the “total” meaning of the Spanish. Possibly for the first time I sensed what factors may have motivated the old Italian complaint, Traduttore traditore—“A translator is a traitor.”

This incident was rather puzzling and troubling to me. [Read more…] about Thank God for Good Bible Translators and Translations