Actually, it's a very interesting issue to biblical Greek. I would
be very interested in a discussion of Aramaic/Hebrew idioms that had
been
translated to Greek in the LXX and NT as literal. These literal
translations
of idioms sometimes underpin entire theological dogmata.
An example would be an Aramaic idiom <aram>wxwwt) n$qlown translated
as OFEIS APOUSIN. Mk 16:18
"Taking up serpents" was an idiom similar to our "bucket of worms"
or "bag of snakes" meaning troublesome or even dangerous. This does not
prevent a group of nuts from passing around rattlesnakes in Sunday
school.
I am glad that there wasn't the idiom "Let's HIT the road" in Jesus'
Aramaic, otherwise we would have the devout in the middle of I-10
slapping
on the tarmac and being flattened by 18-wheelers.
Can anyone think of other Hebrew and Aramaic idioms that have been
problematic in Greek translation...and more interestingly, led to
ritualization?
Jack Kilmon
JPMan@accesscomm.net