Translation, Anglophiles and Ancient Texts

Clayton Bartholomew (c.s.bartholomew@worldnet.att.net)
Sun, 12 Oct 1997 20:49:36 +0000

There seems to be an endless preoccupation on this list
with questions of how to render this or that Greek word or
phrase into English. Does this type of question really merit
the kind of attention it receives? Do we really get any
closer to the meaning of the ancient text by constantly
fussing about which is the preferable English gloss for a
particular Greek word?

Is translation into ones mother tongue an essential part of
exegesis? I am beginning to have strong doubts about this.
I have a growing suspicion that translation into English
teaches you more about English than it does about the
ancient text.

Clay Bartholomew
Three Tree Point