μετάφρασις

A Unique Challenge for Followers of Jesus

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. -John 1:14

Have you ever wondered why Michelangelo’s Moses has horns on his head? Why do some Biblical manuscripts feature unicorns? And why does Matthew 27:46 quote words of Jesus in Aramaic, then tell us what they mean in Greek, with that explanation then translated into English in our Bibles? All of these questions are the result of something unique to Christianity.

Judaism tells us, in the original Hebrew, that the world began with language: יְהִי אוֹר (Let there be light!) Muslims believe that the final and perfect medium for divine revelation is the original Arabic of the Quran. But Christianity tells us that God has related to us, not through a particular language, but through the translation of speech itself into a human life. When God in Christ became man, Divinity was translated into humanity, saying, “This is what God is like.”

At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. -Matthew 11: 25-26

Judaism has struggled with the validity of the 2nd century translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, the Septuagint. Muslim scholars debate whether the Arabic of the Quran is eternal or the ideas they convey. Some Christians have also sought security in a particular language or translation of the Bible. But the authority given to the Quran in Islam is, in Christianity, given to Christ, not to the Bible. This gives followers of “the Word made flesh” a particular challenge.

Jesus became a particular person, living in a certain context and a particular time. He was a first-century Jewish man who grew up in Nazareth and spoke the Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek of his time. The sense and meaning of God was translated into humanity under very specific cultural conditions. Yet Jesus is global grace promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:

‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’

In Acts 15, Early Jewish Christians argued over the way God’s blessing spreads. Some argued that the promise spread when the non-Jewish convert became culturally Jewish like them. Others argued that the good news spread as followers of Christ translated their relationship with Jesus into the existing language and culture of their own time. We are the result of their discernment that God’s promise would spread as Christ was translated into the culturally specific communities of every culture and language.

This complex translation process resulted in some challenges. The sculpture of Moses with horns is based upon a translation, or a mistranslation, by St. Jerome. The Latin Vulgate Translation of Exodus 34: 29, 30 and 35 was Jerome’s effort to faithfully translate the difficult, original Hebrew text, which uses the term קָרַן‎ or qāran based on the root word, קֶרֶן‎ or qeren, which often means “horn”); the term in these passages is now interpreted to mean “shining” or “emitting rays” (somewhat like horns).

The King James Version of the Bible, specifically Numbers 23:22 and 24:8, Deuteronomy 33:17, Job 39:9-10, Psalm 22:21 and 29:6, as well as Isaiah 34:7, translates the Hebrew “rame,” as unicorn. The unicorn was chosen because, like the Hebrew word, it speaks of strength and power. The Unicorn, traditionally depicted as a horse-like creature with a single spiral horn, has deep historical and cultural significance. It represents not only beauty and grace but also serves as a symbol of protection and chivalry in medieval contexts. In more recent translations, however, the unicorn is replaced by a wild ox or a similar powerful animal.

More personally, however, this translation process means that we, as present-day followers of Christ, have work to do. It isn’t enough to give a friend a Bible to read, even in their own language. It isn’t even enough to dress up and go to church on particular days of the week. As followers of Jesus, we are responsible for showing everyone we meet, in word and in deed, what God is like. They need to see Jesus translated into our everyday life.

The biblical book of Colossians tells us to “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you…”¹ Peter tells us to Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”²

Our language shouldn’t be run-of-the-mill but surprising and interesting. When we speak of Jesus with others, we should move beyond the “Christianese” we speak amongst ourselves to words of wit and wisdom. That is what “seasoned with salt” means.

This is quite a challenge. As Andrew Walls puts it:

“Politics is the art of the possible; translation is the art of the impossible. Exact transmission of meaning from one linguistic medium to another is continually hampered not only by structural and cultural difference, the words of the receptor language are pre-loaded, and the old cargo drags the new into areas uncharted in the source language. In the end the translator has simply to do his best and take risks in a high risk business.”

We don’t have the responsibility of translating the Scriptures from one language to another. We have been entrusted, instead, with a greater work: translating the heart of God, as lived out in the life of a first-century man named Jesus, to those around us in our context and our time.

God has entrusted us to with this task. Let’s have fun with it!

1. Colossians 4:6

2. 1 Peter 3:15b