Working for the Word - a Bible translation podcast

What if we lost all of our copies and manuscripts of the New Testament? Would we still be able to reconstruct all of it with the quotations in the writings of the church fathers? Dr. Andrew Blaski joins us today to explain the origins of this popular myth and how we can think more carefully about the church fathers and their handling of Scripture. Get ready for a fascinating discussion of a lot of things you may have never considered this deeply.  Definitely get your own copy of the book with Blaski's chapter here. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

Isaiah 26:13 says, "O Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance." What are some other key verses in Scripture where a title substitute for God’s name turns out to be awkward or inadequate? In this last episode on the divine name we’re going to soak up a lot of Bible as we survey passages where a translation just makes more sense when a name for God is translated rather than a title.  My paper on the Name is now free to download here. New Aleph with Beth intro video here. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

What is the Arlington Statement on Bible Translation, why is it important, and what does it have to do with the divine name, especially in the NT? And did the NT writers try to make a distinction between Yahweh and Jesus? In this episode linguist, Bible translator, and former Mormon Seth Vitrano-Wilson joins us to talk about those things, offer some perspective on Bible translation in Muslim contexts, and more.  You can read Seth's paper here. Seth did another interview recently that covers more about the Arlington Statement here. Here is SIL's response to the Arlington Statement, which is impossible to find if you don't know exactly where to look: SIL and its partners in the Wycliffe Global Alliance believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. As such, Bible translations must always faithfully reflect the meaning of the Scriptures in a way that communicates clearly without distortion. SIL is committed to translation practices that result in accurate, clear, and natural translations. As a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International (FOBAI), SIL is committed to the translation standards of FOBAI and the standards based on the guidelines of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and has processes in place to ensure that its work adheres to these. SIL’s concern about the Arlington statement centers around its prescriptive approach. It is more restrictive than the FOBAI and World Evangelical Alliance standards, which maintained a commitment to faithful translations while including carefully crafted language about the movement’s rich diversity. We believe that our current standards and policies enable us to achieve accuracy while appropriately engaging with the different contexts in which we serve. Therefore SIL is not supportive of the Arlington Statement. Dick Kroneman, SIL International Translation Coordinator my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

I think the title says it all!  This episode draws largely from The Murderous History of Bible Translations by Harry Freedman. Make sure to get a copy for yourself! Worth every penny. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

I had the privilege and pleasure of talking to Dr. Peter Gurry about his book Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. Enjoy getting to meet one of the guys who's doing quality work for the Kingdom in an area many people overlook or don't know exists! The clip towards the beginning comes from this excellent introduction to NT Textual Criticism by Daniel Wallace. It's worth watching the whole thing. Other links to things mentioned in the episode: Text & Canon Institute  Text & Canon Institute YouTube Scribes & Scripture my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

"I failed miserably my first go around using a traditional Hebrew grammar." Have you heard or experienced something like that before? Sadly, it's all too common. Here are some further thoughts on the status quo of learning Greek and Hebrew, what the best research has shown, and what we can do about it.  Sound clip of Stephen Krashen taken from this clip, and Steve Kaufmann from this clip. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

It was an honor and delight to interview Dr. Carmen Joy Imes about her dissertation on the Name Command in Exodus 20:7, which you can check out here. She's produced a less technical version called Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. For those who have an intermediate level of Hebrew, she's published an illustrated edition of Exodus in Hebrew. Make sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel Torah Tuesday. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

Renowned linguist Stephen Krashen discusses the challenges of learning biblical languages and emphasizes the importance of comprehensible input in language acquisition. The podcast also explores the impact of anxiety on language acquisition and the power of reading in second language acquisition.

It's a joy to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Robar to the podcast and hear about all the exciting stuff she's up to. You can read some of her articles here.  Elizabeth has loved languages ever since she first discovered she could teach herself Latin from her mother’s college textbook. First came philology (the traditional comparative study of a family of languages), then came linguistics (the modern comparative study of all known languages of the world), and thus was born an interest in the structure of language and languages as undergirding and determining our knowledge of the biblical text, not to mention ourselves, our world and our God. Elizabeth’s current research interests include the Semitic languages, Biblical Greek, linguistics, syntax and everything that flows out from these: literary studies, discourse analysis, grammar writ large (a.k.a. exegesis), and how best to transmit what knowledge we have to the next generation. This has led to an interest in classical education, including language-learning pedagogy. In addition to academic research, Elizabeth enjoys mentoring younger scholars, encouraging them to not despair at the breadth and depth of the work needed but rather to identify the work allotted to them and to do it faithfully and well. Some days that work is highly academic in nature, and other days it is simply loving one’s neighbour. Both are equally important. In the episode we mention copenhagen-alliance.org.  my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook

In this episode we dive into Psalm 107 and talk about its connection to Lamentations 3:32, and how it helps translators understand better the range of meaning of hesed in Hebrew (steadfast love). I forgot to mention that Lamentations 3:32 also speaks of God's hesed in the plural, just like the end of Psalm 107. And Lamentations is like a longer vignette of Psalm 107 in the sense that Israel finds itself in the midst of horrific affliction because of their sin, and they are hoping that God, in His gracious hesed, will give them a great reversal, just as the pattern in Psalm 107 portrays. The music in the middle of the episode comes from this full version of Psalm 107 that I put to music and recorded in my simple apartment in Yaounde, Cameroon, when I was just beginning my time as a foreign missionary Bible translator. my books | free Scripture prayer apps | music | Hebrew | academic articles | facebook