Challenge of Bible Translation, The [Paperback]

Glen G. Scorgie (Author), Mark L. Strauss (Author), Steven M. Voth (Author), Kenneth L. Barker (Contributor), D. A. Carson (Contributor), Charles H. Cosgrove (Contributor), Kent Eaton (Contributor), R. T. France (Contributor), Andreas J. Kostenberger (Contributor), Douglas J. Moo (Contributor), Moises Silva (Contributor), James D. Smith III (Contributor), John H. Stek (Contributor), Ronald Veenker (Contributor), Larry L. Walker (Contributor), Bruce K. Waltke (Contributor), Walter W. Wessel (Contributor), Herbert M. Wolf (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

An In-Depth Look at Bible Translation -The concerns, issues, and approaches -The history -The ins and outs of the translation task With a reach that covers the entire globe, the Bible is the best-selling, most earnestly studied book of all time. It has been translated into well over 1,000 languages, from those of global reach such as English, French, and Arabic, to a myriad of isolated tribal tongues. Yet while most readers of the English Bible have a favorite version, few understand how the different translations came about, or why there are so many, or what determines whether a particular translation is trustworthy. Written in tribute to one of today's true translation luminaries, Dr. Ronald Youngblood, The Challenge of Bible Translation will open your eyes to the principles, the methods, the processes, and the intricacies of translating the Bible into language that communicates clearly, accurately, and powerfully to readers of many countries and cultures. This remarkable volume marshals the contributions of foremost translators and linguists. Never before has a single book shed so much light on Bible translation in so accessible a fashion. In three parts, this compendium gives scholars, students, and interested Bible readers an unprecedented grasp of: 1. The Theory of Bible Translation 2. The History of Bible Translation 3. The Practice of Bible Translation The Challenge of Bible Translation will give you a new respect for the diligence, knowledge, and care required to produce a good translation. It will awaken you to the enormous cost some have paid to bring the Bible to the world. And it will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for the priceless gift of God's written Word. Contributors Kenneth L. Barker D. A. Carson Charles H. Cosgrove Kent A. Eaton Dick France David Noel Freedman Andreas J. K stenberger David Miano Douglas J. Moo Glen G. Scorgie Moises Silva James D. Smith III John H. Stek Mark L. Strauss Ronald A. Veenker Steven M. Voth Larry Lee Walker Bruce K. Waltke Walter W. Wessel Herbert M. Wolf

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An In-Depth Look at Bible Translation · The concerns, issues, and approaches · The history · The ins and outs of the translation task

With a reach that covers the entire globe, the Bible is the best-selling, most earnestly studied book of all time. It has been translated into well over 1,000 languages, from those of global reach such as English, French, and Arabic, to a myriad of isolated tribal tongues. Yet while most readers of the English Bible have a favorite version, few understand how the different translations came about, or why there are so many, or what determines whether a particular translation is trustworthy.

Written in tribute to one of today’s true translation luminaries, Dr. Ronald Youngblood, The Challenge of Bible Translation will open your eyes to the principles, the methods, the processes, and the intricacies of translating the Bible into language that communicates clearly, accurately, and powerfully to readers of many countries and cultures. This remarkable volume marshals the contributions of foremost translators and linguists. Never before has a single book shed so much light on Bible translation in so accessible a fashion.

In three parts, this compendium gives scholars, students, and interested Bible readers an unprecedented grasp of:

1. The Theory of Bible Translation 2. The History of Bible Translation 3. The Practice of Bible Translation

The Challenge of Bible Translation will give you a new respect for the diligence, knowledge, and care required to produce a good translation. It will awaken you to the enormous cost some have paid to bring the Bible to the world. And it will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for the priceless gift of God’s written Word.

Contributors

Kenneth L. Barker D. A. Carson Charles H. Cosgrove Kent A. Eaton Dick France David Noel Freedman Andreas J. Köstenberger David Miano Douglas J. Moo Glen G. Scorgie Moisés Silva James D. Smith III John H. Stek Mark L. Strauss Ronald A. Veenker Steven M. Voth Larry Lee Walker Bruce K. Waltke Walter W. Wessel Herbert M. Wolf

About the Author

Glen G. Scorgie (Ph.D., St. Andrews) is professor of theology at Bethel Seminary San Diego since 1996. Previously he was academic vice-president of North American Baptist College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and is a past president of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association. For the past decade he has also been involved in the ministries of Chinese Bible Church of San Diego, and lectures regularly in Asia. His writings include A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality (2007). For more information, visit his website at www.glenscorgie.com.

Mark Strauss (PhD, Aberdeen) is professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary in San Diego. He has written The Davidic Messiah in Luke-Acts, Distorting Scripture?, The Challenge of Bible Translation and Gender Accuracy, and Luke in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary series. Forthcoming books include The Gospels and Jesus, Mark in the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary series, and Mark in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series.

Steven Voth (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is Translation Coordinator for the Americas, United Bible Societies.

Kenneth L. Barker (PhD, Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning) is an author, lecturer, biblical scholar, and the general editor of the NIV Study Bible.

D. A. Carson (PhD, University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author or coauthor of over 50 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God and An Introduction to the New Testament. He is general editor of Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world.

The Reverend Dr. Dick France is a retired Anglican clergyman who lives in Wales. He has taught New Testament at a variety of universities and colleges in Britain and in Nigeria, and has been a visiting professor at several North American institutions. His appointments have included being vice principal of the London Bible College (now London School of Theology) and principal of Wycliffe Hall, a training college for Anglican clergy in the University of Oxford. He has written books on a variety of New Testament subjects, particularly commentaries on the gospels of Matthew and Mark. He is a canon of Ibadan cathedral in Nigeria, and an honorary research fellow of the University of Wales, Bangor.

Andreas K stenberger is Director of Ph.D. Studies and Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is the author of numerous works on John, including his commentary in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, 'John' in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, and 'John' in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary.

Douglas Moo (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is the Blanchard Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His work centers on understanding the text of the New Testament and its application today. He has written extensively in several commentary series, including the NIV Application Commentary, Pillar Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, and the New International Commentary on the New Testament. SPANISH BIO: Douglas J. Moo es profesor de Nuevo Testamento en Wheaton Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois. Anteriormente enseno durante mas de veinte anos en Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ilinois. Es autor de muchos libros, incluyendo un comentario a la Epistola a la Epistola a los Romanos que saldra proximamente en la Biblioteca Teologica Vida.

Moises Silva taught biblical studies at Westmont College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Seminary. He is the author or coauthor of eight books and the revising editor of the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible.

James D. Smith III (ThD, Harvard) is associate professor of Church History at Bethel Seminary -- San Diego, as well an adjunct professor of religion at the University of San Diego. A member of the Baptist General Conference, he is a former teaching assistant to Henri Nouwen at Harvard, and lectures frequently on Nouwen's spirituality and related topics.

Professor John Stek is an associate editor of the TNIV Study Bible. He is professor emeritus of Calvin Theological Seminary, and past Chair of the Committee on Bible Translation, which he has served since 1965. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bruce K. Waltke (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary; PhD, Harvard Divinity School), acknowledged to be one of the outstanding contemporary Old Testament scholars, is professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and professor emeritus of biblical studies at Regent College in Vancouver. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, commentaries, and articles, and contributed to dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Walter W. Wessel was professor of New Testament and Greek studies at Bethel Theological Seminary. He received his PhD from the Universtiy of Edinburgh, Scotland. SPANISH BIO: Walter W. Wessel es profesor de estudios neotestamentarios y griego en el Seminario Teologico Betherl. Cuenta con una licenciatura en teologia de la Universidad de California, Los angeles, y un doctorado de la universidad de Edimburgo, Escocia.

Herbert Wolf was associate professor of theological studies at Wheaton College, Illinois. His area of expertise was Old Testament studies. Dr. Wolf held degrees from Wheaton College, Dallas Seminary, and Brandeis University. He was the author of Haggai and Malachi: Redemption and Renewal.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310246857
• ISBN-13: 978-0310246855
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In honor of the eminent Dr. Youngblood, August 3, 2003

By 

E. Johnson (El Cajon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Challenge of Bible Translation, The (Paperback)

I have been one of numerous people influenced by the teaching ministry of Dr. Ronald Youngblood, a man whom I call both a gentleman and a scholar. This book is comprised of 21 essays that were dedicated to Dr. Youngblood's honor. Personally I have been taught by several of the contributors(James Smith, Mark Strauss, Walter Wessel). Thus, for me, reading through this compilation was a delight because of my familiarity with these people during my time in the mid-1980s/early 1990s at Bethel Seminary San Diego. Dr. Youngblood's mastery in the classroom as well as his style (nobody has a more dry sense of humor, as any student of his can attest) and scholarship are duly noted in these pages.

As far as this book's collection of essays goes, most of the topics are only going to interest the biblical scholars. If you're not familiar with the ancient languages and other technical writing, the vast majority of this book will have little impact. Personally, I did not bother reading a quarter of the essays from their beginning to end because the individual content of these particular chapters just did not interest me.

However, this is not to say that there are not some jewels here. In fact, let me briefly mention four of my favorite essays. First, chapter 3 by D.A. Carson ("The limits of functional equivalence in Bible translation--and other limits, too") gives a good history of the gender-neutral debate, especially as the Today's New International Version (TNIV) is concerned. This is an informative chapter for those not very familiar with the background of the TNIV controversy, and thus I recommend it.

A second essay was the book's next chapter by Mark Strauss ("Current issues in the gender-language debate: A response to Vern Plythress and Wayne Grudem"). I liked it because: a) it was cutting edge and not just a rehash of previous work, which a number of these essays were; b) it deals with the current TNIV controversy from the perspective of Dr. Strauss, who does a good job answering his (and the TNIV) critics. Even if you disagree with Dr. Strauss, one must admit that his points are worthy of consideration.

Third, I liked Dick France's chapter 7 ("The Bible in English: An Overview"). Of course, general overviews of the translation of the Bible are a dime a dozen, and some may criticize its inclusion. However, I think that this was one of the most interesting and informative overviews on Bible translation I have ever read.

Finally, I appreciated John Stek's chapter 10 ("The New International Version: How it Came to Be"). This is one of the most detailed histories of the NIV in a short-order format. Based on the faithfulness of God and those (including Dr. Youngblood) who responded to His calling, I believe the process of the NIV translation was quite ethical and completed in a godly fashion. Perhaps this is why God has blessed its use throughout the world.

Each person is different and may find other chapters to be of more interest, but for me, these four essays made the purchase of this book worthwhile. May God continue to bless the work of Dr. Youngblood, and may we continue to work through the texts of scripture provided to us by God Himself.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights Into Translation, November 4, 2003

By 

Gontroppo "Music and Theology Lover" (Bathurst, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Challenge of Bible Translation, The (Paperback)

This is a fabulous book. Most of the essays are well worth your time. It is divided into 3 sections:
The Theory of Bible Translation
The History of Bible Translation
The Practice of Bible Translation
I particularly appreciated the articles by Don Carson and Mark Strauss, in which they interact with criticism of the TNIV, the updated version of the NIV. I like the way that both authors discuss the gender language debate and provide us with useful updates to what they had to say in their helpful books on the subject.

Silva's article "Are Translators Traitors?" explains the difficulty of transmitting the nuances of one language into another, even when you are bilingual.

Those who are dismissive of the NIV and the later TNIV need to absorb what these writers tell us. They show how all versions interpret, including so-called literal versions. They also help us to step back from our immersion in the language of the KJV and think about how God's Word should be communicated in the 21st century.