All English Bible Translations Flawed, Says Bible Scholar

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Contact: Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, 718-834-1080, Joel@Lashon.Net; www.Lashon.net

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- "From the Ten Commandments to the Psalms to the Gospels, English translations of the Bible distort the original meaning of the text: The Ten Commandments don't forbid coveting. Psalm 23 is not primarily about sheep or a shepherd. And God didn't give his only begotten son because he loved the world so much."

So writes Bible scholar and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman in a Huffington Post blog posting today entitled "Five Ways Your Bible Translation Distorts the Original Meaning of the Text."

In the post, Hoffman identifies etymology, internal structure, and cognates as the "three pillars" of Bible translation, warning that they "don't work very well." He adds that historical translations and misunderstood metaphors further "degrade all English Bibles." As a result, he writes, English Bible translations "conceal what the Bible originally meant."

In a surprisingly entertaining 20-minute video presentation that accompanies the blog post, Hoffman expands on his material. He also delves more deeply into the meaning and importance of the Ten Commandments, ultimately claiming that they provide a moral framework missing from modern legal codes. The video was filmed earlier this year in East Hampton, NY at a prestigious TEDx conference on "the Next Generation."

Hoffman concludes his presentation with some advice for the next generation. Referring to the Ten Commandments, he tells an engaged audience that he hopes that "as we move forward, we will ... remember to bring with us the things we learned in the past."

ABOUT DR. HOFFMAN
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, a frequent guest speaker at churches and synagogues, has held faculty appointments at Brandeis University and at Hebrew Union College, and lectured at universities on four continents. He is the author of And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning (2010, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press) and In The Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language (2004, NYU Press), and the chief translator for the 10-volume series My People's Prayer Book (winner of the National Jewish Book Award). He also moderates the popular Bible-translation blog "God Didn't Say That."

He can be reached through his website at www.Lashon.net.