[arachne] Re: The Bible says it's smart to be a dumb ass

Arachne at FreeLists---The Arachne Fan Club!

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 18:51:56 -0700, Bob Dohse wrote:

> The Greek word translated as "ass" in some older English versions of the
> bible is (in English letters, I don't have a Greek script available)
> pronounced "hoop-od-zoog'-ee-on", which means "an animal under the yoke".
> Common usage of the word in Palestine in the first century referred to a
> donkey.

So "an animal under the yoke" would more fully be translated as
"beast of burden" perhaps. But that could be awkward in use.

Translation is obviously difficult, maybe impossible if you want
to know "what Paul really wrote", that would require learning New
Testament Greek. Then there is the problem of textual integrity and
how close is the text we have available today to what Paul actually
wrote? Handwritten copies of copies of copies, in various states
of decay and preservation, overlaid with traditions of church
scholarship and uncertain focus depending on your point of view.





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