flintface wrote:I am not James, but I saw a James once on TV.
That was not me.
Noel wrote:Hello James, could you help us?
When I quoted a long and amplified version of EX 20 7 ( from the YY radio program by Yada, to some christians basically telling them that their KJV was sadly lacking, I was unable to say exactly where the YY translation came from and therefore all the wind was removed from my sails.
Any ideas on a proper response to this >
Noel
As Richard pointed out, people will quickly attempt to assail Yada's credentials, which is an attack the messenger approach, because they can't attack the message. The best way I have found is to draw the conversation back to the salient point, and not Yada. To do this it is best to ignore the question about Yada, and simply give them words and definitions.
So for the Exodus verse you cited I would start by pointing out that every Hebrew dictionary holds that the primary meaning of nasa is lift up, and accept, not take, that take would be laqah, so if take was meant Yah had a perfectly valid word to use, and didn't.
Next is shem, which literally means Personal and Proper designation, so name is a valid albeit inadequate translation.
Then Yahuweh, which is written Yo Hay Waw Hay, and while there may be some discussion as to the exact proper pronunciation, we are 100% positive that it was not adoni or ba'al, so therefore no way it should be rendered LORD.
Then your God, elohiym, They got this one right.
Then comes shaw, a word which according to every Hebrew dictionary and Lexicon carries the connotation of desolate, and pertains to separation. Used as it is in this verse you get do not lift up the name of Yahuweh your God in a way that is desolate and separates.
Really the better you come to understand the words the more effective your argument will be. What I have given you is a cursory explanation of how KJV and others have mistranslated this verse. I find it is best at first to not overload them with definitions and word studies, but in order to be effective you need to have the rest of the explanations ready in your head, so that you can handle the challenges.
Beyond the fact that I didn't want to simply trust and rely on Yada's translations, this is why I started learning Hebrew, so that I could defend my positions on mistranslated verses, such as this.
My recommendation would be to start by checking Yada's translations. You can do this in a minimal way by using online lexicons and a Strong's Concordance. But to really delve into it you will need many resources. A good start is a Hebrew-English Interlinear and a copy of the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semitic Domains: Hebrew. You could probably get both for around $60 if you hit up a bunch of Half Priced Books and dig for them, buying them new would be a lot more. Or save up a little money and get the Logos Original Languages package, its $320, but has everything you need to get started.
I hope this was helpful, if you have any other questions, or if there is anything else I can do please let me know.