The film maker's use of the J-word and his allusions to the alleged writings of Paul as Scripture were bothersome, but the main information he shared was wonderful.

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

That was not me.



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.

I must have been looking at the premium package. Looks like original languages is now $416
http://www.logos.com/pro...iginal-languages-library

That would be nice to have, but seems free E-Sword has a lot too.

Thanks, James,Richard and CGB2. Most helpful replies.

I guess that there is really no alternative for hard work on this.

N

I concur, it's really too enjoyable to be considered work for me.

Seems good resource for comparisons of Masoretic and DSS here:
http://www.thewaytoyahuw...esearch/dead-sea-scrolls

In my opinion learning Hebrew will help you less than purchasing several lexicons and interlinears and studying Scripture that way. Most here who have worked on translating couldn't carry on a conversation in Hebrew with a three year old. We use tools like Logos to examine each word and translate it. The problem with learning to speak Hebrew is that you will either learn the modern Hebrew, which isn't what Scripture was written in, or in the case of Biblical Hebrew most of the teachers will be religious who will teach you word for word translations which don't delve into the nuances of the words, and are often given a religious twist. The advantage of using Lexicons, dictionaries and interlinears is that you are not subject to just one persons view on what the word means.

If you check here you can see a couple of walkthroughs which show what i use for my translations. Yada uses a similar method only with more tools.

Hope this helps.

Those with less qualifications find this site helpful, namely, me!

http://www.sacrednamebib.../kjvstrongs/STRINDEX.htm

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew English Lexicon is a great lexicon, it's a part of the logos package that I use all the time.

If you are wanting to get hard copy books, that and a good interlinear would be a good place to start. The interlinear I use the most is the Lexham Hebrew English interlinear, but I think it is only available for Logos. I would say one is going to be as good as the other as long as it gives you the Lema, which is the root of the word which you can then look up in your lexicon. I would recomend eventually purchasing more lexicons and dictionaries, Strong's isn't great but it's good and cheap so you might pick up one of those. Vine's is another one you can get at a pretty decent price that is descent. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament is great to have, but might be a bit more expensive.