The Common English Bible has been completed, the result of an impressive array of scholars, with admirable goals. A page comparing it with the NRSV and NIV is available here. Some brief and very initial observations based primarily on a few passages I like to check follows.
heavy stuff
I’ve been reading up on gravity for a bit of a diversion and came across this interesting quote from David Toback of Texas A & M University: General relativity can predict what would have happened in a slightly different universe. For example, if the universe had the right mass back then it would give us…
“is a word-for-word translation unbiblical?” — part 2
Another illuminating example is Deut 6:5 — the greatest commandment. Again there’s little substantial difference evident between the MT and the DSS: ואהבת את יהוה אלהיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך These reflect a tripartite division of “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (NASB). The LXX follows…
don’t buy from apple’s mac os x app store in australia
At least not if you can avoid it. Why? Simple. Apple’s pricing will cost you. For example, Mellel currently costs $41.99 AUD on the App Store. The non-App Store price is $39.00 USD. Now that the Australian dollar is worth more than the US, buying it direct works out to something like $37.00. Unfortunately, while…
“is a word-for-word translation unbiblical?” — part 1
OK, that’s just a catchy title for this post, but let me explain the issue I want to highlight. There are great debates about which translation methodology is best all over the web (including on this very blog, see here and here). Is a literal “formal equivalent” translation better, or is a “dynamic equivalent” translation…
lead light on early christianity?
The Australian media has started picking up the story of the lead codices which purportedly relate to early Christianity. Since the media coverage is typically inadequate (Adam Spencer on ABC local radio in Sydney this morning certainly didn’t offer a particularly probing interview of David Elkington), I’m just offering a link to a more detailed…
are children always a blessing?
Let me begin with a warning. What I’m about to suggest is probably to be perceived as sacrilegious to many and tantamount to heresy. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard/read/been told that children are only and always a blessing in the Bible. The assertion is frequently made, but rarely demonstrated….
four centuries of the king james version: the funny bits
Unless you’ve been hiding away you’re probably aware that the King James Version of the Bible is now 400 years old. People everywhere are making comment on this fact and offering observations and well-considered thoughts. In many respects it is remarkable how well the translation has stood the test of time, but it does nonetheless…
mellel 2.8 makeover
Mellel is a word processor for Mac OS X which handles multi-lingual texts rather more effectively than most of the available alternatives. The latest version, 2.8, was released a few days ago. That update includes a powerful new “track changes” option. However, Mellel is in need of a cosmetic makeover, its brushed aluminium appearance and…
an ancient perspective on day and night in genesis 1 before the creation of the sun
Many readers of Genesis 1 have noted that day and night exist before the record of the creation of the sun in Gen 1:14. This has been met with numerous imaginative attempts to account for this apparent discrepancy between the Genesis account and a modern scientific understanding of the universe.