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What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Printable Version

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What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-06-2008

Besides the Lamsa Bible, what is the best translation of the Aramaic Peshitta? I firmly believe that the Peshitta is the most authoritative version of the New Testament, being written in the same language which Jesus spoke. However, I firmly disagree with Lamsa's divergences from the text itself.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Stephen Silver - 09-07-2008

Spyridon Wrote:Besides the Lamsa Bible, what is the best translation of the Aramaic Peshitta? I firmly believe that the Peshitta is the most authoritative version of the New Testament, being written in the same language which Jesus spoke. However, I firmly disagree with Lamsa's divergences from the text itself.

Hi Spyridon:
Everyone you ask will give a different answer. There are only a few published versions, however I defer to John Wesley Etheridge's 1848 Translation of the Peshitta text. Please feel free to download my transcriptiuon of the Khabouris Codex at dukhrana.com and make use of the user-friendly lexical and analytical interfaces which Lars Lindgren has created. <!-- sSmile --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><!-- sSmile -->

Kindly,
Stephen
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dukhrana.com">http://www.dukhrana.com</a><!-- m -->


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

What about Joseph Pashka's The Aramaic Gospels and Acts? That seems to be the most scholarly version of recent times.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Stephen Silver - 09-07-2008

Spyridon Wrote:What about Joseph Pashka's The Aramaic Gospels and Acts? That seems to be the most scholarly version of recent times.

Shlama Spydron:
I haven't read Joseph Pashka's translation. So I have no opinion. Can you read Hebrew or Aramaic?

Shlama,
Stephen


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

No, but it doesn't seem he has the doctrinal bias of other Peshitta translators.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Thirdwoe - 09-07-2008

Looks like you have an answer to your own question then. Bias?

Can't wait for all this to be over. This has went on from the start...remember Origen's hexapla? hehe

I like to study them all and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide me into all Truth.....As long as their are scholars, there will be translations and versions...some will even do it for no money.....<!-- sWink --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/wink1.gif" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /><!-- sWink -->

I'm looking forward to the New Translation work of Mr. Roth and I have been reading Mr. Bauschers translation...but I already see some doctrinal bias in places....funny that.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

I am an Indian Orthodox Christian. Our traditional Bible is the Peshitta. I've owned The Orthodox Study Bible, and I don't like how it refers to us as "Monophysites," which isn't true. It is really just a NKJV with some Orthodox commentary. There is a sense of holiness in the Peshitta which I'm not able to explain.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - ograabe - 09-07-2008

Lamsa's "THE HOLY BIBLE From Ancient Eastern Manuscripts Containing the Old and New Testament Translated from the Peshitta, The Authorized Bible of the Church of the East", A.J. Holman Company, Philadelphia, 1957. He had available to him the Peshitta text and the oldest manuscripts as well. He was a native Aramaic-speaking Assyrian who was completely familiar with the Peshitta and the available texts. However, as he clearly explains in his commentaries, his purpose was to provide an accurate English translation rather than just a literal word for word translation that would lose the meaning of the Aramaic idioms and thought processes. Lamsa's translation is still among the best available.

Otto


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

Would you say that Lamsa's is the absolute best?


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Stephen Silver - 09-07-2008

Spyridon Wrote:Would you say that Lamsa's is the absolute best?

Shlama Akhi Spyridon:
Do you live in Karala? Do you belong to the Mar Thoma Church?

BTW, you will find many personal biases/opinions on these forums. That's what makes life interesting at peshitta.org. There really is no consensus on the best English translation of the Peshitta.

Shlama,
Stephen Silver
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dukhrana.com">http://www.dukhrana.com</a><!-- m -->


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

I live in the United States.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://indianorthodoxchurch.org/">http://indianorthodoxchurch.org/</a><!-- m -->

When it comes to translation, it's best to be as unbiased as possible.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Christina - 09-07-2008

Spyridon Wrote:Besides the Lamsa Bible, what is the best translation of the Aramaic Peshitta? I firmly believe that the Peshitta is the most authoritative version of the New Testament, being written in the same language which Jesus spoke. However, I firmly disagree with Lamsa's divergences from the text itself.

Shlama Spyriodon,

I would like to try and answer all your concerns...

Spyridon Wrote:Would you say that Lamsa's is the absolute best?

I wouldn't, for the same reason you stated above: it diverges from the text in a number of places. While Lamsa's version can be considered accurate from a linguistic position, it is not accurate from a Christian position. Lamsa's version is not suitable for Church & Liturgical use, that's for sure.

Spyridon Wrote:What about Joseph Pashka's The Aramaic Gospels and Acts? That seems to be the most scholarly version of recent times.

Personally I didn't find it anything special, it doesn't compare with Paul Younan's Interlinear, because...

Spyridon Wrote:No, but it doesn't seem he has the doctrinal bias of other Peshitta translators.

That may be the case, but it reads too similar to the Greek texts, and the Peshitta is not identical to the Greek texts, it has different readings in many verses as akhay Paul, Andrew, Dave & others have pointed out on many threads of this forum. Plus Pashka only translated the Gospels & Acts not the entire Peshitta NT. If I'm looking for a translation of the Peshitta, I want one where the translator has translated exactly what the Peshitta says, not "played it safe" by conforming the Peshitta's readings to the Greek texts in order to please popular western scholarship. Greek primacy is the position of mainstream NT scholarship today, if a translation of the Peshitta is "highly regarded" in the mainstream NT scholarship community, then it's probably not an accurate translation.

Spyridon Wrote:I am an Indian Orthodox Christian. Our traditional Bible is the Peshitta. I've owned The Orthodox Study Bible, and I don't like how it refers to us as "Monophysites," which isn't true. It is really just a NKJV with some Orthodox commentary. There is a sense of holiness in the Peshitta which I'm not able to explain.

Have you heard of the upcoming Eastern Orthodox Bible? Check it out here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/download.asp">http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/download.asp</a><!-- m -->. However it's translated from the LXX & Byzantine Greek NT.

Spyridon Wrote:When it comes to translation, it's best to be as unbiased as possible.

In that case I recommend Janet M. Mageira's Aramaic Peshitta New Testament Translation, for the least biased, though it's not the most accurate, both Dave Bauscher & Paul Younan's Interlinear are way better, but I'm yet to see bias in akhi Paul's Interlinear though Dave's does contain some bias. Andrew Gabriel Roth will release Mari/PEACE soon, and this one is gonna set a new standard in Peshitta translation from what I can tell from what he's told us so far. However you are an Indian Orthodox Christian and Mari/PEACE is targeted towards the Messianic/Nazarene movement but I'm sure if you purchase and copy you won't regret it, you'll still find it worthwhile.

I have to say though what is missing among English translations of the Peshitta Bible, is an "ecclesiastical" version, a version that can be used in the Aramaic Churches - translated by Aramaic Christians for Aramaic Christians from the official Peshitta Bible. Something like the Eastern Orthodox Bible mentioned above - it's translated by Eastern Orthodox Christians, for Eastern Orthodox Christians, from the official Patriarchal text.

Who knows what the future holds, but I think we can expect to see more projects, and more English translations of the Peshitta in the near future.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - aramaic_albion - 09-07-2008

Check out this website:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.aramaicbible.org/assyrian.htm">http://www.aramaicbible.org/assyrian.htm</a><!-- m -->


I would say that Joseph Pashka's translation is the PeshittO, ditto for Janet Magiera's translation.......it too, is the PeshittO, NOT the PeshittA.

Dave Bauscher's 'Plain English' translation is pretty good if you can over look the "Jevovah" references.

Welcome to Peshitta.org!

Shlama, Albion


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Christina - 09-07-2008

aramaic_albion Wrote:Check out this website:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.aramaicbible.org/assyrian.htm">http://www.aramaicbible.org/assyrian.htm</a><!-- m -->


I would say that Joseph Pashka's translation is the PeshittO, ditto for Janet Magiera's translation.......it too, is the PeshittO, NOT the PeshittA.

Dave Bauscher's 'Plain English' translation is pretty good if you can over look the "Jevohah" references.

Welcome to Peshitta.org!

Shlama, Albion

Shlama Albion,

Yes you are correct with your distinctions, but Spyridon belongs to the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church of India and they use the PeshittO. I agree that Pashka's translation is the PeshittO, and Mageira states that she used the 1905 Critical Edition by the British & Foreign Bible Societies which we know is mostly made up of western mss, though she does point out variants from the eastern mss in her footnotes. So Magiera's version is suitable for an Indian Orthodox Christian like Spyridon, he/she might find Dave's Protestant bias a bit off-putting.

You & me however would rather have the PeshittA, in which case akhay Paul & Andrew will sort us out.


Re: What is the best translation of the Peshitta? - Spyridon - 09-07-2008

Thank you for the responses.