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I
will now use a standard Greek dictionary, Langenscheidt Pocket Greek
Dictionary.
trust,
faith, belief; faithfulness, honesty; credit, trust, security,
assurance, pledge of faith, warrant, oath; treaty; hostage; argument,
proof.
Our
English understanding of the word "faith" is very similar to
those of the Greek word -- "trust, belief, confidence."
The one thing they all share is that they are "mental
processes," something that is done with the mind.
Therefore, the most common understanding of the word
"faith" is "to mentally trust, believe in, or have
confidence in" someone or something.
Returning
to the Bible's Hebrew Roots
Do
you remember the definition for the word "Source?"
The Source is "the person using the word, the
author or speaker." Most
of the Sources who appear in our Bibles were members of the Hebrew
culture. Therefore, their
"bundles of associations" were products of their culture.
So, our study of the word "faith" would not be
complete without viewing it from the Hebrew culture's point of view.
The
Hebrew root word that is usually translated as "faith" is
Its meanings are:
faithfulness;
faithful, trusting; firmness, fidelity, steadiness; faith, support, sure,
certain, established; firmness, truth.
A
Comparison of the Top Two Meanings
| English |
Greek |
Hebrew |
|
loyalty
belief |
confidence
trust |
faithfulness
faithful |
Which
meaning should a translator use? As
the old saying goes -- "translators are people too."
People have Belief Systems and so do translators.
Therefore, it should not be too surprising to discover that the
choice of which meaning a translator selects may be governed by his or
her Religious Belief System.
Let's see how six translators or groups of translators
handled the translation in the Hebrew Bible.
The abbreviations for the English translations are listed below:
(1)
KJV - King James Version 1769 (Protestant)
(2) WEB - The Webster Bible 1832 (Protestant)
(3) DRA - Douay-Rheims Version 1899 (Roman Catholic)
(4) ASV - American Standard Version 1901 (Protestant)
(5) NIV - New International Version 1984 (Protestant)
(6) NJB - New Jerusalem Bible (Roman Catholic)
Deuteronomy
32:20
| KJV |
WEB |
DRA |
ASV |
NIV |
NJB |
| And he said, I will hide my face from them, I
will see what their end shall be: for they are a
very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. |
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I
will see what their end {will be}: for they {are} a very froward
generation, children in whom {is} no faith. |
And
he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what
their last end shall be: for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful
children.
|
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I
will see what their end shall be: For they are a very perverse
generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness. |
"I will hide my face from them," he
said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a
perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. |
'I
shall hide my face from them,' he said, 'and see what will become
of them. For they are a deceitful brood, children with no loyalty
in them.
|
In
this verse the most accurate translations are the Douay-Rheims
Version,
American Standard Version, New International Version, and
New Jerusalem Bible.
1
Samuel 26:23
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