Bangbang
Active Member
Question: Would a Jehovah's Witness trust the translation of their Bible to someone who didn't know Greek or Hebrew and only had a high school education? Discussion: This is an important question to ask a Jehovah's Witness because they do, in fact, do just that. The Watchtower Society has always resisted efforts to identify members of the translation committee for the New World Translation. There is good reason for their secrecy. The translation committee is now known to be a group of five men with no credentials that would in any way make them qualified to translate the Bible from the original texts. Four of the five men in the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever and had only a high school education. The fifth member of the translation team claimed to know Hebrew and Greek. However, while being examined under oath in a court of law in Edinburgh Scotland, he was found to fail a simple Hebrew test. The truth is the translation of the New World Translation used by Jehovah's Witnesses was translated without any ability to read the original texts.
The New World Translation:
The Watchtower Society's Corrupt Bible
By Ben Rast
Contender Ministries
The New World Translation:
The Watchtower Society's Corrupt Bible
By Ben Rast
Contender Ministries
Posted May 15, 2005
Dr. Walter Martin once said that the average Jehovahs Witness can make a doctrinal pretzel out of the average Christian in about 30 seconds. This does not mean Jehovahs Witnesses are doctrinally correct. There are a couple of reasons this is so. First, the average JW gets exponentially more training in their doctrine than the average Christian gets in orthodox biblical doctrine. This disparity must be corrected by pastors, teachers, and even the individual parishioners, who must take responsibility to educate themselves on sound, biblical doctrine (as well as attacks on that doctrine). One other smaller (but still vitally important) reason is the reliance of Jehovahs Witnesses on a biased and erroneous translation of the Bible the New World Translation. If you allow a JW to recite from the NWT without checking the verse in a more accurate translation such as the NIV, NASB, or KJV you may be relying on an erroneous translation of a verse. While there are scores of examples of errors in the NWT, this article will focus on some of the primary mistranslations that affect doctrine. We will discuss some issues of Greek and Hebrew grammar, but in a simplified manner.
First, its important to look at the issue of translation in the greater context, and the background of the translation of the NWT. The Bible manuscripts exist in three main languages. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, though portions of Daniel are in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek the Greek language widely spoken 2000 years ago. This differs from Classical Greek and Modern Greek. Even before the birth of Christ (by two or three hundred years), the Old Testament was translated into Koine Greek. This translation became known as the Septuagint, and is represented by the Roman numerals LXX (seventy). These Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts were copied and distributed widely, with the copying and distribution accelerating in later centuries as new forms of script developed which made copying a faster process. At various times, the manuscripts were compiled into full biblical texts. It is from these manuscripts and compilations that the Bibles we read today were translated (for more information on this process, please see A Primer on Bible Transmission). Because of this, it stands to reason that advanced training and knowledge in one or more of these languages would be a prerequisite for those who wished to perform translation work on a Bible translation committee. However, this logic and reason was seemingly unimportant to the Watchtower Society and their translation committee for the NWT.
The Watchtower Society first published the New World Translation of the New Testament in 1950. Their complete Bible was published first in 1961, with subsequent revisions published in 1970 and 1984. The Watchtower was always quite secretive about the composition of their translation committee, claiming that credit should be given to God and the truth, rather than the translators. In the October 22, 1989 issue of Awake!, the Watchtower Societys magazine publication, the society recited the words of their founder Charles T. Russell, It is the truth rather than its servant that should be honored However, former members of the Society revealed the identities of the translation committee members as Frederick W. Franz, Nathan H. Knorr, George D. Gangas, Albert D. Schroeder, Milton G. Henschel, and Karl Klein. A review of their qualifications is disturbing:
First, its important to look at the issue of translation in the greater context, and the background of the translation of the NWT. The Bible manuscripts exist in three main languages. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, though portions of Daniel are in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek the Greek language widely spoken 2000 years ago. This differs from Classical Greek and Modern Greek. Even before the birth of Christ (by two or three hundred years), the Old Testament was translated into Koine Greek. This translation became known as the Septuagint, and is represented by the Roman numerals LXX (seventy). These Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts were copied and distributed widely, with the copying and distribution accelerating in later centuries as new forms of script developed which made copying a faster process. At various times, the manuscripts were compiled into full biblical texts. It is from these manuscripts and compilations that the Bibles we read today were translated (for more information on this process, please see A Primer on Bible Transmission). Because of this, it stands to reason that advanced training and knowledge in one or more of these languages would be a prerequisite for those who wished to perform translation work on a Bible translation committee. However, this logic and reason was seemingly unimportant to the Watchtower Society and their translation committee for the NWT.
The Watchtower Society first published the New World Translation of the New Testament in 1950. Their complete Bible was published first in 1961, with subsequent revisions published in 1970 and 1984. The Watchtower was always quite secretive about the composition of their translation committee, claiming that credit should be given to God and the truth, rather than the translators. In the October 22, 1989 issue of Awake!, the Watchtower Societys magazine publication, the society recited the words of their founder Charles T. Russell, It is the truth rather than its servant that should be honored However, former members of the Society revealed the identities of the translation committee members as Frederick W. Franz, Nathan H. Knorr, George D. Gangas, Albert D. Schroeder, Milton G. Henschel, and Karl Klein. A review of their qualifications is disturbing:
Translator
Franz, Frederick
Probably the only person to actually translate. Franz was a liberal arts student at the University of Cincinnati:
No training in biblical languages. Gangas was a Turkish national who knew Modern Greek. Translated Watchtower publications into Modern Greek.
Henschel, Milton
No training in biblical languages.
Klein, Karl
No training in biblical languages.
Knorr, Nathan
No training in biblical languages
Schroeder, Albert
No training in biblical languages. Schroeder majored in mechanical engineering for three years before dropping out.
I dont want to seem derogatory to Mr. Franz, but his primary training was in Classical Greek, not biblical Greek. He dropped out of a survey course on that topic. He was self-taught in biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, which is commendable, but does it qualify him as a Bible translator? I have a very limited knowledge of New Testament Greek attained through private study (no formal training). Any person can take classes on New Testament Greek or do self-study in this area with the help of books and language dictionaries. However, I would not presume to be qualified to serve on a Bible translation committee. Mr. Franz seemed to lack the fluidity he claimed. In a court of law in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1954, Mr. Franz failed a simple test on his Hebrew language skills. On cross-examination, Franz was asked to translate a particular verse from Genesis into Hebrew. He was unable to do so. The person most capable among his peers to translate the Bible failed a simple test. This calls into question the use of the word translation in the New World Translation. As we will see, this translation is more likely a paraphrase that was heavily edited to introduce Watchtower bias.
Qualifications
Franz, Frederick
Probably the only person to actually translate. Franz was a liberal arts student at the University of Cincinnati:
- <LI class=MsoNormal>21 semester hours of classical Greek, some Latin.
<LI class=MsoNormal>Partially completed a two-hour survey course in Biblical Greek in junior year. - Self-taught in Spanish, biblical Hebrew and Aramaic
No training in biblical languages. Gangas was a Turkish national who knew Modern Greek. Translated Watchtower publications into Modern Greek.
Henschel, Milton
No training in biblical languages.
Klein, Karl
No training in biblical languages.
Knorr, Nathan
No training in biblical languages
Schroeder, Albert
No training in biblical languages. Schroeder majored in mechanical engineering for three years before dropping out.
I dont want to seem derogatory to Mr. Franz, but his primary training was in Classical Greek, not biblical Greek. He dropped out of a survey course on that topic. He was self-taught in biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, which is commendable, but does it qualify him as a Bible translator? I have a very limited knowledge of New Testament Greek attained through private study (no formal training). Any person can take classes on New Testament Greek or do self-study in this area with the help of books and language dictionaries. However, I would not presume to be qualified to serve on a Bible translation committee. Mr. Franz seemed to lack the fluidity he claimed. In a court of law in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1954, Mr. Franz failed a simple test on his Hebrew language skills. On cross-examination, Franz was asked to translate a particular verse from Genesis into Hebrew. He was unable to do so. The person most capable among his peers to translate the Bible failed a simple test. This calls into question the use of the word translation in the New World Translation. As we will see, this translation is more likely a paraphrase that was heavily edited to introduce Watchtower bias.
