Origin,
Very interesting! Thank you.
I wonder..... back then, NO ONE had a floppy leather-bound tome with "HOLY BIBLE" written on the cover in genuine imitation gold letters on the cover... indeed, there were no books at all. And there was no OFFICIAL Bible, no OFFICIAL canon back then. People heard things read in the Synagogue or church (both words just mean gathering) and MEMORIZED it. People had the Word in their heart, not in some reference book. Jesus didn't say "Hold on a sec, I need to look that up in my Bible here ,,,,: Nope, they said it from their heart, from memory. And I WONDER, was that always VERBATIM as found in some floppy leather book, from some OFFICIAL translation, from some OFFICIAL book(s)? I doubt it.
I understand that some of the OT "quotes" in the NT are not exactly "verbatim" according to OUR texts of the OT. Frankly, I'm not surprised.... frankly, that's what I'd expect. The Word was living.... in hearts and minds and lives.... not in some offical book.
My own pastor never uses a translation. To the pulpit or to Bible studies, he brings his Hebrew OT (I forget what he calls that) and hie Greek NT (He calls it "Nessels" or something like that). And when he reads it to we English speaking people, he's using his Hebrew or Greek and kind of a running translation. I'm SURE it's not exactly a verbatim quote from the KVJ or ESV or RSV.... it's his translation, applied to the situation at hand. I SUSPECT (but do not know) Jesus and the Apostles and the NT pin men likely did the same. They had put the word in their heart, in their minds, in their hearts.... and "translated" it as made sense in that situation. I SUSPECT our very modern sense of quotation didn't really apply then. But I may be way off base....just theorizing.
And translating and applying ALWAYS involves interpretation. When we CHRISTIANS read the OT, we read it IN FAITH, WITH FAITH, as a Christian. Sorry, it's impossible to read anything without "bias" and I think we read the OT from the prespective of the NT... with the knowledge of the New... with the KEEN awareness of the Cross and the Empty Tomb. So, naturally, we "see" things and "interpret" things a bit differently than a Jew would. I'd except that. There are Scriptures that speak of preaching the Gospel of Jesus from Scripture (the OLD Testament!!!!) and every time I read that, I wonder exactly what Scriptures they shared, what interpretation they gave .... I'm sure it was from the prespective of the Truth, who IS Jesus.
Thanks again!
- Josiah
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