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NASB | Luke 1:48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:48 "For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant; For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God! |
Bible Question: This is a translation question. In the NASB, Jesus' mother Mary refers to herself as the Lord's "bondslave." In the KJV the word is "handmaiden" and in the NKJV it is "maidservant." The Greek word is Strong's #1399 - doule - and is defined by him as "a female slave." This is gender specific, in contrast to #1401 - doulos - which is "a slave." The latter has the masculine ending, and the former the feminine ending. Why, then, does the NASB (as well as other translations) render "doule" into English in a generic rather than a gender specific way? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Arnold! I'm not sure how much background you have in Greek, but any noun can have a masculine, feminine, or neuter ending to it. The meaning of the word has not changed, only the gender. Thus, in cases like Luke 1:48, there really isn't any reason to translate 'servant' in any special way since it refers to Mary and we know that she is female. :-) One instance in which the gender of a word would make a difference is if several people of different genders are mentioned and one wants to determine to which one a particular noun refers. Then, the gender of the noun could help make that determination. I hope this helps! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Luke 1:48 | Author | ||
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Ceeb | ||
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melca73 | ||
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Arnold | ||
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BradK | ||
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Morant61 |