Bible Question:
Interpretive Challenges... Greek genitive cases of the word "of", comparing literal translations to dynamic equivalence translation.. According to the following examples, which translation of the Greek genitive case is superior? The traditionally more literal translation or its 'dynamic equivalent'? Example 1: Ephesians 1:13.. [NASB] "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise," [NRSV] "In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;" Since the Greek genitive has a wide range, is "the promised Holy Spirit" stronger here, or is the more literal "Holy Spirit of promise" more precise? Other examples include: Example 2: Ephesians 1:17-18 [NKJV] "... that you may know what is the hope of His calling.." "... in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.." [NIV] Is one "stronger" than the other? Or do these translations communicate entirely differently in these verses? Example 3: Hebrews 1:3 [KJV] " ... and upholding all things by the word of his power.." [NRSV] "... and he sustains all things by his powerful word. .." Which descriptive genitives in the above examples are 'stronger' or more accurate? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Makarios! I would cast my vote for a more eclectic approach to the translation of genitives, sometimes using a more literal and sometimes using a more dynamic approach. For instance, in your first example, I like the dynamic approach better. I favor the dynamic approach as well in the 3rd example. However, I like the more literal in the 2nd example. My reasoning is that I think that in the first and third examples, the dynamic translation brings out the intent better. However, in the second example, I think the dynamic translation actually changes the meaning slightly. For those who don?t know Greek, it is not easy to decide exactly how to translate the various cases. The genitive case has eight distinct uses. They are (the following is my summary of the material in Dana and Mantey?s, ?A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament?, pp. 72-81).: 1) The Genitive of Description: Here the genitive basically serves as an adjective. An example would be Mk. 1:4 ? ?John came preaching a baptism of repentance.? 2) The Genitive of Possession: Denotes ownership. Luke 5:3 ? ?Out of the boats, which was of Simon?. 3) The Genitive of Relationship: Similar to the Genitive of possession, but denotes relationship, not possession. Acts 13:22 ? ?David, the son of Jesse?. 4) The Adverbial Genitive: This one is used in three ways to limit the extent of the word it modifies. a) The Genitive of Time: Jn. 3:2 ? ?This one came to him of night?. b) The Genitive of Place: Lk. 16:24 ? ?That he might dip the tip of his finger of water.? c) The Genitive of Reference: Heb. 3:12 ? ?A heart evil of unbelief?. 5) The Genitive with Nouns of Action: a) The Subjective Genitive: This case is used where the noun in the genitive produces the action described. Rom. 16:25 ? ?The preaching of Jesus Christ.? b) The Objective Genitive: This case is used when the noun in the genitive receives the action. Mt. 12:32 ? ?But the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.? 6) The Genitive of Apposition: This is used where two nouns are being used to describe the same thing, one in a general sense and one in a particular sense. Jn. 2:21 ? ?He spoke concerning of the temple of His body.? 7) The Partitive Genitive: Here a noun is defined by indicating in the genitive the whole of which it is a part. Mk. 6:23 ? ?I will give you as much as a half of my kingdom.? 8) The Genitive Absolute: This is used where a noun and a participle in the genitive case are not grammatically connected with the rest of the sentence. Mt. 9:33 ? ?And having been cast out of the demon, the dumb man spoke.? As you can see, translations of even this one case is not a simple task. Added to the difficulty of choosing which of the above uses is appropriate, one must realize that the Ablative case shares the same form as the Genitive case. :-) In a very real sense, no translation is ?literal?. The ?literal? translations would not make much sense to most people. Great question my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |