Bible Question:
Is there any good reason to translate 2 Cor 11:32 using the word ethnarchês in the NASB which is a transliteration of the Greek instead of governor or city governor as is done in every other translation? They can't really expect that we would know this word. |
Bible Answer: Dear Dale, I can't speak directly for the translators, but I'm willing to make a leap here. The title of ethnarch was extant prior to Paul's time, and for many centuries later. The translator's job is a difficult one. I suspect that the choice her was to translate the word into some relatively equivalent title in English, or use the word that was already known in its historical context. To say "city governor" doesn't quite convey the meaning of this title. They might have gone for the more literal translation, "ethnic leader" but that would have been even more misleading. Given the level of scholarship associated with the NASB, I'd venture that they simply chose to use the title. By the way, we encounter a similar problem when we use the Caesar. In English we might as well say "king." But as we know very well, the title Caesar was something very specific, having no equivalence in our language today. Of course, the solution is more obvious with Caesar. But I think the analogy holds. Does that help you any? In Him, Doc |