08-16-2009, 08:06 PM
Shlama Akhi Judge,
I may be able to clear this up somewhat. I haven't looked at the Greek in years, but I am pretty sure AION means both "world/age" and also appears the same way in singular and plural states which may go a long way to explaining influence on various translators.
Dawid is correct that AILMIN is the plural of ALMA. But it's not totally that simple. In Hebraic thought, the end of THIS WORLD (olam hazeh) means not just the end of THIS age but the end of ALL AGES OF HUMANITY. In that kind of interpretive paradigm it would be easy from my view to understand why a Jewish translator would think AGES even if the word were singular.
Of course, none of these men were Jewish, but Lamsa was a Semite and he inheritied a lot of that nuance. Etheridge wasn't jewish either but look at how he translates--with as many Semitic forms as possible. When reading Etheridge in both his NT and the Targums it is clear he really absorbed that culture and assumed its values in many areas that come out in his writing. Murdock not so much, so he takes a more literal approach.
Hope this helps!
I may be able to clear this up somewhat. I haven't looked at the Greek in years, but I am pretty sure AION means both "world/age" and also appears the same way in singular and plural states which may go a long way to explaining influence on various translators.
Dawid is correct that AILMIN is the plural of ALMA. But it's not totally that simple. In Hebraic thought, the end of THIS WORLD (olam hazeh) means not just the end of THIS age but the end of ALL AGES OF HUMANITY. In that kind of interpretive paradigm it would be easy from my view to understand why a Jewish translator would think AGES even if the word were singular.
Of course, none of these men were Jewish, but Lamsa was a Semite and he inheritied a lot of that nuance. Etheridge wasn't jewish either but look at how he translates--with as many Semitic forms as possible. When reading Etheridge in both his NT and the Targums it is clear he really absorbed that culture and assumed its values in many areas that come out in his writing. Murdock not so much, so he takes a more literal approach.
Hope this helps!
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth
Andrew Gabriel Roth