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Summary
Summary
In 1535, William Tyndale, the first man to produce an English version of the Bible in print, was captured and imprisoned in Belgium. A year later he was strangled and then burned at the stake. His co-translator was also burned. In that same year the translator of the first Dutch Bible was arrested and beheaded. These were not the first, nor were they the last instances of extreme violence against Bible translators. The Murderous History of Bible Translations tells the remarkable, and bloody, story of those who dared translate the word of God.The Bible has been translated far more than any other book. To our minds it is self-evident that believers can read their sacred literature in a language they understand. But the history of Bible translations is far more contentious than reason would suggest. Bible translations underlie an astonishing number of religious conflicts that have plagued the world.Harry Freedman, author of The Talmud: A Biography describes brilliantly the passions and strong emotions that arise when deeply held religious convictions are threatened or undermined. He tells of the struggle for authority and orthodoxy in a world where temporal power was always subjugated to the divine. A world in which the idea of a Bible for all was so important that many were willing to give up their time, their security and often their lives.
Author Notes
Harry Freedman is a writer and academic with a PhD in Aramaic. His publications include The Gospels' Veiled Agenda (O-Books). He contributed to the Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture (Routledge) and has written for the Jewish Chronicle , Jewish Quarterly , Judaism Today and the Huffington Post . He lives in London.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Aramaic and Hebrew scholar Freedman (The Gospels' Veiled Agenda) vividly explains how and why scripture has been translated, beginning shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, and carrying through to the present day, including the recent Queen James Bible. The author is open about his populist aim-to tell "the story of the translated Bible," without being a lengthy comprehensive history that would appeal more to scholars-and he succeeds in achieving that goal. Freedman buttresses his contention that while most translations were undertaken to provide access to the masses, and thus be "radical, liberating, and inspirational," religious conservatives used translations for the opposite reason, as a "barrier to social evolution." Freedman also demonstrates the enduring power of word choices, for example, how Jerome's Vulgate presentation of Moses spawned anti-Semitic superstitions that all Jews had horns, and, even more significantly, how the Septuagint translating the Hebrew word almah as virgin instead of young woman bolstered Christian assertions that the Hebrew Bible foretold the birth of Jesus. For those interested in the complex history of Bible translation, this is a must-read. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A retelling of the well-studied history of biblical translation.Freedman (The Talmud: A Biography, 2014), who has a doctorate in Aramaic, provides a basic, serviceable, Western-centered history of the translation of the Bible. Despite the title, only a small portion of his book centers on the gruesome and deadly history of pre-Reformation attempts at Bible translation. The author begins with pre-Christian translations of the Hebrew Bible, such as the Septuagint (Hebrew to Greek) and the Targum (Hebrew to Aramaic). Freedman moves on to cover the storied creation of the Vulgate by Saint Jerome. Eventually, he comes to the age of the Cathars, the French movement ruthlessly suppressed by Rome in the 13th century. It was the first act, writes Freedman, in what was to become an endemic, medieval persecution of the translated Bible. At this point, the author delves into names familiar to students of Reformation history and its run-upe.g., John Wycliffe, the Lollards, Jan Hus, Erasmus, and others. The murder of William Tyndale is at the center of the book. From there on, with the advent of the Reformation, the translation of the Bible became a less and less fearsome act. With the creation of the King James Bible [in 1611], writes Freedman, the age of the Bible translator living in fear for his life had drawn to an end. Indeed, it would be the beginning of an explosion of translation activity, much of which is now largely forgotten. The author ends with the history of 20th-century English translations such as the New Jerusalem Bible, the Revised Standard Version, etc. Strangely, he does not mention such important developments as the New International Version. Freedman does pull in references to non-English translations, but his work is far from a complete translation history. Though it is worthwhile for those with an amateur interest in church history, it offers few new insights and only scratches the surface of global translation history. An interesting read but not an innovative history. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* For readers who take for granted the easy availability of the Bible in every library in every hotel room! Freedman's engrossing history of Biblical translations documents the high human cost of such availability. Freedman devotes particular attention to William Tyndale, the brilliant sixteenth-century polyglot strangled and then burned as a heretic by clerics outraged by his challenge to their control of Holy Writ in England. But readers encounter all too many other bold translators including Jan Hus of Bohemia and Jacob van Liesveldt of Holland who paid the same price for similar offenses. Merely reading from the Bible in vernacular Gallic sent the medieval beguine Marguerite Ponte to the stake. Such martyrdom underscores the tensions running throughout a narrative stretching from ancient fights between Jewish and Christian scholars wrangling over the Hebrew word almah, through Reformation-era disputes between Protestant and Catholic exegetes arguing over the Greek word ecclesia, to modern debates between progressives and conservatives split over masculine scriptural pronouns. Despite the rancor, Freedman recognizes that the best Bible translations including the one Luther delivered in painstakingly wrought sixteenth-century German and the one James I commissioned in poetic seventeenth-century English have forever enriched world literature. A fascinating look at the tangled backstory of the Western world's Good Book.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2016 Booklist
Choice Review
Also author of The Talmud: A Biography (CH, Jan'15, 52-2481) and The Gospels' Veiled Agenda (2009), Freedman takes readers on a chronological (though not comprehensive) journey through the history of Bible translation, starting with the efforts that produced, for example, the third-century BCE Greek Septuagint and concluding with contemporary efforts in gender-neutral translation that produced, for example, the Queen James Bible (2012). He details translation efforts that produced the less-known Gothic Bible (fourth century CE) and the early Slavonic Bible (16th century), the informal translations of the medieval Beguines and Beghards (wandering mendicants), and the Yiddish New Testament. In the third part of the book, "Enlightenment," Freedman examines the move to produce Bible translations "fueled by a desire for greater readability." The variety of translations examined demonstrates, the author writes in the introduction, that "the translated Bible was intended to be radical, liberating, and inspirational. Yet in the hands of religious conservatism it became a negative force, a barrier to social evolution." Throughout this history, Freedman explores controversies and challenges to authority. Offering a well-researched popular alternative to earlier work on Bible translation (for example, Ernst Wurthwein's), Freedman distinguishes himself by demonstrating the concerns "about authenticity and human emotion" that produced these texts. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers. --Heidi M. Szpek, Central Washington University
Library Journal Review
In this brisk, exciting narrative, Freedman (The Talmud: A Biography) shares some of the most compelling, contentious, and even murderous stories surrounding the many translations of the best-selling book in history, the Bible. Starting with the Greek Septuagint and working all the way up to present-day debates over gender-inclusive language and dynamic equivalence translations, Freedman's account, while not comprehensive, fascinatingly covers a vast range of times, places, and circumstances. Although he details the backgrounds of dozens of translations; highlights include the creation of the King James version; the story of the first female Bible translator, Julia Smith; and the executions of priest Jan Hus and Bible translator William Tyndale. Several themes recur throughout such as the politics of religion, power, and authority, and the emotional impact of familiar religious language. In order to keep the narrative moving, at times Freedman lacks theological nuance, oversimplifying various aspects of Catholic and Reformation theology, for instance. However, as a popular rather than scholarly work, these occasional -overgeneralizations are understandable given the book's fast pace and wide accessibility. VERDICT Recommended for general readers interested in the thrilling history of a text many take for granted.-Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.