Gender in Bible translation concerns various issues, such as the gender of God and generic antecedents in reference to people . Bruce Metzger states that the English language is so biased towards the male gender that it restricts and obscures the meaning of the original language, which was more gender-inclusive than a literal translation would convey. Wayne Grudem disagrees, believing that a translation should try to match the words of the original language rather than introduce the translator's opinion as to whether the original words meant to include both sexes or not, and that trying to be gender-neutral results in vague and contorted writing style. Michael Marlowe argues from a third standpoint, that the cultures in the Bible were patriarchal . The topic has theological and political undercurrents. Paul Mankowski says that inclusive-language translators are bowing to feminist political taboos rather than trying to translate accurately, while Marmy Clason says that their opponents are motivated by hostility to feminism rather than fidelity to the original meaning.
8-677: The Colorado Springs Guidelines is a 1997 document to address gender issues in Bible translation . It was written by theologically conservative Christians in response to "gender-neutral" Bible translations, in particular the New International Version Inclusive Language Edition . According to two participants at the Colorado Springs meeting, the final list of guidelines was compiled by reference to two separate lists drafted by each of
16-408: A technique that many now reject in other translations, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). The Greek word υἱοὶ that appears in the original is usually translated as "sons", but in this passage the translators chose to use the term "children" that included both genders. Opponents of gender neutral language believe that readers who are not familiar with
24-522: Is usually translated as Lord . Many prayers use one or more of the names for God many times within the same paragraph. The first time it appears a proper name is used, while further instances use a third person pronoun (he, she or it). English speakers usually use masculine or feminine third person pronouns to refer to people and animals, and the third person pronoun—"it"—to refer to (inanimate) objects. Traditionally, in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim writing,
32-565: The old King James Version used Jehovah . In English, outside Bible translations, the tetragrammaton is often written as YHWH or YHVH . The original meaning of this form is connected with the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14 (and it probably contains a Hebrew masculine verb prefix—the Y or yod ). Sometimes this word is rendered into English by using Hebrew Adonai , instead of attempting to directly translate YHWH , following an ancient Jewish custom of respect. The Hebrew word Adonai literally means my lord (with pseudo-plural), and
40-496: The original languages can be influenced by a compromised meaning they believe is feminist. There are a number of ways to translate the names of God into English from Hebrew . Hebrew uses only four consonants for the name— Yod-Heh-Waw-Heh ( יהוה , YHWH )—hence it is called the Tetragrammaton . Some modern English bibles render this as L ORD — L capital, and ord in small capital case. Others use Yahweh , and
48-582: The third-person pronoun "He" has been used to refer to God in English translations. In non-religious contexts, English speakers have generally used the word "he" as a substitute for a gender-neutral third person pronoun. The idea of God being an "It" rather than a "he" or "she" does have some support in Jewish, Christian and Islamic rationalist medieval thought, much of which was based on Neo-Aristotelian philosophy. Some medieval philosophers of all three of these religions took great pains to make clear that God
56-438: The two ostensibly opposing parties who had agreed to the meeting to discuss their differences. One list was supplied by concerned scholars and pastors, the other by Ken Barker on behalf of translators and publishers. Gender in Bible translation The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) was one of the first major translations to adopt gender-neutral language . The King James Version translated at least one passage using
64-584: Was in no way like a person , and that all apparently physical descriptions of God were only poetic metaphors. In the Chinese language , translators of the Christian Bible have created a new Chinese character to act as a divine pronoun: 祂 ( Pinyin : tā ). Tā , in essence, is the universal third person pronoun for all objects and persons. However, personhood (as well as gender) can be distinguished in writing. The normal pronoun for he , 他 ,
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