Monthly Archives: October 2008

Signs of the sufficiency of Shaddai

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 16, 2008

HT: Suzanne
In 1990, Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994) summarized an interpretation of the meaning of El Shaddai by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204), popularly known as Maimonides:
[Maimonides] explains El Shaddai in terms of “the God for whom it is sufficient (shaddai lo): the God who is sufficient in Himself, whose essence is Himself, not in functions [...]

Posted in bible verses, devotions, quotes, shaddai | 2 Comments

Books I loved growing up…

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 10, 2008

My oldest boy, Samuel, is learning to read this fall. He’s a bright kid and it won’t be long before he’s got “Hop on Pop” down cold (or completely memorized!). Thinking about the grand adventure ahead of him has brought recollections of many, many, many hours of my Alaskan childhood spent either at the library [...]

Posted in books | 4 Comments

Bible translation authority revisited

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 10, 2008

Peter Lopez has written a “better late than never” response to my post on the authority of Bible translations:

What Makes a Bible Translation Authoritative? My Top Five

After a good discussion with several links worth checking out, Peter comes to the conclusion that “the only Bible translation that is in the top five in terms of sales [...]

Posted in bible translation, choosing a bible | 1 Comment

Ambiguous grasping in John 1:5

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 9, 2008

I am continuing my survey of Bible Translation books, now reading Donald Kraus’ volume, Choosing a Bible For Worship, Teaching, Study, Preaching, and Prayer. Kraus is Executive Editor for Bibles at Oxford University Press and presents a fairly even-handed review of translation philosophies, from strict interlinear to cultural paraphrase, though most of his time is [...]

Posted in bible translation, books, quotes, scripture study | 7 Comments

Idiomatic indiscretions

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 8, 2008

Be sure to check out Kevin Sam’s latest post on various idiomatic indiscretions of the NEB (and REB)…
Anyone for “loose livers”?

Posted in bible translation | 9 Comments

Pondering Peleg and the partions of the earth

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 5, 2008

Opening my Bible to First Chronicles, I began perusing the listing of the generations of mankind. Mostly my eyes glaze over when confronted with these tables, but there are narrative fragments in there like Nimrod (1.10), Archar (2.7) and the infamous Jabez (3.9-10) that hint at broader stories not more explicitly told to us in [...]

Posted in scripture study | 2 Comments

I double-, no, triple-dog dare you!

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 2, 2008

I’ve been reading the book of Esther in the NEB, comparing the OT Hebrew version with the LXX Greek text. The LXX version has 107 additional verses in several narrative blocks, sprinkled throughout the story. Like the NRSV, the NEB and REB provide a complete translation of the LXX version, rather than inserting the additional [...]

Posted in bible translation | 5 Comments

The most significant version of the Bible today

By ElShaddai Edwards | October 2, 2008

The most significant version of the Bible today is not the REB. And neither is it the KJV. Or the ESV or TNIV, or even the NLT. No, the most significant version of the Bible today is The Message by Eugene Peterson.
I’ve been reading the first few chapters of Fee and Strauss’ “How to Choose [...]

Posted in bible translation, books, choosing a bible | 24 Comments