Bible translations into Greek
While the Old Testament portion of the Bible was written in Hebrew, the New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek. The Greek language, however, has several different dialects or denominations. This required several different translations done by several different individuals and groups of people. These translations can be categorized into translations done before and after 1500 AD.
Before AD 1500
The first known translation of the Bible into Greek is called the
The LXX contains the oldest existing translation of Holy Scripture into any language. It was widely disseminated among ancient
Other early Greek translations of
After AD 1500
The New Testament part of the Christian Bible was originally written in Koine Greek, as most of the Church and scholars believe, and is therefore not a translation (notwithstanding that some reference material may have been from Aramaic). However, like other living languages, the Greek language has developed over time. Therefore, various translations have been completed over the centuries to make it easier for Greek speakers to understand Holy Scripture. Translations of the Old Testament, which is the other part of the Christian Bible, have been completed for similar reasons.
Agapius of Crete translated and published in 1543 the book of Psalms into modern Greek.[2]
A Greek and polyglot edition of the
At the initiative of the pro-
An edition of the
Frangiskos Soavios published in the year 1833 the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua translated from the Hebrew Original into the Modern Greek Language.[8]
A translation of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) in literary
In 1901, Alexandros Pallis translated the Gospels into Modern Greek. This translation was known as Evangelika (Ευαγγελικά). There were riots in Athens when this translation was published in a newspaper. University students protested that he tried to sell the country to the Slavs and the Turks in order to break Greek religious and national unity. All translations were confiscated.[10] The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church resolved that any translation of the Holy Gospels is “profane” and redundant. It also “contributes to scandalising the consciousness [of Greeks] and to the distortion of [the Gospels’] divine concepts and didactic messages.[11]
In 1967 a team of academic staff of the University of Athens led by Basil (Vasilios) Vellas (Βασίλειος Βέλλας) translated the New Testament, with support from the Hellenic
In 1993, the Jehovah's Witnesses circulated the translation of the "Greek Christian Scriptures" (New Testament) in modern Greek originating from the English edition, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Then, in 1997, they released the complete Holy Scriptures (Bible) in modern Greek,[13] being "the result of some seven years of painstaking work.”[14]
A revision of the Vamvas translation of the Bible into the modern vernacular (Demotic Greek) by Spyros (Spiros) Filos (Σπύρος Φίλος) was first published in 1994. This translation is used in the Greek Evangelical Church[15] and is also recognized by the Orthodox Church.
Meanwhile, a team of 12 professors from the theological schools of the Universities of Athens and Thessaloniki had been working since the mid 1960s on another translation into the modern vernacular (
In 2002, with the latest edition published in 2012, a New Testament translation by professor Nikolaos Sotiropoulos was published after he revisioned many hundreds of New Testament passages's interpretations in his 4 volumes work: «Ερμηνεία δύσκολων χωρίων της Γραφής» (Interpretation of difficult passages of the Bible) . The new interpretations were judged positively and by professors including Ioannis Karmiris, also Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Demetrios I as it published in the second volume of «Interpretation of difficult passages of the Bible», p. 12-28. The Bishop and professor Gortynos (Ieremias Foundas) described it as the best of all translations.[18]
See also
- Refer to a similar article on the Greek Wikipedia website Μεταφράσεις της Αγίας Γραφής for related information.
- Septuagint
- Hebrew Bible
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- Petros Vassiliadis
Notes
- Eastern Orthodox churches. For more detail, refer to the following Wikipedia Articles: Old Testament, Deuterocanonical books and Biblical apocrypha. Refer especially to the discussion about the significance of the terms "canonical", "inspired by God" and "Anagignoskomena" (Ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα "readable, worthy to be read") in Deuterocanonical books#In Catholism and Deuterocanonical books#In Eastern Orthodoxy.
References
- ^ Porter, S. E., “Septuagint/Greek Old Testament” in Porter, S. E. & Evans, C. A. (2000), Dictionary of New Testament background : A compendium of contemporary biblical scholarship (electronic edition, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press).
- ^ Fernandez Marcos, Natalio (2000), The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Versions of the Bible, p. 180.
- ^ Fernandez Marcos, Natalio (2000), The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Versions of the Bible, p. 180. The Greek text is published in Hesseling, D. C (1897), Les cinq livres de la Loi [The five books of the Law] (in French).
- ^ The Journal of religion, vol. 20, Divinity School, University of Chicago. Federated Theological Faculty, 1940,
The question then arises whether there is any connection between this version and the vernacular New Testament printed at Geneva in 1638 under the name of Maximos of Gallipoli. Professor Colwell is inclined to think that Maximos of...
- ^ Kamusella, Tomasz (2008), The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe,
He encouraged the monk Maximos of Gallipoli (Maximus Callipolites, died in 1633) to undertake this translation. [...] The learned monk, Meletios Sirigos (1590–1664) vehemently opposed Maximos's translation, remarking that any vernacular...
- ^ Angold, Michael (2006), Eastern Christianity, p. 200,
The translation was probably the patriarch's most important pastoral initiative. The task was entrusted in 1629 to the learned hieromonk Maximos Rodios from Gallipoli (hence known as Kallioupolitis), a former student of Korydalleus at...
- ISBN 978-3-03910-580-9.
- ^ ΣΟΑΒΙΟΥ ΦΡΑΓΚ., Πεντάτευχος (Ο) του Μωϋσέως και το βιβλίον του Ιησού του Ναυή, Εν Λόνδρα 1833. Σελ. 270. Εκ του εβραϊκού αρχετύπου εις κοινήν ελληνικήν διάλεκτον μεταφρασθέντα.
- ^ a b c The Hellenic Bible Society, GR, archived from the original on 22 September 2013, retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ Triandaphyllidis, Manolis (1963). Apanta (Άπαντα) (vol.5). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Institute for Modern Greek Studies (Manolis Triandaphyllidis Foundation). p. 382.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Circular of the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church. 1901. p. 288.
- ^ GNT, Greeks For Christ, archived from the original on 27 December 2013, retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ Η Αγία Γραφή—Μετάφραση Νέου Κόσμου
- ^ The Watchtower 1998, 9/1, p. 32.
- ^ Spyros Filos modern Greek SBL GNT critical Greek text Droid My sword version (e-Sword downloads), Bible Support, retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-960784702-7, archived from the original on 13 July 2013, retrieved 7 July 2013).
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ GNT, Greeks for Christ, archived from the original on 16 November 2013, retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ ""ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ Ὑπό Ἐπισκόπου Ἰερεμίου Μητροπολίτου Γόρτυνος καί Μεγαλοπόλεως, p.3 [ἡ καλυτέρα πασῶν]"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- (interwiki el:Μεταφράσεις της Αγίας Γραφής)