The current state of research by Polish linguists on the Brest Bible: an overview

Abstract

2013 marked the 450th anniversary of the publication of the Brest Bible (1563), the first Protestant (Reformed) translation of the entire Bible into Polish. This translation coincided with the mature phase of the Polish Renaissance, which was at the same time a key period in the history of Reformed thought. According to researchers, the Brest Bible is characterized by typographical and translational novelty and numerous linguistic qualities which have also gained recognition for it among Catholic theologians and contemporary Bible translators. This article presents the current state of research on various aspects of the language of the Brest Bible as carried out by Polish linguists. It demonstrates the high value of the language of the Brest Bible, its place among Polish biblical translations and the important role it played in the development of Polish language and culture.     

The Brest Bible and other Polish translations of the Bible in the poetical works of Erazm Otwinowski

Abstract

Polish antitrinitarians of the sixteenth century (also known as Polish Brethren and later as Socinians) rejected some of the most fundamental dogmatic beliefs of traditional Christianity. However, while their Church emerged as the result of a split in the Reformed Church, they still used the Brest Bible to read not only the Old Testament (the antitrinitarian translation of Szymon Budny was controversial and rarely accepted by the Brethren), but also the New Testament. This situation is discussed here using the example of Erazm Otwinowski, a major antitrinitarian poet. His two major poetical works are based on various biblical passages. In his Parables of Our Lord Jesus Christ there is considerable evidence that he used both the Brest Bible and the first edition of the New Testament translated by his antitrinitarian friend, Marcin Czechowic. However, it is also possible that he used Jakub Wujek's Catholic version, even if strongly contested in Czechowic's polemical works.     

The Brest Bible: trinitarian and Christological issues

Abstract

The following article considers the theology of the Brest Bible translation. Some of the older researchers advanced the thesis that the translation and accompanying remarks implied concepts that undermine traditional trinitarian theology and Christology, leading to the claim that this Bible is sub-Reformed in character and conceivably antitrinitarian. This article aims to demonstrate that such an assertion is not supported by convincing evidence. It analyses both the main text of the Brest Bible and its marginal comments in terms of their theological character. It comes to the conclusion that both the trinitarian theology and Christology of the Brest Bible do not step outside Christian orthodox doctrine.     

The transconfessional character of the doctrine of justification and its depiction on the title page of the Brest Bible

Abstract

This article examines the illustration on the Brest Bible's title page, relating it to the woodcut, The Law and the Gospel or Law and Grace, created forty-five years earlier to provide a visual aid for Luther's doctrine of salvation by faith and God's grace alone. Luther's reflections on justification, while original in thrust, had been preceded by centuries of the Church's teaching on the subject. Law and Grace appeared among book illustrations, particularly on the title pages of Bibles, not only in Lutheran editions, but also in those commissioned by other confessions. Sometimes the schema would be deliberately altered to modify the message. This essay shows how the title page of the Brest Bible provides a striking example, and that in light of Calvin's teaching, the image there reveals a subtle, but significantly modified reinterpretation.     

The "Lyings" of a Woman: Male-Male Incest in Leviticus 18.22?

Abstract

This article offers a philological/literary analysis of a short biblical text in the book of Leviticus. Whenever discussions arise on the subject of homosexuality in the Bible, Lev. 18.22 is quoted. Most modern translations present this text as self-explanatory, which contrasts with the opacity of the original. The ambiguities embedded in the Hebrew wording have received limited attention. Put differently, Bible readers have not been invited to appreciate the internal logic of the text. Perhaps Lev. 18.22 does not prohibit all erotic expression between men. The overall context seems to indicate that the scope of this verse is far more restricted. If the text is analysed and translated carefully, there are reasons to believe that Lev. 18.22 is proscribing incest between male family members.     

Understanding the Controversy over Gender Language in Bible Translation

Abstract

This article attempts to explain the language issues behind the current controversy over gender inclusive translations of the Bible. Specifically, it focuses on changes in modern English whereby “a growing segment of the population [i.e., women] no longer can sense being addressed by a text that uses supposedly 'generic' masculine language to refer to them.” The reason, according to this author, is that in English “the masculine grammatical gender has largely shifted into a function that exclusively designates males.” Since the Christian Church believes that the Bible, as the Word of God, is the word through which God addresses his people, a translation that employs generic masculine language no longer satisfies the needs of all believers “to feel addressed by God's voice in the text” that is read and heard.     

Human Conception in Antiquity: The Hebrew Bible in Context

Abstract

This article explores ideas concerning human conception as reflected in the Hebrew Bible in particular. After reviewing above all biological texts from ancient Indian, Greek and Roman sources, the various clues as to how human conception may have been understood in the ancient Hebrew context are thoroughly investigated. The notion that Aristotelian ideas of preformationism and pneuma inform the Hebrew Bible is refuted. Instead, both divine and female contributions to conception appear to be more prominent.     

On Writing Religion, ‘Gay’ and ‘Straight’: An Open Letter to Björn Krondorfer

Abstract

The key issue for this paper is the role of writing in both the production of and instabilities in prophetic masculinity. I draw upon three sources: the work of Lévi-Strauss concerning the "writing experiment," Christina Pettersen's exploration of the role of writing in constructing the ruling class in colonial Greenland, and some of my older work concerning the auto-referentiality of references to writing and scribal activity in the Hebrew Bible. Armed with these theoretical strings, the paper has two phases—what may be called "organizing the sausage-fest" and "too many dicks at the writing desk." The first concerns the production of masculinity, the second its problems.     

From Latimer's Fellow-martyr to the ‘English Calvin': Nicholas Ridley's Reputation and the Circulation of A brief declaracion of the Lordes Supper, 1555-1570

Abstract

Nicholas Ridley, the Edwardian Bishop of London, was executed in 1555 during Mary Tudor's reign. An active publicist, he composed in prison a didactic treatise that promoted the Reformed view of the Eucharist and was published in Emden (1555) and in Strasbourg (1556). In 1556, A brief declaracion found its way to Geneva where a community of English exiles had it translated into Latin (Conrad Badius then issued a version in French). Not only did the translation acquire a polemical edge, but certain allusions, scattered in the preface and in the margins of the text, turned Ridley's treatise into a ‘Calvinist’ manifesto at a time when Calvin was ardently defending his views against the Lutheran polemicist, Westphal. Meanwhile, Jean Crespin made use of Badius's version in his martyrologies and reprinted Ridley's treatise in his 1570 edition. Whereas in England, Ridley's works began to be perceived as controversial after Mary's death, Crespin and Beza (Icones, 1580) kept his treatise alive and heralded him as the ‘English Calvin’ in French Reformed circles.     

An Eastern Heritage in a Western Rite: A Study of Source and Method for Archbishop Cranmer's Inclusion of ‘A Prayer of Chrysostome‘ in the English Litany of 1544

Abstract

Representing the first officially authorized printing of an English-language text, Thomas Cranmer's Litany (1544)—a direct precursor of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer—is an important historical document. It also has linguistic significance, since ‘in setting forth certain godly prayers and suffrages in our native English tongue', Cranmer went beyond simple translation of the Latin. Among his innovations was the insertion of ‘A Prayer of Chrysostome', taken directly from an Eastern Orthodox source. The English rendering of the prayer has long been considered a masterly translation. However, while beautifully executed, Cranmer's version (compared with earlier Greek and Latin texts) is peculiar at points and raises theological questions. This study reviews and critiques scholarship on the matter while offering new insights into Cranmer's connections to Christian Orthodox thought and practice.     

“Who Am I?”: The Biblical Moses as a Metaphor for Teaching

This essay presents Moses, the protagonist of the biblical books of Exodus and Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible, as a playful but generative metaphor for current teaching practices and experiences in higher education, including my own. Among numerous similarities (such as the fact that Moses, other teachers, and I are all bound by context), the most humbling insights come from Moses's role as a mediator or intermediary. It is a role that we also inhabit – standing, as it were, between our students and the knowledge of our discipline – and that we might consider further, particularly in terms of our responsibilities.     

‘Portrait of a New Prophet‘: John Calvin Moonlighting as a Pamphleteer in Strasbourg (1539)

Abstract

The sole text in Calvin's name of which just a German translation survives is re-edited here accompanied by an English translation with commentary and notes, as well as other relevant sources including a reproduction of the original. The pamphlet locates Calvin in the Strasbourg publishers, Wendelin Rihel, where he seems to have performed duties to supplement his income and pay off his debts. He also interacted with his colleagues in their dealings with the same printer. The satirical pamphlet tells the story of an itinerant monk trying to reconvert people to Roman Catholicism, and is a sign of Calvin entering the scene of regional and European religious politics, while sharpening his pen. What was originally a French Catholic pamphlet was answered and, incorporating material from Latin correspondence, was recast in German. News thereby straddled linguistic borders.     

Francisco de Enzinas,a Reformationminded humanist with a vernacular dream

Abstract

In sixteenth-century Western Europe there was widespread debate as to whether it was permissible, or even desirable, that the laity read the Bible in the vernacular and whether the Bible might be translated into various national languages. Under the influence of the humanistic ideas of Desiderius Erasmus, several young Spaniards came to Leuven to complete their studies, one of whom was the Spanish humanist, Francisco de Enzinas, whose chief objective was to provide a Spanish translation of Scripture. This article will show that in an eventful life, but cut short, and during which he eventually did admit allegiance to the Reformation, Enzinas was only able to partially achieve this goal. In 1543 he published a Spanish translation of the New Testament and some books of the Old Testament.     

Dogmatic Behavior Among Students: Testing a New Measure of Dogmatism

Abstract

The study tested the validity of a new measure of dogmatism by examining university students' evaluations of the Bible. Those who believed that every word in the Bible came directly from God and that the Bible is free of any error, contradiction, or inconsistency scored much higher on this dogmatism measure than students who thought otherwise. Such “true believers” then read the 4 highly varying Gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The most dogmatic of them still insisted there were no contradictions or inconsistencies in the Bible. The less dogmatic acknowledged that contradictions and inconsistencies exist. These results reinforce those of 4 earlier studies that indicated that the new measure of dogmatism has empirical validity.     

‘May those who know nothing be content to listen': Loys Bourgeois's Advertissement to the Psalms (1551)

Abstract

In 1551 the Genevan cantor, Louis Bourgeois, published an updated collection of metrical psalms with melodies, as part of Jean Calvin's project to publish all 150 psalms in French verse. With this collection, Bourgeois wrote a short notice describing the changes he had made to some of the pre-existing psalm tunes, and offered advice to the congregation on how they might improve the quality of their psalm-singing. After the appearance of the publication, Bourgeois was imprisoned for making unauthorized changes to the psalms, and for encouraging people to remain silent rather than sing out of tune or out of time. Although the intervention of Calvin ensured the cantor's quick release, the Genevan town council ordered that all copies of the book be destroyed. For the first time, Bourgeois's Advertissement to the reader is presented here in the original and in English translation with commentary.     

Tyndale's Disagreement with Luther in the Prologue to the Epistle to the Romans

Abstract

Although it is generally assumed that Tyndale's Prologue to the Epistle to Romans (1526) is a translation of Luther's Preface (1522), this article examines those places where Tyndale deviated from a straight translation of Luther's text, and supports Thomas More's statement that Tyndale was a worse heretic than Luther. Tyndale's doctrine of God, the Father, Christ, and especially of the Holy Spirit, faith, righteousness, flesh and spirit, the state of fallen man and the temporal regiment show Tyndale was not doctrinally a Lutheran when he wrote his Prologue to Romans.     

The First Latin Book of Common Prayer: English Reformation in a Continental Perspective

Abstract

The Ordinatio ecclesiae (1551) of Alexander Alesius is a little-known Latin translation of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Alesius had been resident in England in the 1530s and had kept in touch with his English friends when he returned to the continent, becoming professor of theology at Leipzig. The Ordinatio ecclesiae is, in many ways, a baffling document since it is not a rigid translation of Cranmer's rite. Instead, it contains passages which are both more Roman and more evangelical than the English liturgy. Following a detailed comparison of the English and Latin versions, the author attempts to place the Ordinatio ecclesiae in the context of Reformation politics on the continent during the years between the ‘Augsburg Interim’ and the resumption of the Council of Trent. He finds that the Latin Prayer book was intended to publicize Cranmer's reform measures as an example of a territorial Reformation in order to add a substantial voice to the chorus of evangelical churches calling for a free General Council. The conservative nature of the first Book of Common Prayer seemed ideally suited to further dialogue between evangelicals and reform-minded Catholics, but also to appealing for reconciliation and unity among Lutheran theologians in Saxony who had become divided on the issue of the Interim.     

Martin Niemöller

ABSTRACT

A text by Martin Niemoller which begins “When the Nazis came for the Communists …” has been widely quoted, but its text varies greatly and the date and original audience have been uncertain. This article examines the evidence and concludes that the most probable original version, which differs from most versions by having no mention of the Jews, was published in an article by Niemoller in 1979. This text was probably first spoken in the context of Niemoller's political activism in the late 1950s or 1960s. The various developments in the famous text can then be explained by principles of oral (or semi-oral) transmission of texts.     

The Homosexual Tendencies of King James: Should this Matter to Bible Readers Today?

The question whether King James, who commissioned the translation of the Bible into English in 1604, had homosexual tendencies has been under discussion in recent years. We review the arguments presented against this view and conclude that they are largely circular and ad hominem. We then consider the evidence presented by those who argue for this view, including the emotional distance between King James and his wife; his intense affection for three men in the course of his life; contemporary criticism of his public expressions of affection toward two of these men; and contemporary allegations that his reluctance to commit England to war was due to his “effeminate” nature. We discuss his family history and his relationship to one man in particular and conclude that the argument he had homosexual tendencies is compelling. We then take up the associations that his own contemporaries made between homosexual behavior, effeminacy, pacifism, and the scholar, and present our view that in authorizing the translation of the Bible into English, he provided a scholarly model for male cooperation that was inherently superior to the martial model of male enterprise advocated by his opponents. We also suggest that his authorization of a new translation of the Bible was psycho-dynamically related to his loss of his mother in infancy and to his guilt for having failed to come to her aid when she requested his help. Finally, we make a case in behalf of the King James Version of the Bible on the grounds that it functions as a cultural selfobject (Kohut), due mainly to its maternal associations; that King James’s favorite Bible verse was Matthew 5:9—“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”; and that James had homosexual tendencies.     

BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY

Translation played an important role in the history of Old Yiddish literature. To highlight the problems posed by translation, I have chosen to analyse an ethical-mystical bilingual text, the Kav ha-Yosher by Tsvi Hirsh Koidanover (Frankfurt, 1705 and 1709). This text demonstrates the popularization of Kabbalah in Jewish Ashkenazi culture (seventeenth to eighteenth centuries). I analyse the discrepancies between the Hebrew and the Yiddish texts. The vernacular text is a midrashic commentary, which intertwines the literal adaptation of the original Hebrew text and interpretative extensions. I study the discursive structures, the changes due to the shifts of readership and the differences in cultural tradition between “lay” and “learned” tradition, especially concerning magic, demonology, social criticism, tales, legends and censorship. The Kav ha-Yosher is a remarkable laboratory for an understanding of the nature of translation in vernacular Jewish literature.