CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

302 Evangelizology
C. Toward Translating Proclamational Words in the Old Testament:
Introduction:
The first two verbs in Psalm 19 happen to be proclamational verbs. While speaking of general
revelation, they none the less exhibit a practice which was far too common in the translation
practices of the King James Bible.
The following chart displays the wide range of verbs used to translate the verbs in Psalm 19:1, “The
heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
On the Translation of the verbs in Psalm 19:1
Hebrew Greek Latin
Wycliffe
2nd ed
(1388)
Coverdale
(1534)
KJV
Douais-
Rheims
(1899)
RSV
(1952)
NAS
(1977)
New
ABS’ GNT
NIV (1984) Jerusalem
(1993)
(1985)
NET
(2004,
2005)
Saphar dihge,omai enarrant tellen declare declare shew forth are telling are telling declare declare reveals declare
Nagad
avnagge,llw
adnuntiat* tellith sheweth sheweth declare proclaims
is
declaring
proclaim proclaims shows displays
*The New Latin Vulgate changed this verb to “annuntiat”
Hebrew Geneva
(1560)
‘amar
‘amar
The question that jumps out, especially from the second verb, is as follows: is the Hebrew nagad
proclamational or is it visual?
Brown-Driver-Briggs encouraged the following translations: 1) tell, announce, report; 2) declare,
make known, expound; 3) inform of; 4) publish, declare, proclaim; 5) avow, acknowledge,
confess
The Theological Wordbook of the OT used two terms as translations of nagad: tell, make known
The Holiday Lexicon included the following verbs: put forward, report, announce, tell; speak
out; denounce; explain, solve.
From these lexicons, the answer is that the verb nagad is always verbal. But just like the variance of
translation of this verb, so there is a wide variance in the translation of many proclamational
verbs in the OT, particularly those that are most closely related to evangelism!
Here is another striking example of this perplexing variety:
Deut 26:17-18, “You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways
and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. And the LORD
has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you
should keep all His commandments;”
hast set
vp
hathe set
thee vp
KJV
(1611/
1769)
hast
avouched
hath
avouched
thee
Young’s
(18
hast
caused to
promise
hath
caused
thee to
promise
Translations of ‘amar (to say, tell) in Deut 26:17-18
Darby
(1885)
hast this
day
accepted
hath
accepted
thee
Douais-
Rheims ✠
(1899)
hast
chosen
hath
chosen
thee
RSV
(1952)
have
declared
has
declared
this day
concerning
you
NAS
(1977)
have
today
declared
has today
declared
you
NIV
(1984)
have
declared
has
declared
this day
that you
NJB ✠
(1985)
have
obtained
this
declara-
tion
has
obtained
this
declaration
from
you
NRSV
have
obtained
the Lord’s
agreement
has
obtained
your
agreement
NAB ✠
(1985)
are
making
this
agreement
is making
this
agreement
with
you
The following chart is meant to whet the appetite as to what studies are possible when a particular
word is studied in the original languages. This chart considers the translation of 9 uses of nagad
in Deuteronomy in several English translations, with the addition of Deut 25:9, in which the
NASB used “declare.”
Holman
(2005)
have
affirmed
has
affirmed
that you