Wednesday, July 31, 2024

It is the 31st of July 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

  

Think of a movie you know of that is beloved by a subset of people. We could call it a “cult favorite,” but that language might mean something else on this show. You get the idea.

I’ll pick Twin Peaks- TV. show or movie- I have never seen a second of it. But people love it. As does the New American Standard Bible- a bible celebrating its 53rd birthday as it was first released on this day in 1971.

This show has discussed translations extensively, as recently as this past Monday. I know a guy, so I learned that tomorrow’s show also involves questions about the biblical canon (that is, the collection of books).

In the English-speaking world, King James was, well…. King, from its publication in 1611 until the field of biblical studies, was upended in the 19th century with the discovery of new manuscripts. There was the expected backlash against anything “new,” and charges of heresy were lobbed at those using the new, more ancient, and accurate texts!

The result was the Revised Version in England and eventually the American Standard Version of 1901. Neither was hugely successful, and King James continued its lock on English speakers until the famous and infamous Revised Standard Version, which relied on a manuscript tradition different from King James's and those in its tradition. This, amidst partisan uproars in the 50s and 60s, led to the creation of a new translation attempting to blend fidelity to tradition and the best available manuscripts.

This creation- the New American Standard Version (the “old” version was the 1901 ASV) would be published on the 31st of July in 1971 and quickly became a favorite among some. However, this was in the early days of “competing translations,” so it took some criticism. One critic noted that its first (of many) footnotes in Genesis served as a prophetic word about the whole work like the primordial seas the author called the NASB a “waste and an emptiness.”

The NASB made a few innovations that later translations would follow.

The translators' names were kept secret. While this wasn’t always followed, it set a conversation about whether we need to know who is making translation decisions.

The NASB was the first to capitalize divine pronouns selectively. Using a capital H for “he” when referring to Jesus was not the usual practice. Capitalization has a long and messier history than you might imagine- but don’t think NOT capitalizing them is some impious condemnation of the divine.

The NASB also ditched the use of “Jehovah” in place of the divine tetragrammaton favored in the 1901 ASV and initiated the use of the word “LORD” in all caps for the divine name also called “Yahweh.”

All Old Testament references in the New Testament are in a selected small block font to indicate they are from the Old Testament.

When an English verb doesn’t present its tense but the Hebrew or Greek word does, it is added in English to the text in italics.

The original 1971 version is also replete with footnotes and alternate readings. It has been criticized for being the most accurate but not always the most readable.

Because it borrows from the literary (if not textual) tradition of the King James Version, others look past the grammatical apparatus to a more “elevated” language. The original 71 kept ‘thou’ ‘thee’ and ‘thine’ but only when referring to Divinity.

The NASB also broke ground in that when an update was needed, they didn’t look for a new translation but an updated version of the older version, so the NASB 95 was something like a Windows update for your computer. There have been updated versions in 77, 95, and 2020. While some newer versions have fewer textual notes and some are opposed to inclusive language, even when implied (for example, brothers meaning “brothers and sisters”), there is a general consensus among the devotees that it is the best “study Bible” in the English language. And they might be right.  

The best translation of course is…. The one you read. And then you should read many because they are free and on your phone right now.

Today we remember the first, in a sense, of translations that ushered in our modern phenomenon of multiple bible translations- happy 53rd birthday, NASB.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Isaiah 25 and one of the greatest promises of the Old Testament- a picture of our Home country:

 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,


a banquet of aged wine—

    the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy

    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;
    he will swallow up death forever.


The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears

    from all faces;


he will remove his people’s disgrace

    from all the earth.


The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

    we trusted in him, and he saved us.


This is the Lord, we trusted in him;

    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 31st of July 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by Christopher Gillespie, whose favorite cult movie is Weird Al’s UHF—or at least it should be.

The show is written and read by a man whose favorite cult hit might be Pee Wee’s Big Adventure- I’m a loner, Dottie… a rebel. And I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.