I have a question regarding the use of the words "of" & "by" and “a” & “the” in the scripture Rev 1:1
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, -The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Re 1:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
My question arises from finding a translation that translates Rev 1:1 “A revelation by Jesus Christ” instead of “The revelation of Jesus Christ” ·
Is there a significant and distinct difference in the meaning between these 2 ways
to translate the phrase?
[i.e. was the revelation about “of” Jesus Christ or was it that the revelation was
only brought to John “by” Jesus Christ]·
Does Greek use prepositions?·
Is there significance difference in meaning of translating “A revelation” vs. “The
revelation”
[Use of Greek articles is not clear to me, because I have little to no Greek
knowledge.]
What assumptions are made by translators in the translations of this passage?
What does the Greek “ask” for in translating this passage ?
Seems to me the translation “A revelation by Jesus Christ” diminishes Jesus Christ in the big scheme of scripture. Am I off base?
- Hi Edith, I'm going to paste your questions down here and deal with each in turn. I am afraid it may not offer as much detail as you'd want, but hope it helps. 'My question arises from finding a translation that translates Rev 1:1 “A revelation by Jesus Christ” instead of “The revelation of Jesus Christ” ' In Greek there is no indefinite article, only the presence or absence of an article. The absence can be brought about either because it is not something the speaker expects the hearer to be able to pick out, like the English distinction between "a revelation" (potentially one of many) or "the revelation" (and not any other one. The another factor that can lead to the absence of an article is attributing emphasis to the word, normally by moving it to the beginning of the sentence. Since this phrase is the first one in the book, and what follows are two relative clauses (which and who), there's no real way to tell if it has been fronted for emphasis or not. It is an editorial judgement call, with arguments for both cases. I don't think there is much of a deal to be made one way or the other. "Is there a significant and distinct difference in the meaning between these 2 ways to translate the phrase? [i.e. was the revelation about “of” Jesus Christ or was it that the revelation was only brought to John “by” Jesus Christ]" Greek does use prepositions, a good many of them sharing semantic overlap with English counterparts. However, "of Jesus Christ" is in the genitive case, which can be used either for possession (Jesus's revelation) or source (the revelation that came from him). If you think about it, we have the same kind of ambiguity with the English possessive as the Greek genitive; either is grammatically possible. In cases like this, translators look to other factors from the context to try and resolve the ambiguity. I think that the possessive reading is the most natural, meaning that if the writer had wanted to signal Jesus was the means there are more specific ways of doing it, as the translators do with supplying "by" or "through."I think the fact that an angel is the one revealing things to John tilts the scale in favor of the possessive since an agent has already been specified the context. I wish it was as straightforward as the Greek asking for something that the translator simply needs to respond to. Generally speaking, I opt for the plain sense of the text rather than some lesser-used option that might have more clearly been communicated another way. Questions like diminishing Jesus's role can be asked, but they may well lead us away from the right answer. The bottom line is that language is messy, messier that commentators and pastors are often willing to permit. Linguistically trained bible translators are much more aware of the issues in play, buy most English translations have been done by teams of bible scholars, not linguists. English is the primary framework within which issues are considered rather than how languages of the world typically operate or convey such things. Hope that helps!
- Thanks Steve. As I look over the interlinears & read what scholars like yourself have to say, it is obvious how messy language is; English by itself is very messy. ;-) Your answer allows me to avoid wasting time & energy jousting at wind mills. I certainly do not want to be lead away from the right answer by asking questions that may lead in a wrong direction or perhaps reveal an agenda of my own & not God's. Onward and upward toward God's truth! One other question: is there an existing Bible translation that is done by linguistically trained Bible translators or have linguists represented on the translation committee? Thanks again, Edie Van Evera