A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew
Overview
What if you were responsible for translating God's Word into a language that never had a Bible before? Can you imagine the burden you would feel to do a good job?
God takes His Word pretty seriously, and you would certainly do everything in your power to make sure that you were not putting words into God's mouth, but that you were providing a text that clearly communicated God's Word as closely to the original as possible.
This challenge to understand the heart of the original Scriptures, in order to put the original text into a new language, was the impetus for the United Bible Societies to create handbooks for Bible translators working on this very thing. The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series is a comprehensive verse-by-verse guide to understanding exactly what is being communicated by the author in the original Scriptures.
Key Features
- Exegetical, historical, cultural, and linguistic information on the original text
- Verse-by-verse guides
- An essential tool for Bible translators
Top Highlights
“There you are with a whole plank in your eye, and you dare to say to your brother” (Page 197)
“Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Hungering and thirsting are figures for longing after God, both in the Old Testament (Isa 55:1; Psa 42:2; Baruch 2:18) and in the New Testament (John 4:13; 7:37; Rev 21:6; 22:17). The meaning of the figure is to seek something with all one’s heart, to desire it above all else.” (Page 111)
“Anxious about is translated by the equivalent of ‘worry about’ in TEV, NAB, NJB, AT, Brc, Phps. Either translation is an accurate rendering of the Greek. One commentator expresses the meaning as ‘You must not be distracted by cares.’ The verb occurs four more times in this passage (verses 27, 28, 31, 34) and in 10:19. There are several ways languages express the meaning of anxious about. Some say ‘Don’t be overly concerned,’ ‘Don’t let the worries distract you,’ or ‘Don’t allow the cares to bother you too much.’” (Page 185)
“Wise men translates a Greek noun which originally referred to Persian priests who were experts in astrology and in the interpretation of dreams.” (Page 33)
“The meek (TEV ‘humble’) of this verse and the ‘poor’ of verse 3 are the same people viewed from a different perspective (see comment at verse 3). In fact, in the language of Jesus the word could hardly be distinguished from ‘poor.’ It contained echoes of ‘insignificant, lowly,’ and may even be rendered ‘powerless.’ These people possess no power because they do not need it; they rest their entire hope on God. Instead of trying to overpower others, they serve him.” (Page 110)
Product Details
- Title: A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew
- Authors: B. M. Newman, P. C. Stine
- Series: The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series (UBSHS)
- Publisher: United Bible Societies
- Publication Date: 1988
- Pages: 906