Friday, May 24, 2024

Italicized Words in the Bible

 The italicized words are interpolations, words that were not in the original documents but were added to the English text. Many of them are there to make things make better grammatical sense in English, but a few of them can actually change the meanings of the passages, so they ought to be examined critically.

Why does the Bible contain words that are in italics? The word italic means relating to Italy and was a kind of type used in the Italian states around 1500. Is there a special significance to these words in italics? What purpose do they serve?

The practice of indicating by different types—specifically italics—words and phrases which were not in the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts was reputedly first introduced by Sebastian Muenster of Basel, Switzerland, in a Latin version of the Old Testament published in 1534.

In 1611, King James I of England assigned this task to a group of 54 translators. They were composed of prominent members of the clergy, Puritans, and the acknowledged scholars of that time. They translated from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. And just like their predecessors, they used italics to distinguish the words they added to make the peculiar Hebrew and Greek idiomatic expressions understandable in English.

Christ was not Jesus' last name; it was a title rather than a proper name. Per etymonline.com, "the Anointed," synonymous with and translating to Greek  Hebrew mashiah (see messiah), a title given to Jesus of Nazareth; Old English crist (by 830, perhaps 675), from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed," noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoint" (from PIE root *ghrei- "to rub"). He was anointed with an oil. In John 12:3, he is anointed by Mary. Technically, it would be Jesus the Christ. 

Messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, mašíaḥ, or המשיח, mashiach; Imperial Aramaic: משיחא; Classical Syriac: ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ, Məšîḥā; Latin: Messias) literally means 'anointed one', not God.

http://www.enduring.org/article/italics-in-the-bible

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