Twin Meanings

Identical twins may seem very much alike when you first meet them, but once you get to know them, you discover that they are two different people after all! There are "twins" in language too. Every language has words with similar meanings, which are called synonyms. For example, English has words like: small/little, big/large, and hop/jump. The meanings of these words overlap a great deal, yet if you examine them closely, you'll find that they are not exactly the same. On one hand, there doesn't seem to be much difference in meaning between the statements "the kangaroo hopped" and "the kangaroo jumped". But on the other hand, have you noticed that the Olympic event is always "the long jump" and never "the long hop"? Obviously these two words are very similar in meaning, but not quite the same.

Hebrew and Greek have synonyms too, and this can make translation more difficult. For example, notice the words in bold in the verse below:

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." (Psa 100:4)

In Hebrew, those four words are close synonyms. So theoretically, you could translate it this way: "Enter into His gates with praise, and into His courts with praise; give praise unto Him, and praise His name." But that doesn't sound very good, does it? Not to mention the fact that the Hebrew does use three different words there (plus a noun closely related to one of the other words). We must find some way to translate these words accurately, yet (if possible) using three different words that match the Hebrew meanings as closely as possible.

We have to study each of the Hebrew words carefully, both the words themselves and how they are used throughout the Old Testament. Their meanings are very similar, but there are some slight differences, just like with my English example of "hop" and "jump". For example, the word for "thanksgiving" emphasizes the verbal expression of praise, while the word for "praise" emphasizes worship. That's why, even though both words describe the same kinds of actions, the English translators were able to carefully choose two different English equivalents - "thanksgiving" and "praise".

In our ministry of Bible translation, this sort of study is a very real help to both consultants and translators. With a better understanding of what the words mean, the consultant is able to explain each word's meaning clearly to the translators, who in turn are better able to choose the best word to use in the translation. This is also something that new consultants like myself can help with, even while still on deputation. We BI consultants are constantly working to study such problems beforehand, and share our studies with each other. So as soon as possible, even new consultants get to help with various projects and studies that will be useful to the entire team (I usually have several different projects that I'm working on). We get to be a part of translation ministry even before we get to the field!