Gender in James

To catch the full emphasis of this post, please read the following posts (and comments) in order before continuing. TC’s original post A Speck of Dust in the TNIV’s Eye; comments there birthed these two posts by Suzanne over at the BBB: Rahab and her sisters & Grammatical Gender.

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Now that you have read those, I’ll get on with my story. Over the past few months I’ve studied a bit about the Greek term adelphoi which means brothers. Or does it? Trying to find the answer to this question has led me back and forth, through various commentaries, and ultimately to this post. Up until Sunday morning this journey had been primarily relegated to what I read online and the occasional book. Why Sunday morning? Well, it just so happens that we’ve been studying James during Sunday School, and yesterday our class teacher and his wife were MIA, with no one assigned to cover for them. Both our high school and middle school pastors are in our class, however they were out of town for the holiday weekend as well. So after about twenty minutes of chit-chat and sharing prayer requests I finally offered to lead us through the passage for the day.

On this particular day I happened to bring three small bibles to church instead of my usual one. They were my TNIV, ESV, and a tiny GNT that I had just purchased the day before for $5. As I quickly glanced over the passage in our handbook I found the references to James 2:14-19 (I’ve included the Greek at the bottom of the post for your convenience).

I flipped to the page in my TNIV and noticed that it started off with the infamous my brothers and sisters! As I read verse fifteen I noticed that it also had the words a brother or sister, singular! After the previous week’s blog reading I couldn’t believe the odds of this happening. A quick glance at my GNT showed me that there were not just one, but three Greek words in this passage relating directly to Suzanne’s post the day before.

 

Translation of 1 Cor. 9:27

This is a response to TC’s latest post based on his current reading in the TNIV. Since he quoted me and predicted that I would like the TNIV translation best I decided to look at all of my translations as well as the Greek which underlies them. For those unfamiliar with the passage, I am quoting the last phrase of verse 26 and all of verse 27 in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. The TNIV and Greek read as follows:

• ²⁶ I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.






• ²⁶ οὕτως πυκτεύω ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων· ²⁷ ἀλλὰ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, μήπως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι.

This is the first time I’ve used the BAGD and a few of my other new resources. First off, I have to say that they are great! It is amazing to read the nuances that can be found in the Greek in these few words. The downside is that I had a really hard time finding an English translation that seemed to capture the Greek expression without being too free with the idioms. Fortunately, I did find a modern English translation that was very good, but I’m sorry TC, it was not the TNIV. I very much prefer the translation given by The New English Bible:

• ²⁶ I am like a boxer who does not beat the air; ²⁷ I bruise my own body and make it know its master, for fear that after preaching to others I should find myself rejected.

What an enjoyable translation. Every once in a while the NEB really shines, and unfortunately the REB altered this reading for one that I find less accurate and less enjoyable to read. Now I couldn’t resist, so here is my somewhat unpolished translation in which I try to retain some of the Greek nuance:

• ²⁶ Therefore I box not as one whiffing the air, ²⁷ rather I black my eyes, bringing my body into subjection; that perhaps having proclaimed to others I might have become unqualified.

It’s getting late so I have posted the last draft of my translation. It could use some clarification but I think it at least captures the essence of what I am concentrating on. Feel free to pick my version apart, post your favorite translation, or translate it yourself.