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Preface

The word Bible is a Greek word after the Phoenician city of Byblos which mean book. Now the first thing you will notice when you see this book is that it looks backwards and the words inside are read from right to left. So the question might come to mind , If you don’t read Assyrian (modern Arabic) or Babylonian (modern Hebrew) why is this book translated in this manner. There have been many bibles translated in the past, but most were translated interpreted, and because of the interpretation and not just the translation, many of the Bibles today read very differently in some chapters or verses. So we translated this text on a word per word , letter per letter basis, and from right to left. And we didn’t add or take any words away to give you a book of perfect English grammer, but to give you a book of understanding of just how the Hebrew (OBR) people spoke in their own language. The first time the word of God was translated was by Joshua as recorded in the Talmud’s book of legend stating; " after he crossed the Jordan, he took stones from the bottom of the river and placed them on the other side and wrote on them the law of God in the 70 languages that were spoken in those days". The second time was in the book of Ezra stating;"when Ezra and the people thought the law was destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem and God restored it unto them through Ezra. But it was converted into Babylonian letters, letter per letter, but the words were Hebrew (OBR) words;word per word. Third was when Ptolemy the Greek king of Egypt wanted a Greek translation of the law for his great library and asked the king of Israel to send him translators for the task and he sent him the Sanhedrim ( the 70 elders) for the job. Because of this, the text is called by some, "the LXX" meaning 70th or the Septuagint . It is said that each of the scholars retired to their own work place. After completing the work they compared their end result and discovered that they had produced an identical translation word for word. Fourth, a commission by Pope Damasus, who wanted to make a Latin translation of the scriptures, and a scholar named Jerome was selected for the task. Jerome was born between 340 and 350 in Dalmatin, and he was one of few who could read what was called Hebrew and Greek at that time. His version was called the Latin Vulgate and he claims to have translated it from the Hebrew text. Being strongly influenced by the Septuagint he just didn’t translate it. But added his own interpretation to some verses based on what he believed. Also some of the Septuagints saying he also deleted words when you compared his work to the Hebrew text. When his translation reached Africa it caused a great stir in the churches of Augustine Bishop of Carthage, and he rejected Jerome translation. So it can be said that the seed of Dynamic Equivalency (meaning not just to translate the word but also seeking to translate the meaning from one language into another based on their morphology or theological view, even if they had to sacrifice a word for a word translation in the process) translation interpretation started here with Jerome Vulgate. Fourth, following in Jerome foot steps was a man named Deriderius Erasmus. A Roman Catholic priest who was the first to print the bible. Not just the old testament which was what the church mainly used up unto this point, but also the entire manuscripts of the new testament, becoming the first published Greek new testament in this manner or what he called the New Instrument at the time. He also translated interpreted some of Jerome Latin translation and his work became known as The Textus Receptus. The sixth in this tree of Dymamic Equivalency translation interpreter was Robert Estienne called Stephanus and the seventh Theodore Beze who was responsible for the final form of The Textus Receptus which became the basis for the King James translators and others. Here are some of the Chapters and verses where the translators interpretation differ in some bibles;Genesis 24:61, 31:27, Exodus 2:8, 19:6, 23:13, 30:35, Leviticus 13:30, 14:10, 21:20, 22:22, Deuteronomy 11:30, 14:13, 22:19, 26:1, Joshua 13:15, Judges 1:23, 16:7, Ruth 3:15, 1Samuel 10:24, 17:6, 21:13, 27:10, 2Samuel 8:18, 14:20, 1King7:33, 41:18, 2King 16:18, 1Chronicles 32:28, Nehemiah 13:26, Job 15:27, Psalm 69:32, 119:161, Proverbs 30:19, Song of Song 2:12, Isaiah 3:22, 7:14, 32:7, 65:11, Jeremiah 2:22, 34:16, 46:4, 49:8, 51:22, Ezekiel 30:21, Amos 4:4, Micah 5:2, Haggai 1:4. Finally, let us add that we do not feel that the bible translation or interpretion isn’t the key to understanding God’s word but we do believe in what Genesis 40:8 said "Do not interpretations belong to God". So that would mean in whatever translation you read it is God who gives a man his interpretation of his word through his spirit and because 2 Peter 1:20 said "That no prophecy of the scriptures is of any private interpretation". This is why we took on the task of doing this book. 2 Timothy 2:15 said, "Study to show thyself approved unto God". So although this book might take time to study and might not be in English grammer. We did what none of the modern translators believed before us and that was to give you a formal equivalency translation. (meaning attempting to give as literal of a translation as possible seeking a word for word translation from one language into another.) Just to translate the words only without any interpretation and God would do the rest. Now the Phoenicians, who were these people? Our history books give us only a glimpse of who they were. Pamela Odijk in her book " THE PHOENICIAN" on pg. 45 mentions some famous Phoenicians:Hanno was a Carthaginian who led an expedition by sea to northwest Africa in about 425 BC He set out with 60 ships and 30,000 people, and founded five cities including Carian Fortress, Acra and Cerne. He is thought to have reached the Cameroons. Hanno was searching for gold along the African coast. An account of his voyage was written on a stele in the temple of Baal Hammon, at Carthage. Our knowledge of his voyage is based on a Greek version of Hannon’s account in a manuscript called ‘The Periplus Of Hannon’. Himilco sailed from Carthage in about 450 BC along the coast of Spain and France, and reached Britain and Ireland. His intention was to gain access to the tin deposits at Cornwall. Himlico was the son of Hanno who commanded the army against the Greeks in 466 to 405 BC; Hannibal was a Carthaginian who led armies against the Romans during the Second Punic War from 218 to 201 BC He had become chief at the age of 26. When the Romans declared war, Hannibal, with 40,000 men and a number of elephants, crossed the Pyrenees, and trooped across the Alps and into northern Italy. He soundly defeated the Romans in 217 BC and again the following year, even though his army was poorly supplied from Carthage. When Rome attacked Carthage, Hannibal was ordered to leave Italy and return to Carthage. He eventually had to flee from Carthage also. He finally died in 183 BC; Himilcar Barca commanded the Carthage forces during the last two years of the first Punic War of 264 to 246 BC He captured and held Mt. Ercte against the Roman and from here launched attacks against Sicily and Italy. He then held Mt. Eryx for the Carthaginians. Hamilcar was responsible for the treaty with the Romans that ended the war. Hamilcar was the father of Hannibal; Hiram was a Phoenician king who ruled Tyre from 969 to936 BC He was on friendly terms with King David and supplied him with building materials for his palace, and King Solomon, David’s son with materials and craftsmen to build his famous Temple at Jerusalem and his palace.
     

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Amariel Family Publishing 2006

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