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350 Bible 21 – Firstborn Of or Firstborn Over? (Translating Colossians 1.15)

350 Bible 21 – Firstborn Of or Firstborn Over? (Translating Colossians 1.15)

Colossians 1.15 presents an interesting test case to examine translation bias. Well-meaning Bible students have taken this text in at least three different ways. However, some translators, motivated by a fear that readers might see Christ as a member o

Restitutio

August 11, 202023m 44s

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Show Notes

Colossians 1.15 presents an interesting test case to examine translation bias.  Well-meaning Bible students have taken this text in at least three different ways.  However, some translators, motivated by a fear that readers might see Christ as a member of creation, have increasingly pushed for translating this text so that it says Christ is superior to all creation and thus on the creator side of the creator-creature divide.  In what follows I examine several popular translations and discuss the two main issues in this verse.

—— Books ——

  • A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG)
  • Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Daniel Wallace
  • Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn

—— Links ——

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