Product Description

World-renowned Bible translator and commentator George M. Lamsa explains nearly one thousand crucial idioms that will enrich reading of the Old and New Testaments for students and general reader alike.

Lamsa, who was raised speaking Aramaic in a community that followed customs largely unchanged since the times of Christ, offers fresh, accurate translations of important idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech found in the Scripture--and provides clear explanations of their meaning of biblical context.

Just as Shakespeare, Milton, and Browning wrote in the vernacular for English-speaking people, Moses the prophets, and the apostles wrote for their own people in the plain language of their times, so that even the unlearned might understand God's Word.Over the centuries, inaccurate translations and misunderstandings of customs and concepts have led to difficulties in bringing the biblical message to contemporary English-speaking readers.

For example, when a man says to Jesus, "let me bury my father," Lamsa points out that this expression means, "Let me first take care of my father until he dies." Traditionally, scholars assumed that this man's father was dead and that Jesus was not interested in his burial. Lamsa's scholarship offers a more accurate understanding of the intent and spirit of this passage.

Idioms in the Bible Explained and a Key to the Original Gospels goes far in correcting such errors that have crept into Biblical scholarship. Obscure and difficult passages from both Old and New Testaments are listed and compared with the King James version (though it will be helpful when used with any English version). These make clear the original meaning of such ancient idioms and assure that our grasp of the biblical message is more sound and rewarding.

To further uncover the original teachings of Scripture, Idioms in the Bible Explained and a Key to the Original Gospels, Lamsa discusses at greater length such topics as "The Language of Jesus," "Aramaic Phraseology," "The Sayings of Jesus," "Early Translations," and more..

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #187754 in Books
• Published on: 1985-10-23
• Released on: 1985-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Publisher
Explains nearly 1,000 crucial idioms to enrich reading Scripture for student and general reader.

About the Author
George M. Lamsa brings to this work a lifetime of scholarship and translation of the Eastern manuscripts of the Bible.He was raised in Assyria; during his lifetime he translated The Holy Bible from the Aramaic of the Peshitta and authored over twenty books illuminating the original meaning of Scripture.

Customer Reviews

Hope for fundamentalists
This book could mean hope for the fundamentalists. If they take this book to heart maybe they will find a more loving God. I loved the book. I would also recommend the book An Encounter With A Prophet; but only for those people who enjoyed this book. The Encounter is way too far advanced for the fundamentalist to start off with. Again this is a wonderful work.

Reveals the Bible to be full of Aramaic colloquialism.
This book should cause Christians to re-think their current belief about prophecies of Jesus returning on the clouds or about the Rapture. According to the Aramaic-speaking Lamsa, these prophecies (and many others) are idioms or metaphors and are not to be interpreted literally. A real eye-opener for theologians and layman alike. How did this book get ignored for 60 years?

Hundreds of important verses of the Bible are translated by Lamsa from the Tree of Life in the garden (Gen. 2:9) being an idiom meaning "sex, posterity, progeny;" to the Messiah coming from the clouds (Dan. 7:13) being a metaphor meaning "coming with great honor and glory;" to the meeting of the Lord in the air (II Thess. 4:17) simply meaning "to hasten meet him."

After reading this book, I wondered how many Christian tenets are based on the mistranslation of idioms. It sort of puts Christianity "in a pickle," when you think about it.

This book, and Lamsa's Bible translation, could revolutionalize Christianity if enough theologians were aware of it. Perhaps seeds of thought for a New Christianity that finally transcends the Dark Ages.

A helpful study tool.
The purpose of this book is to help us understand the idioms used in the Bible.
Part One is broken down into books by order;Genesis first etc..
A phrase and location are listed with a translation.
An example-Gen.49:24 "His bow abode in strength" means he will become a valiant warrior.

Some of the translations in this book are "off the mark" in my opinion.
The number 666 meaning Nero Caesar.
The Sons of God from Genesis 6 being Seth's descendants.
These ideas are debatable.

A Key to the original Gospels(Part Two of the book) has some interesting information.
"Eli,Eli,Lmana Sabachthani" the phrase uttered my Messiah shortly before his death is rendered-"My God,my God,for this I was kept."

Mr.Lamsa may have went a bit too far looking for symbolic meaning in passages that have a literal meaning.
While I don't think that this book is without error, it has value as a tool for studying some difficult idioms.