Dynamic Energy

by hamilcarr 8 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  hamilcarr

  The Hebrew word 'onim' (gen. pl. of root form 'own') is rendered as 'dynamic energy' in the NWT.

  Most other translations use words like 'strength', 'might' and 'force', and these are very close to the Latin rendering 'fortitudinis'.

  Many other contexts in which the word 'own' is used are dealing with men (Jacob, Hos 12:3) and animals (Behemoth, Job 40:16).

  Gesenius's lexicon gives two translations for the word: (1) strength, power; (2) substance and wealth. It's remarkable that the word sometimes may be translated as 'reproductive force', which could be the inital meaning of the term.

  Does anyone know why the NWT renders this word as 'dynamic energy', which gives the entire verse an incorrect scientific touch?
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  LtCmd.Lore

  Does anyone know why the NWT renders this word as 'dynamic energy', which gives the entire verse an incorrect scientific touch?

  I think you just answered your own question...
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  hamilcarr

  A more accurate question would be: can anyone give me a linguistic reason why the NWT renders this word as 'dynamic energy' apart from giving the entire verse a scientific touch? It's not because it may be an odd rendering when compared to other translations that it's necessarily linguistically incorrect. If the scientic touch were the only reason, however, it's a serious translation error.
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  VM44

  How does the Septuagint translate the Hebrew word? That might provide a clue as to why the NWT translators chose to use "dynamic energy".
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  Narkissos

  The sexual connotation is apparent in Genesis 49:3; Deuteronomy 21:17; Psalm 78:51; 105:36; probably also Job 40:16; it is also possible imo in Hosea 12:3(4), with "in his manhood" as opposed to "in the womb"; an economical sense (= riches, wealth) is often assumed in Hosea 12:8(9) and Job 20:10, but it remains uncertain, because only the artificial Masoretic vocalisation differentiates 'wn = 'ôn from 'wn = 'awen, "harm, trouble, misdeed," which would also make sense in those contexts.

  The other occurrences don't seem to imply any clear connotation except the general meaning "strength". It might be tempting to suggest a sexual metaphor in Isaiah 40:26 (Yhwh begetting the stars) but the parallel expressions and the other use of 'wn in v. 29 do not really support it. In answer to VM44, the LXX translates doxa = "glory" in v. 26 and apparently reads the homonym in v. 29, "he gives grief to the unharmed," a quite different meaning.
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  hamilcarr

  Thanks for your scholarly post Narkissos.

  Some questions remain:

  1. Why did the Septuagint translators opt for doxa, a term semantically quite distant from the original Hebrew word 'own'? Did there exist any hidden meaning in the term 'own' they didn't want to be said about God?

  2. In Job 40, for instance, the Greek word 'dynamis' is used to render Hebr. 'own'. This rendering is pretty close to 1) the original Hebrew word; 2) the NWT translation 'dynamic energy', apart from the obvious observation that 'dynamic' is not a substantive and bears a quite ambiguous meaning in contemporary English.
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  Narkissos

  The LXX was translated over several centuries, and it is far from consistent, especially for those parts of the vocabulary which were not deemed as theological keywords. But (1) I agree with you that in Isaiah 40:26 doxa sounds more like an evasion than a translation; they might indeed have been embarrassed by the sexual connotation of the term as they understood it (whether that was the right meaning in the Hebrew context of Deutero-Isaiah is another matter), or by the negative sense of the homonym (?) which they did read in v. 29. (2) Job 40:16 is apparently the only instance where dunamis is used in the LXX so it is not a "standard" rendering either. And of course, this word does not sound "scientific" in Greek...
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  jwfacts

  This is a great find as this used to be a favourite scripture of mine. It certainly looks like a case of the NWT translators attempting to give the Bible scientific credibility.

  I cannot find any reference in the Watchtower library to why they chose to use this word. They do however make a very brief note of the word fortitude in the Reference Bible.

  ***

  Footnote*** Footnote Rbi8 Isaiah 40:26 "Dynamic energy." Heb., ’oh·nim´, pl.; Lat., for·ti·tu´di·nis, "fortitude."

  The word Dynamic Energy does not make sense when reading further in Isa 40. (Isaiah 40:29) . . .He is giving to the tired one power; and to the one without dynamic energy he makes full might abound.

  Fortitude is a far better word here. It is hardly scientific to claim that the "dynamic energy" of God (a spiritual being), is what the universe is created from, and is also supposed to be the same energy that God imbues the tired one.
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  LtCmd.Lore

  The scripture in question is Isaiah 40:26:

  "Raise YOUR eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one [of them] is missing."

  The Hebrew word used is "' own" whi ch means "vigour, generative power, wealth, physical strength." http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/heb/view.cgi?number=0202

  The Watchtower is either being extremely fatuous or extremely misleading by implying that this is in some way related to thermodynamics.

  ***

  w078/15p.5AdmiretheDesign;LearnAbouttheDesigner***

  Indeed, Isaiah 40:26 then brings up a fact consistent with Einstein’s well-known formula E=mc 2 . That fact is that the universe was produced by a source of dynamic energy and power.

  What Isaiah said is neither consistent nor inconsistant with Einstein's formula, because it nothing whatsoever to do with energy in the scientific sense. Isaiah is talking about strength and vigour, not joules and ergs.

  Isaiah is talking about magic, not science.