Quendi:
You made some interesting comments which reveal insight and value for the truth. I like your stand on the divine name which is similar to my undertanding of it. I believe it is a great loss to remove the divine name for petty reasons.
In regards to Frederick Franz's knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, I tend to believe he had more knowledge of the "original" languages than he is credited for. There is only concrete knowledge that he studied two years of Greek, but there is some "incidental" knowledge that he knew far more than acknowledged. Even Raymond Franz, not a fond family member of Frederick, admitted to me that Frederick had the competence to tackle bible translation. He has also told countless others of his uncle's ability with languages, and his unusual mental discipline. In fact, he was often miffed by dubious evangelicals who took his note of his book on Franz's credentials and made it look like he had zero knowledge of Greek. In the quote below, keep in mind, Ray was fair, but had no fondness of Fred who was at least partly responsible for his disfellowshipping, and had a different personality that created friction with Ray's.
This is what Raymond Franz literally said:
"... Fred Franz studied Greek for two years at the University of Cincinnati, with high marks, and continued his studies personally thereafter. One need only read the critical notes accompanying the New World Translation to see the extent of his knowledge of Biblical Greek and its grammar. He was self-taught in Hebrew. However, knowing him personally I am satisfied that he was capable of developing a thorough knowledge of the language. He was unusually mentally disciplined. He taught himself Spanish, a language I spoke in Spanish-speaking countries for nearly 20 years. While in Brooklyn, I associated with a Spanish-speaking congregation that he attended. I heard his use of the language both there and, previously, in Spanish speaking countries. Whether in conversational expressions or in public talks that he gave in Spanish I did not once hear him make a single grammatical error. He similarly learned Portuguese and gave talks in that language. He knew German from his childhood (his father having been born in Germany).
On one occasion, while in Cincinnati, I took Fred Franz ( he himself did not drive) to a Hebrew museum which he knew contained a particular Biblical Hebrew manuscript that he wished to research. I stood alongside him while he read through the portions of the Hebrew text he wished to investigate. While working on the Watch Tower's Bible dictionary Aid to Bible Understanding., on more than one occasion I had to seek out his assistance with reference to Hebrew renderings. He was always able to supply the needed information. In 1971, on a trip to Israel, we visited the Watch Tower's branch office located in Haifa. A member of the staff there, Dalia Erez, a young Jewish woman, native to the country, did Hebrew translation of the organization's publications. She spent part of one day discussing with Fred Franz certain translation problems she was experiencing and received his assistance and recommendations. She clearly found his knowledge of Hebrew solid.
His knowledge of Hebrew was not equal to his knowledge of Greek and he was not an advanced or notable Hebrew scholar but his knowledge was sufficient to produce a creditable translation.
Sincerely,
Ray.
