Otium Sanctum

The present article submitted to Suite101 in the year 2000, has two parts. The first part deals with the benefits that our generation derives from the work of scholars in producing modern translations of the Bible. The second part, deals with the way these modern translations should be used, lest they become a hindrance to the reader's intended encounter with the Word of God.

Modern translations of the Bible now incorporate a lot of features designed to help the reader understand a biblical text or passage with an eye to its human dimensions. We already said that this fact should be appreciated precisely because it reflects a way of approaching the Biblical word which is coherent to its nature. After all, in the Bible, the Word of God is echoed forth in human words such that in order to contemplate the divine Word, one must first pass through the low and narrow door of the human word. (This was precisely one of the first big mistakes of the young St. Augustine: During his first contact with Scriptures, the lowliness of the human made him reject the Word of God altogether.) I must admit that what daunts the modern reader of the Bible is not really the "lowliness" of its "humanity." What is daunting is the realization that one's understanding of the Scriptures cannot be as immediate as once was thought. Contemporary exegesis and modern hermeneutical theory has taught us that between the reader of the 21st century and the Bible, there is a wide gap that can only be bridged partially by our modern translations. And we know too that not even the countless essays and books of theologians and bible interpreters can fully bridge that gap. No matter how much one has studied the philology or the history and culture behind the letter of Scriptures, there still remains a space which only the Holy Spirit, the Inspirer of the sacred authors, can enlighten. If contemporary understanding of the Bible looks daunting, it is because the Word of God can never be imprisoned within the science -- and ignorance, let me add -- of a particular era or society of human beings. Since the Word of God is both revealed and hidden ("Transcendent-Immanent" as Tillich would write) the right stance towards Him must be that of humble faith that bows to the Revelation acccompanied by the firm resolve to make full use of one's understanding in grasping the truth Revealed. When Mary received the Angelic announcement about her impending pregnancy, she asked a biological question: "How can this be; I haven't had sex with anyone?" When confronted by an angelic announcement in the form of a text, we would do well to ask literary and historical questions. This is what intelligent reading of the Scriptures is about. it is faith in dialogue. And the footnotes and marginal notes of our Bibles (not to mention the maps and tables appended to them) aid the contemporary Bible reader in entering into that dialogue. In order to give the reader an idea of what I have in mind when talking of marginal notes and footnotes to the Bible, I am presenting two modern translations which I have found useful not only for personal reading but also for instruction. These are the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible. Click on the links below for a graphic illustration of each:

Jerusalem Bible  |New American Bible

Four Rules for Using The Notes

1. The explanatory notes of some modern translations of the Bible normally elucidate what is already explained in a general way in the introductions to the individual books. The reader should have read the introduction if he/she expects to profit from explanatory notes.
2. Check the notes only when the context does not help in understanding the passage being read. What has been explained in the previous article cannot be laid aside even here. The notes found in your Bibles do not exempt one from using one's capacity to understand a given passage. Most often the understanding of a given passage (and even a word) depends a lot on the context of that passage (or word).
3. The notes are meant to be guides. Do not treat them as the Word of God. Like the numerical references that we find in our bibles, marginal notes and footnotes have been supplied by human beings whose ministry to the Word have moved them to aid their brothers and sisters in the faith in the study of the same Word that has enlightened them in the first place. And no matter how enlightened they may be, they can not become substitutes to the Holy Spirit who is the primary author of Scriptures.
4. Once a note (whether marginal or footnote) has helped you understand the passage, stop reading it. Enough said. This last rule only elucidates what is already implied in Rule No.3.

In the next article I will be giving a concrete example of how these Rules work.

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