Europeanization of the Scriptures

Europeanization of the Scriptures refers to the process whereby the Pentateuch and other ancient texts were translated into English. Over the centuries, the Hebrew scriptures that form the base of the Christian Bible have been translated into European languages in ways that some critics suggest partially obfuscate the original messages and depart the works from the ethnic aspects of their origins.

For example, many ancient Hebrew and Greek words do not translate directly into Modern English. Thus many terms have had to be translated into a modern word that means something similar to its original meaning. This has generally not been problematic.
The King James Version of the Bible replaced many archaic measurement systems with latter-day systems; though the inclusion of latter-day terms such as "duke", "penny" and "castle" may have caused some confusion amongst readers.
A contentious point may have been the replacing Hebrew names with Hellenized or Latinized equivalents. For example, the name Moshe is of Semitic origin; however, Moses is the most used form in English. Universally known today, the name Jesus is seen by some to be misleading. Some contend that the name "Jesus" is a Latinization of Greek Iesous. However, others point out that Jesus and Yeshua a common linguitic root with Joshua, which means "Yahweh is salvation". The word "Christ" derives from the Greek word Christos, meaning "anointed". In the English translation of the Koren Bible, the Hebrew forms of Biblcal names are used instead of the Greek- or Latin-derived forms. Even originally non-Hebrew names, like Nebuchadnezzar II, Cyrus the Great, and Persia, are transcribed using Hebrew transliteration.
Some Bible scholars (and others) take exception with the New International Version of the Holy Bible published 1978 wherein many passages have been reworded that might imply new meanings. Particularly, substituting the phrase used to describe Japheth's descendants, "goy", with the less identifying "maritime peoples".

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