Névtani Értesítő (Dec 2015)
A bibliai héber nevek megjelenítése a nemzeti bibliafordításokban, különös tekintettel a legújabb protestáns bibliafordításainkra [The equivalents of biblical Hebrew names in national Bible translations and the latest Hungarian Protestant Bible translations in particular]
Abstract
The transcription of biblical Hebrew names may seem a relatively easy subtask of Bible translation, but, in reality, it is a serious challenge, requiring clearly established philological principles, transcription rules, and – with respect to church use – a high degree of willingness to compromise. The paper examines the origins of those forms of biblical Hebrew personal and place names which were borrowed from Greek and Latin and appear in contemporary Hungarian Protestant Bible translations; reiterates a translator’s main dilemma of retaining these familiar name forms or transcribing them based on pronunciation of the original Hebrew forms. Then presents the practical problems stemming from the use of long established name forms in the translation and spelling of the names of biblical characters. The author describes the methods used in the 1975 new Protestant Bible translation and its 1990 and 2014 revised versions, in some cases also quoting relevant examples from the Károli Bible and from its 1908 revised version. The author concludes that Hungarian Protestant Bible translations and their revised versions – in accordance with international and Hungarian ecumenical trends – are firmly moving from the use of traditional name forms towards the usage of name forms transcribed from the Hebrew pronunciation of names. This may pave the way for an ecumenical rapprochement and possibly for the completion of an ecumenical Bible translation.
