He speaks fluently, English, German, Yiddish, Hungarian and Hebrew. He reads and translates the above languages and in addition, Latin, Greek, Chaldaic, French and Italian. On the Bible he has done original research work for years.)
The defense counsel, of course, disclaims any knowledge on the subject and knows there are any number of translations, but this witness would testify that the King James version is not an accurate translation; not true to texts vitally teaching creation, man, life and soul.
In 1611, when the King James revision was made, little was known of the Hebrew language. The scholarly study did not begin until 1753. 142 years after the King James version. From that time on, great strides have been made. To understand the Bible one must know Hebrew.
The original Bible was without vocalization (that is, the vowels were missing), and without punctuation, and the five books of Moses are read in Hebrew synagogues from unvocalized or unvowelized and unpunctuated texts.
Mistakes in Bible Translation.
In the translation of the Hebrew Bible, from which the King James Protestant version is derived, there are many errors, none of them basic. The word "create" purports to be a translation of "bara." This word, "bara" is used with reference to both inorganic and organic creation, man as well as animals and plants. The word "bara" is used to represent the whole cosmic scheme. The correct translation is "to set in motion." From the incorrect translation into English in the King James version great confusion has resulted.
In Verse 2 of the King James version of the Protestant Bible appears the following: "The spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." That is not a correct translation of the Hebrew. A correct translation of the Hebrew word "marachefeth" is, "And God animated, imparted life, vivified." The words, "The face of the waters" are "alpenai humayin," which means "to animate the face of the fluid mass."
In Psalms cxlviii:6, the King James version says: "He hath made a decree which shall not pass." That is not a correct translation. The word "chak" in Hebrew means "natural law" or "law of nature." Here it is translated "decree." The words "which shall not pass" do not represent a correct translation, either. The words should be "which He doth not transgress." The proper English translation of the whole would be as follows: "He hath made a law of nature, which He doth not transgress." In other words, the laws of nature are unchanging.
In the Bible there are four distinct terms for man: Adam, Enoch, Gever and Ish. Some of these are used as meaning animals.
In the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:19: "Adam (the physical man) and animals are declared to be subject to the same laws. The original, properly translated, is "There is no preeminence of the 'Adam' (of the natural man) over the animal, for all is unstable." The word "eucsh" also refers to the physical man, because that man turns to dust. (Psalms xc: 3). These two words, "Adam"? and "Eaosh" refer to the physical man only and identify hint with the physical creation.
In the first chapter of Genesis, the word "Adam" is used. The word Adam means a living organism containing blood. If we are descended from Adam we are descended from a lower order—a living, purely organism containing blood. If that is a lower order of animal, then Genesis itself teaches that man is descended from a lower order of animals.
The terms "Gever" and "Ish" refer to the intellectual and spiritual man.
Wherever the higher attributes of man are referred to, such as love, mercy, justice, righteousness, purity, etc., or any ethical attribute, the words used are "Gever" and "Ish." Every translation of a term here is a literal translation. The Hebrew dictionary will bear out every translation referred to.
