Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 2, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.2.7
Translation of the Names of Precious Stones (Minerals) in the New Testament. Lexical and Theological Analysis of Precious Stones (Minerals) in the Foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:19-20)
Ivan Benaković
orcid.org/0000-0003-2805-5137
; Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
In the paper, the author aims to present manners of translating Greek words that denote precious stones, or minerals, in the New Testament, with an emphasis on the Book of Revelation. More specifically, the author analyses the precious stones mentioned in the foundations of the new city of Jerusalem in Rev 21:19-20 and attempts to explore translation approaches used for their names. In the second step, the author analyses various existing Croatian and foreign translations of these terms in the New Testament, while also highlighting the challenges. An accurate translation of the these terms can greatly contribute to the best possible exegetical-theological analysis of the biblical passage in question, and then in the interpretation of the entire Book of Revelation. The methodology used by the author is a lexical-semantic analysis of the Greek text of the Book of Revelation in light of the usege of such terminology in the context of the Book of Revelation, and on the basis of a possible Old Testament pre-text of the same terminology, most likely, in the author’s view, the Book of Exodus (cf. Exod 28, 17-20LXX). In addition to lexical knowledge the author is aware that the terms under analysis should also be interpreted in the given context of Revelation, and therefore part of the analysis is dedicated to presenting the context of the biblical passage itself. The author maintains that certain terms acquire their true meaning only in the context of usege in a precisely defined passage. This thesis is also subjected to analysis, as it lays the groundwork for creating an exegetical toolkit useful for producing an interlinear translation of the New Testament into any contemporary language, including Croatian.
Keywords
precious stones; minerals; Revelation; New Testament; translations; New Jerusalem
Hrčak ID:
335034
URI
Publication date:
5.9.2025.
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