Featured Should Χριστος be translated "Messiah" or transliterated "Christ" in the NT?

Lets say anointed one means anyone chosen and equipped for an office or task. If we say Anointed One, that implies a title of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. If the original inspired words said anointed one, referring to Jesus, should we translate it with one of the title's connotations? Or should we present the concept in code and force the reader to learn the jargon of the past?

 

How about translating it with a term that the reader would know and recogise, rather than always with the "literal" word meaning?

 

Well I can agree with that. Lets see, they do not know what Christ or Messiah means, but they would know what Anointed One means, somebody chosen for some task. Oh I know how about Jesus Anointed One or Jesus the Anointed. That would naturally ask the question, who anointed Him and with what was He anointed. It sure looks to me like those who oppose anointed have their heads buried in the past.

 

actually, the descriptive term for the church was jesus was "Lord", as in identified with Yahweh of the OT...

My fear in all of this is that while messiah would be my personal choice to keep in the translation... that those reading in in english will fail to tie jesus and Yahweh together, and they will probably have a vague grasp of the jewish meaning behind "messiah!"

maybe translate a 'Jewish guide for Gentiles reading their Bibles!"

 

think the problem with using Messiah to us today would be the modern reader has little understanding of the term/concept, and the jews themselves thought that messiah would be a human annoited by god, but NOT divine, who would rule as a political figure to a restored isreal!

How about calling him the saviour of the World?

 

Agreed!

would show us that a fully literal all the time to text translation would NOT be best route to go, as sometimes would have to factor in just how that chosen word would impact the understanding while being read by its receipts!

Think the NASB best english bbile version, but would also see times to go to say NIV HCSB for more"understanding!"

 

Hi Greektim, please use words as defined in the dictionary. Stop inventing your own meanings and attributing them to others.

We should translate the actual message intended by the original author, and so Anointed One is the best translation. Never mind if you are more familiar with Jesus Christ than with Jesus the Anointed.

To deny a connotative meaning goes beyond the explicit literal meaning is to call into question the meaning of words. Greektim seeks to focus on a distinction without a difference.

 

Has anyone disputed that modern translations should leave Messiah and Christ in the past and embrace Anointed One with its magnificent connotative meaning of God's chosen and equipped Deliverer from the bondage of sin. I think not.

 

think that ALL 3 of them are fine, its just depends really on just who would be reading the scriptures, as each term conotes different meanings to jews/gentiles etc...

 

All three are fine, but the road to the future upgrades toward clarity. Anointed triggers two questions who anointed Jesus and for what purpose was Jesus anointed. These questions point to the connotative meaning of Anointed, God's chosen Deliverer. Recall we must believe in the One who sent Jesus in order to be able to believe in Jesus. Therefore Anointed is not only the finest translation choice, the others are excluded because they do not point to God directly. First you must learn Christ means anointed, and then learn who anointed Jesus and for what purpose. We should cut out the extraneous middle step in understanding.

 

This is why I prefer terms like 'Lord/Son of God" to describe jesus, as even anoited one might be misunderstood to refer to a prophetic figure, like a normal human inspired by God for a mission...

 

I prefer whatever word meaning the original authors were inspired to employ. Hence Anointed over Messiah or Christ. And confusion is greatly reduced with anointed is in lower case for the Apostles, but in upper case for Jesus the Anointed.

Lord is another word of modern confusion. In the Old Testament, thousands of times the telagramation YHWH was replaced with Lord, but then Lord was also used to translate other Hebrew or possibly Aramaic words. To an outsider like me, they seemed to have a goal of obliteration rather than faithful translation.