Noted Bible Scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman to Visit Houston

NEW YORK, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- From the Ten Commandments to the Gospels, the Bible doesn't mean what you think it does, because the translations are wrong.

That will be the message from noted Bible scholar and linguist Dr. Joel M. Hoffman when he visits Houston, TX from Thursday, November 4 to Sunday, November 7 to talk about his recent research on the Bible.

Hoffman's visit coincides with the widely anticipated on-line release of Zondervan's updated New International Version (NIV), one of the best-selling Bible translations in the U.S., according to the CBA.

Most widely known for unearthing significant mistranslations of the Bible, Hoffman will speak about his latest book, And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning (www.AndGodSaid.com). He will discuss fundamental translation mistakes in the Ten Commandments, Psalm 23, Isaiah, and more.

His major public appearance will start at 12:30pm on Thursday, November 4 at the Houston JCC's Merfish Center, located at 9000 S. Rice Ave. in Houston. Contact the JCC for details: (713) 729-3200.

Hoffman will also speak privately to local clergy and address audiences at Houston houses of worship.

Unlike most others who study the Bible, Hoffman's training is in linguistics and translation. "English speakers who read Ovid or Aristotle or Pushkin in translation have a better sense of the original texts than do readers of any existing English translation of the Bible," claims Hoffman, who has taught graduate-level translation courses in both religious and secular university settings.

Most Bible translations are produced by theologians, not translators, and their training doesn't generally include modern translation techniques.

Houston is Hoffman's first stop on a JBC-sponsored four-city tour that continues with San Diego, Milwaukee, and Boulder.

ABOUT DR. HOFFMAN

Joel M. Hoffman, Ph.D., has held faculty appointments at Brandeis University and at Hebrew Union College, and lectured at universities on four continents. He is the author of And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning (2010, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press) and In The Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language (2004, NYU Press), and the chief translator for the 10-volume series My People's Prayer Book (winner of the National Jewish Book Award). He also moderates the popular Bible-translation blog "God Didn't Say That."

He can be reached at [email protected].

RELATED LINKS

http://www.AndGodSaid.com

http://www.Lashon.net

http://www.GodDidntSayThat.com

http://www.JewishBookCouncil.org

http://www.jcchouston.org

SOURCE Irene Goodman Agency