Holman Christian Standard Bible
Encyclopedia
The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The first full edition was completed in March 2004, with the New Testament
alone having been previously published in 1999.
of the Bible, began a new independent translation project. In 1998, Farstad and LifeWay Christian Resources
(the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention
) came to an agreement that would allow LifeWay to fund and publish the completed work. Farstad died shortly thereafter, and leadership of the editorial team was turned over to Dr. Edwin Blum, who had been an integral part of the team. The death of Farstad resulted in a change in the Greek New Testament text underlying the HCSB, although Farstad had envisioned basing the new translation on the same texts used for the original King James Version and New King James Version. After Farstad's death, the editorial team replaced this text with the Greek New Testament as established by modern scholars. The editions of the United Bible Societies
and of Nestle-Aland's Novum Testamentum Graece
were those primarily utilized, along with readings from other ancient manuscripts when the translators felt the original meaning was not clearly conveyed by either of the primary Greek New Testament editions.
. The translation committee sought to strike a balance between the two prevailing philosophies of Bible translation: formal equivalence (literal, "word-for-word", etc) and dynamic or functional equivalence ("thought-for-thought"). The translators called this balance "optimal equivalence".
According to the translators, the primary goal of an optimal equivalence translation is "to convey a sense of the original text with as much clarity as possible". To that end, the ancient source texts were exhaustively scrutinized at every level (word, phrase, clause, sentence, discourse) to determine its original meaning and intention. Afterwords, using the best language tools available, the semantic and linguistic equivalents were translated into as readable a text as possible.
, 27th edition, and the United Bible Societies
' Greek New Testament, 4th corrected edition (for the New Testament
), and the 5th edition of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
(for the Old Testament
).
In the case of significant differences among Hebrew
and Aramaic
manuscripts of the OT or among Greek
manuscripts of the NT, the translators followed what they believed was the original reading and indicated the main alternative(s) in footnotes. There are a few places in the NT that the translation team and most biblical scholars today believe were not part of the original text. However, these texts were retained (and indicated in large square brackets) because of their undeniable antiquity and their value for tradition and the history of NT interpretation in the church.
and Bible Explorer software. Though largely a minor update, one significant change is that the tetragrammaton
is transliterated "Yahweh
" in 495 places. In the first edition, the transliteration is only found in 78 places. (The tetragrammaton appears in over 6,800 places in the Hebrew Bible.) Text editions began rolling out in 2010, including the HCSB Study Bible in October 2010. The HCSB is available online and is also being marketed in Christian publications
as an Apologetics Bible and as a version specifically for the Microsoft Xbox 360 called Bible Navigator X.
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
alone having been previously published in 1999.
Beginnings
The roots of the HCSB can be traced back as early as 1984, when Arthur Farstad, general editor of the New King James VersionNew King James Version
The New King James Version is a modern translation of the Bible published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The New Testament was published in 1979. The Psalms in 1980. The full Bible was published in 1982. It took a total of 7 years to complete...
of the Bible, began a new independent translation project. In 1998, Farstad and LifeWay Christian Resources
LifeWay Christian Resources
LifeWay Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the largest providers of Christian resources in the world. LifeWay has been recognized as one of the "Best Employers in Tennessee" by BusinessTN magazine.-Background:...
(the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
) came to an agreement that would allow LifeWay to fund and publish the completed work. Farstad died shortly thereafter, and leadership of the editorial team was turned over to Dr. Edwin Blum, who had been an integral part of the team. The death of Farstad resulted in a change in the Greek New Testament text underlying the HCSB, although Farstad had envisioned basing the new translation on the same texts used for the original King James Version and New King James Version. After Farstad's death, the editorial team replaced this text with the Greek New Testament as established by modern scholars. The editions of the United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...
and of Nestle-Aland's Novum Testamentum Graece
Novum Testamentum Graece
Novum Testamentum Graece is the Latin name editions of the original Greek-language version of the New Testament.The first printed edition was the Complutensian Polyglot Bible by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, printed in 1514, but not published until 1520...
were those primarily utilized, along with readings from other ancient manuscripts when the translators felt the original meaning was not clearly conveyed by either of the primary Greek New Testament editions.
Translation philosophy
Holman Bible Publishers assembled an international, interdenominational team of 100 scholars and proofreaders, all of whom were committed to biblical inerrancyBiblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
. The translation committee sought to strike a balance between the two prevailing philosophies of Bible translation: formal equivalence (literal, "word-for-word", etc) and dynamic or functional equivalence ("thought-for-thought"). The translators called this balance "optimal equivalence".
According to the translators, the primary goal of an optimal equivalence translation is "to convey a sense of the original text with as much clarity as possible". To that end, the ancient source texts were exhaustively scrutinized at every level (word, phrase, clause, sentence, discourse) to determine its original meaning and intention. Afterwords, using the best language tools available, the semantic and linguistic equivalents were translated into as readable a text as possible.
Textual basis
Making use of the most recent scholarly traditions, the translators worked from the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum GraeceNovum Testamentum Graece
Novum Testamentum Graece is the Latin name editions of the original Greek-language version of the New Testament.The first printed edition was the Complutensian Polyglot Bible by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, printed in 1514, but not published until 1520...
, 27th edition, and the United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...
' Greek New Testament, 4th corrected edition (for the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
), and the 5th edition of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, or ', is an edition of the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible as preserved in the Leningrad Codex, and supplemented by masoretic and text-critical notes...
(for the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
).
In the case of significant differences among Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
manuscripts of the OT or among Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
manuscripts of the NT, the translators followed what they believed was the original reading and indicated the main alternative(s) in footnotes. There are a few places in the NT that the translation team and most biblical scholars today believe were not part of the original text. However, these texts were retained (and indicated in large square brackets) because of their undeniable antiquity and their value for tradition and the history of NT interpretation in the church.
Update
The new update to the HCSB is available now in electronic form for WORDsearchWORDsearch
WORDsearch is a Bible Reference software package that runs on Windows and Macintosh and has a large selection of Bibles and books both for free and for additional purchase. Hebrew, Greek and other languages are searchable...
and Bible Explorer software. Though largely a minor update, one significant change is that the tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
is transliterated "Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
" in 495 places. In the first edition, the transliteration is only found in 78 places. (The tetragrammaton appears in over 6,800 places in the Hebrew Bible.) Text editions began rolling out in 2010, including the HCSB Study Bible in October 2010. The HCSB is available online and is also being marketed in Christian publications
Christian media
Christian media can either refer to Christians who work in secular media, or media that is Christian. Refers to various aspects of mass media which is primarily targeting the Christian demographic...
as an Apologetics Bible and as a version specifically for the Microsoft Xbox 360 called Bible Navigator X.
Further reading
- Perry, John. (May 7, 1999) "Broadman & Holman Publishers announces new Bible translation". Retrieved March 14, 2005.
- Walker, Ken. (July 20, 2001) "Holman Christian Standard Bible New Testament now available". Retrieved March 14, 2005.
- Dewey, David, 2004. A User's Guide to Bible Translations (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004). ISBN 0-8308-3273-4.