Lost in Translation

by Mike Wingert

Since publishing a series on Syriac Christianity in East Asia, I thought I'd contribute a light-hearted article to conclude the year, serving as a reminder for us as to why the legacy of antiquity is still important to us in our present age.

Not long ago, several Westerners living in China had come across the DVD for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Obviously, this was a bootleg copy since the official DVD for the film was released last month (November, 2005). The DVD, a camera recording of the theatrical release, was dubbed into Mandarin Chinese and included a feature for English subtitles. The subtitles however, were translated from the Chinese characters and not from the original English track. As such, the words and phrases in the film were mangled beyond belief. The title went from being called "The Revenge of the Sith" to "The Backstroke of the West."

Among all the faulty mistranslations is one of particular interest to us. The Jedi Council was rendered back into the English as "the Presbyterian Church." How on earth did this come about?! Sit back my friends, pour yourselves a cup of tea, and permit me to explain.

First, let us go back to the "Presbyterian Church," and her origins.

Presbyrtes is the Greek word for "Elder." In Syriac we use the term Qashisho. Both terms Presbyter and Qashisho are always used to describe the role of the Priesthood of Christ (the New Testament priesthood).

The Chinese characters used to represent the "Jedi Council," can also be translated as the "Elder Gathering."

As the term "Church" means "gathering," or "assembly," we can read these characters as the "Elder Church." In Chinese characters, there is no way to distinguish between Presbyterian and Elder; hence, the Elder Church becomes the "Presbyterian Church."

I’m not sure George Lucas had it in mind for the Jedi Council to be a secret code for the Presbyterian Church, so the fault must be dumped upon the translators. Now let us put this into the context of the Gospel message over the years. Thankfully, there is no text from antiquity better preserved and replicated than the Holy Scriptures. Still, translating the scriptures is a task of utmost importance, and little variants can either slightly or vastly alter the meaning. Translating from one language to another must always be done with precision and care, and the Syriac language is certainly no exception.

As more and more Christians learn that the Aramaic language is not some dead and forgotten tongue, but has survived throughout the ages, more are developing an affinity for the Aramaic scriptures. As such, some have taken the position that the Aramaic scriptures were the original language of the Bible. While it can certainly be debated whether the New Testament was written in Greek or Aramaic, it is clear that the oral tradition of the Gospel teaching was conveyed initially in Aramaic.

Fortunately, there are so many texts of the New Testament that the Greek and Aramaic translations vary only in minor details. Still, those minor details open up a world of nuance, making us take different perspectives on texts previously taken for granted.

Perhaps the best example of a mistranslation from Aramaic into Greek occurs in the Synoptics when Christ teaches: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Knowing the imagery is strange, many over the years have tried to explain this by calling a certain Jerusalem road the needle, and explaining it would be difficult for a camel to go through it. In Aramaic, gamlo has two meanings, one is “camel,” and the other is “cable” or “line,” as in the line on a ship. In Aramaic, the imagery is parallel, as a cable is a very thick rope. Whether it is translated as “camel” or “cable,” the point is that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Other examples can be found with the usage of Aramaic idioms, such as cutting out that which causes us to sin, or handling snakes. Certainly, when Christ says “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out,” He is not advocating maiming oneself.

Luckily for us, this idiom is rather clear and obvious, but how about “handling snakes?” This idiom means to conquer one’s enemies. Using St. Paul’s incident with the viper as an example, certain denominations in the modern era have made snake-handling a part of their worship, and many have died in the process of misunderstanding the language. Yet as we can see with the example of St. George, King Didianus was called the “asp-serpent” for the fact that he was his enemy. Though the world was against the early Christians, they indeed conquered these snakes and spread the Gospel from the Atlantic to the Pacific in a relatively short time.

Perhaps it is fitting that Star Wars inspire this article. The schema-clan Jedi monastics, represented by Ben Kenobi (Kenobi, being the Greek word for a communal monk) struggled for the salvation and redemption of their enemies (Luke’s mission to Vader). Like them, the apostles and disciples carried metaphorical swords of light, conquering their enemies, and bringing the light of the Gospel all over the world.

Words carry meaning; let us use them wisely.