In my post, So Many Translations, So Little Time, I made reference to my recent purchase and study of the English Standard Version (ESV), which I highly recommend (even more highly now). For those of you familiar with my sense of humor, I jokingly included the following remarks:
Now, if only the ESV’s publisher would write a paragraph about the following footnote on the translation page rather than footnoting every use of brothers:Fn. Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters.
I think it would save more than a few trees considering how many times brothers is used in the New Testament. Plus, I’m tired of being suckered in to reading a footnote that I have read over and over. If you have an ESV, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a small point, but one that is rapidly developing into a pet peeve. I may send the publisher a letter. Perhaps, he¹ will read this post.
¹The English word he has traditionally referred to both men and women, depending on the context, and may refer to either a man or a woman.
Well, there is no need to send the publisher a letter because the Official ESV Bible Blog has responded here. The blog's author correctly notes that the word adelphoi does get a couple of sentences in the ESV's Preface, but that the note occurs some 80 times in the New Testament. And, because of the rapid response from the ESV Bible Blog and the acknowledgment of my little post, I just want to say that I now look forward to reading all 80.
I want to thank the blog's author for the reference, and I want to urge all of my readers to support the ESV in any way you can. It is my new favorite Bible translation. If you don't have an ESV, get one. I may go buy another one just to celebrate appearing in the ESV Bible Blog.
ESV links:
And, of course, the wonderful ESV Bible Blog.