Sunday, December 26, 2004

For those of you ignorant people who had no idea that dolphins were a staple of 4th century BC Jewish life, I offer you debate-ending biblical proof from Daniel 3.

77 You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
78 Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
79 You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. (New American Bible)


Here's how the 1611 King James Version translates it:

57: O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.


I am not a Greek or Hebrew scholar by any stretch of the imagination, so I tread lightly. But what were the New American Bible translators thinking here? We in the 20th century are quite aware that Dolphins and whales are in the same biological family, but I don't think Daniel's buddies, even though they were geniuses by all accounts, were aware of that fact.

If in fact they were aware of the the dolphin-whale affinity, it may offer one of the first and irrefutable evidences of time travel. This calls for further investigation, until then, I urge you to cross out "dolphin" in your NABs and enter in "whale."

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home