about Lost in Translation

Are you often mystified by the language of the Bible? Lost in Translation is a weekly e-column about biblical translation written by Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps, whose degree is in classical languages. Matthew looks at the original Greek or Hebrew words in Scripture passages, usually taken from the most current Sunday Mass readings, and addresses how the meaning may have developed and changed since the time that the Bible was written.

Michelangelo’s famous statue of Moses sports horns as the result of a translation error made by St. Jerome. The patron of translators, who died in 420 A.D., mistook the Hebrew word in the book of Exodus 34:29 describing Moses’ face as “radiant in glory” to mean “horned.” The error was compounded in 1515 when Michelangelo carved horns on his marble portrayal of Moses. Since that time, many other artists have shown Moses in a similar fashion. The term “horns of glory” now is used to describe this bizarrely inaccurate artistic phenomenon. Michelangelo’s statue of Moses can be seen in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) in Rome.

You can visit the searchable online archives on our Lost in Translation page to read past entries about the original meaning of words used in Scripture. New entries are posted there every Monday. If you’d like to receive Matthew’s Lost in Translation by email each week, use this link to let us know.

If you’d like to ask Matthew a question about biblical translation, you may contact him by clicking on this “ask us your question” button, or you may use the contact us form under “about us.” Additional information about Bible translations can be found on our website, including a comparison of different translations and discussions about interlinear Bibles and The Abbey Psalms and Canticles.