One important value of Joseph's Sahidica text is that whenever the
recognized Coptic scholars decide to lessen their fascination with
the Gnostic Nag Hammadi texts, they might consider a modern
translation of the Coptic canonical Gospels, and the Sahidica text is
available. This is sorely needed. But at present, Gnostic mysticism
appears to hold the attention of the Coptic academics.

One value I have found in (very) preliminary English translations
from the Sahidic Coptic text is that, at least in the Gospels, the
Coptic translators made literal and straightforward renderings from
the Koine Greek into Coptic. Of course, the Coptic translators had
the advantage of working with a Greek that was still a living
language at the time, allowing them access to nuances and shades of
meaning that may be lost to modern translators. And a literal,
rather than a "dynamic equivalence" or paraphrastic translation,
helps us to grasp what the Coptic translators actually saw in the
Greek texts available to them at the time.

Whereas many scholars (like the Alands and Metzger) have lauded the
Coptic versions for their benefits to text-critical issues, I think
the Coptic versions may also be of value in understanding the
earliest Christology or Christologies, especially as Christianity
spread outward from Judea into the gentile world.

Solomon

http://copticjesus.blogspot.com


--- In Sahidica@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph" <j_w_wells_writer@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In Sahidica@yahoogroups.com, talmidim@ wrote:
> >
> > How can we get an exact translation of each text into English?
> > Is there somewhere online where this is available?
> >
> > MB - Tulsa
>
> MB,
>
> Horner's translations were done nearly a century ago, and are
> extremely out of date.
>
> My work on the Coptic dialects is below the translation level. In
> other words, the Sahidica project is intended to provide a solid
> foundation for translators in modern languages to build upon.
>
> There were rumors a few years back that some group in Washington DC
> was doing an English translation based on Sahidica. But I have
heard
> no more about it.
>
> I personally have actually never considered doing an English
> trenslation.
>
> Sorry I can't be more help.
>
> Joseph
>