All Doves:
Students of the Bible are often shaken to their core when they discover that a text or passage does not mean what it says. It's frustrating to say the least. It undermines one's self-confidence. Above all, it exposes our ignorance of what God gave to humanity, especially in the mindset of Christians in the western world.
People who quote the Geneva Bible are typical of folks that trip all over their own assumptions. They think they have the quintessential unadulterated Truth of God. In reality, they merely reveal their ignorance that the Geneva Bible is a dog translation. Be wise and beware of those continuing to quote this pathetic excuse of a facsimile of a Bible.
The Greek and Hebrew language are very precise languages, often conveying not only the meaning of the word but also the emotion behind the meaning. Consider, for instance, our word "perhaps", on the surface, a simple word. It indicates that something may or may not happen. From the point of emotion, the "nuancing" could mean two entirely different meanings. That is the case with our English word "perhaps".
In Hebrew, our word "perhaps" has the use of two different words that communicate, not just the meaning, but also feelings and emotion. The Hebrew word "ulai" is used in circumstances when the speaker dearly wishes for the event to occur, while the other word "pen" is used when one hopes it will not happen.
"Perhaps" ("ulai") there are fifty righteous people in the city (of Sodom) .... -(Genesis 18:24).
.... now let us go there, "perhaps" ("ulai") he'll tell us the road .... -(1 Samuel 9:6)
And from the tree in the middle of the garden, God said to you shall not eat of it or touch it, (or else) "perhaps" ("pen") you will die. -(Genesis 3:3).
Come let us deal wisely with him (or else) ("pen") he'll multiply and when war comes he will join our enemies... -(Exodus 1:10).
Once we understand this difference, we can be alert for any examples in Scripture when it appears that the wrong word is being used. It happens least in the KJV Bible and the New American Standard Bible. This is just one example of where "nuancing" is an issue not obvious in the surface text of the English Bibles.
I have chose this word particularly since I'm doing a series of posts on the "Biblical Theme of the Bride." In Genesis 24:2-5, we have an example of such an unexpected usage.
When Abraham directs Eliezer to travel to his birthplace and bring back a bride for his son, Isaac, we see such an unexpected usage. Abraham directs Elezier to travel to his birthplace and bring back a bride. Elezier personally inquires what is to be done in the event of a problem. Verse 24:5 reads: "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land ....." -(Genesis 24:5).
Since this would be a most undesirable outcome, we would expect Elezier to have used the word "pen". Yet, inexplicably he uses the word "ulai". Why? This "nuancing" is lost to western Christians. Hebrew wisdom teaches that Elezier had a daughter of marriageable age. He was harboring the hope that his master Abraham would say, "Elezier, you have a lovely daughter, I have a wonderful son..." When Abraham didn't suggest this, Elezier forlornly held onto a remaining hope. Perhaps no woman would be willing to accompany him to Canaan. Perhaps then Isaac would marry his hopes by making it clear that Elezier's daughter was not an option for Isaac.
The lesson to be learned here is that if one wants the best possible rendering in English, use a literal "word-for-word" translation and not a "thought-for-thought" translation. You are safe with a KJV Bible and a NASB, or even better a parallel Bible with both the KJV and the NAS side-by-side.
Blessings,
Pastor Bob