Category Archives: Bible translation

Some Musings on the Name of God

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Kristin Swenson

There is a long-standing tradition that no person, no mere mortal, should presume to possess the name of God. The Name, as the reasoning goes, is a holy thing, a handle on the divine not to be trifled with. We … Continue reading →

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Sixty-Six Books, a 21st Century Take on the KJV

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Kristin Swenson

Wow, just when I thought: enough with KJV’s bday, “66 Books” comes along. A dramatic project launching the new Bush theater in London, it’s 66 short plays based on the books of the King James Bible. How I wish I … Continue reading →

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Cut the Cake, the KJV is 400

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Kristin Swenson

“Did you know,” a bright-eyed young woman breathlessly exclaimed to me, “that when King James wrote the Bible, he didn’t actually put everything in?!” I was riding the DC Metro a few weeks ago when she sat down beside me … Continue reading →

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Bible Babel on a Sunday Afternoon

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Kristin Swenson

Had a great time at Chop Suey Tuey bookstore in Richmond’s Carytown yesterday for Bible Babel‘s paperback debut. In the midst of the excitement of VCU’s big basketball game (on to the Final Four! wow) and the ever-amazing French Film Festival at … Continue reading →

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Whence Evil?

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Kristin Swenson

“What does your book say about evil?,” an attendee posed to panelists at the VA Fest of the Book event that I moderated. It was a lively event, not least because the composition of the panel led inevitably to passionate … Continue reading →

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The Particular Exasperations of Learning Biblical Hebrew

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Kristin Swenson

“The language of God,” Biblical Hebrew. I’m off soon to teach our third week’s class, and we’re in the thick of it now. The alphabet (or aleph-bet) is kind of fun — little ditties, the novelty of recognizing letters completely … Continue reading →

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A Time to Lose

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Kristin Swenson

        I attended a funeral recently — “untimely,” one might say, because the man who died did so at his own hand. There was so much about it that defied expectation, defied logic. There’s the suicide itself, of course, an … Continue reading →

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HealthyLife.net

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Kristin Swenson

Enjoyed a fun conversation about Bible Babel with radio host Faith Ranoli yesterday. Listen live in a week or so. We talked for about an hour about all things Bible — where it came from, what’s the best translation, how people … Continue reading →

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Palm Sunday confusion?

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Kristin Swenson

Today, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday – the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to great “Hosanna!” acclaim. But just exactly how did he do it? The stories disagree in a puzzling way… unless you know something about the conventions of biblical Hebrew … Continue reading →

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Book of Eli — My God

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Kristin Swenson

Did you know that “Eli” means “my God,” in Hebrew? Yup. In one form, anyway. So, even if you’d missed all the previews, reviews, and commentary in between on the movie “The Book of Eli,” you still might guess that … Continue reading →

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