# Is Hugh Ross the only person to ever correctly translate the Bible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 4, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284 "2008-02-04T22:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/1 "2008-02-04T22:38:48Z")
He certainly seems to think so. Someone claimed that “the bible is the only religious text to properly order the creation of things, and this was done thousands of years before modern science.” I pointed out that last time I checked, the overwhelming majority of evidence suggests that birds did not exist before land animals, dry earth did not exist before the sun or stars, and plants did not colonize land before animals lived in the seas. He responded that the word for birds is “more often used for flying things in reference to insects”, the sun and stars were only “revealed” on the fourth day, and that the animals created on the sixth day are only the large straight legged animals. He also said that the word for “day” can be translated into a great variety of time frames, due to the lack of more specific words in Hebrew. I looked all over the internet for translations that agreed with his claims, but when I couldn’t find any, secular or religious, I had to ask where he had found his. His source: “The Genesis Question by Hugh Ross (which I’m willing to hook you up with). He’s no one really, just a leading astrophysicist and Christian apologist. And president of Reasons To Believe ([rtb.org](http://rtb.org)). Many Bible scholars understand this, however you won’t find it in translations because of how cumbersome it’d be to read these words in their original Jewish meaning.” He then tells me that he refuses to speak anymore with me on this matter because I am afraid to confront the “truth”. Excuse me, “Truth”. He claims that my skepticism of Genesis is due to my ignorance of the correct translation of Hebrew, which it seems only Hugh Ross has been able to produce. I claim that I am primarily ignorant of crackpot interpretations espoused by some single lunatic. So what’s the Straight Dope on Hugh Ross? Is his translation of Hebrew valid, and are there others who interpret it the same way? Is there much dispute in the interpretation? I laughed at his claim of being “a leading astrophysicist” because his [curriculum vitae](http://www.reasons.org/about/staff/ross.shtml) only lists a measly six (I assume) peer reviewed papers. Has he published more that I should know about? I had never heard of this clown before now. Is this guy viewed as a heretic by the other creationists for his old earth creationism? Does he seriously believe that every species in the fossil record was distinctly created and then destroyed by god with no evolution in between? ---
**Author:** ![Anomalous\_Reading](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Anomalous\_Reading](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anomalous_Reading)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/2 "2008-02-05T01:24:04Z")
Even smart people get a lot wrong. And he seems off his rocker. Sooo… God created everything and he gets to retroactively pick WHICH definition the words meant? Why not ask him what words there are in Hebrew for “day” and “night” and ask for specific and incontrovertible proof that THAT word can mean anything other than a solar day. Or… better yet… “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:7-9) Use his logic on him. You figure out which one I think he might be… and if he steps out of line beat him over the head with this. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/3 "2008-02-05T01:59:19Z")
[QUOTE=wolf in second hand clothing] He certainly seems to think so. Someone claimed that “the bible is the only religious text to properly order the creation of things, and this was done thousands of years before modern science.” I pointed out that last time I checked, the overwhelming majority of evidence suggests that birds did not exist before land animals, dry earth did not exist before the sun or stars, and plants did not colonize land before animals lived in the seas. [/quote] The Bible got it right and the fossil record got it wrong. > [@](#): > > He responded that the word for birds is “more often used for flying things in reference to insects” Shouldn’t have let him get away with that. Flying insects did not exist before land animals - neither did trees. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/4 "2008-02-05T14:19:15Z")
So, his translation agrees with his preconceived notions? Gosh, who would have predicted that? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/5 "2008-02-05T17:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=hotflungwok] So, his translation agrees with his preconceived notions? Gosh, who would have predicted that? [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure one of Nostradamus’s quatrains addresses it… ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hugh-ross-the-only-person-to-ever-correctly-translate-the-bible/436284/6 "2008-02-05T17:29:04Z")
[QUOTE=wolf in second hand clothing] He then tells me that he refuses to speak anymore with me on this matter. . . . [/QUOTE] I hope you thanked him profusely.