Bibles and Translations Thereunto
As Folk-Literature

My reading of Johann Gottfried von Herder convinces me that 'the extra stuff' associated with the interpretation of 'Bibles' gives expression to Volkspoesie-- the soul of society expressed in literature.

I am most familiar with the 'Christian Bible' (Old and New Testaments.) In this case I know that a different folklore is associated with the Elizabethan King James Bible than would be the case with more-recent versions, especially with the New Revised Standard Version, which inter alia tries to craft a gender-neutral text, a 'unisex Bible.'

I read all these in connection with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity-- that language colors the perception of reality. I know perfectly well that this position is not widely esteemed among linguists, but I find it quite plausible based on what I know about memory-- that short-term memory is not affected by language but long-term memory is extremely effected by the words going together to frame the memory.

In this connection, Bibles are a reflection of culture; the words in the various versions contain percepts that define the society at the time of Biblical utterance-- both at inception and per subsequent 'revision.'

Friedrich Schleiermacher would hold that 'the extra stuff'-- the layering of contemporary culture with a translation of a text-- is just as lively an expression of Volkspoesie as the original. This thought abets my 'crisis reading' of the Bible incumbent on my Orthodox belief; 'the willing suspension of disbelief' is facilitated by this awareness.

--Vernon Lynn Stephens