The Sons of His Will

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Christmas brings many carols and cards containing the words from Luke 2:14, "Goodwill to men" and "Peace to men of goodwill." The angels praised God with words that in English may sound like a politician wishing us to "Have a nice day." Most of us sense that these words reflect something deeper, but why did the angels use such seemingly innocuous words?

מְתֻרְגְּמָן (me⋅tur⋅ge⋅MĀN) is Hebrew for “translator.” The articles in this series illustrate how a knowledge of the Gospels’ Semitic background can provide a deeper understanding of Jesus’ words and influence the translation process. For more articles in this series, click here.

Christmas brings many carols and cards containing the words from Luke 2:14, “Goodwill to men” and “Peace to men of goodwill.” The angels praised God with words that in English may sound like a politician wishing us to “Have a nice day.” Most of us sense that these words reflect something deeper, but why did the angels use such seemingly innocuous words?

Variants

The manuscript history of Luke 2:14 is split between εὐδοκία (eudokia, “favor”) and εὐδοκίας (eudokias, “of favor”), the Greek possessive form of the word. English translators had to choose which of these variants they would translate. The King James Version’s “good will toward men” reflects the first variant, and J. B. Phillips’ “among men of goodwill” translates the second variant.

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This article originally appeared in issue 23 of the Jerusalem Perspective magazine. Click on the image above to view a PDF of the original magazine article.

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  • Randall Buth

    Randall Buth

    Randall Buth is director of the Biblical Language Center and a lecturer at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Home for Bible Translators. He is a member of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research. Buth received his doctorate in…
    [Read more about author]

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