The Deeper Read: S1E1 - The Power of Translation

Why every sacred text is already a remix—and what that means for us.

Jun 05, 2025

Welcome to The Deeper Read—a behind-the-scenes investigation of who wrote the stories that shaped the world. This isn’t your typical study group…or book club. It’s a filmic forensic exploration.

I’m your host, Lisa. And together, we’re digging through ancient drafts, studio notes, and sacred storyboards—reading humanity’s foundational texts the way they were never meant to be read: honestly, curiously, and just a little out of order.

This is The Deeper Read.

You won’t find doctrine here. I'm not a pastor. I’m not a scholar with a certificate on the wall. I'm an investigator. A storyteller. A former aspiring TV writer who spent just enough time in the writers’ room to know how the sausage gets made.

And the Bible, my friends, is quite famously The Greatest Sausage Ever Made.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

Full disclosure: I’m reading many of these texts for the first time right along with you.

But one thing I do know is that these ancient stories still shape our modern world today. And if we want to understand where we are now, we have to understand the stories that got us here.

Not just the canon, but the director’s cut—with all the behind-the-scenes context that never made the final edit. The network politics. And, above all, the language.

Because translation isn’t neutral. Translation is interpretation.

And interpretation—the power to assign meaning—is exactly that: power.

The Bible Isn’t a Book, It’s an Edit

When most people picture “The Bible,” they imagine a single, unified book. But in truth, it’s a layered anthology: oral traditions, laws, poems, letters, and prophecies—passed down across centuries, translated across empires, and ultimately curated by committees with agendas.

TL;DR: The Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek (the Septuagint), then into Latin (the Vulgate), then into German, and eventually English. Along the way, choices were made.

Words were selected not just for accuracy, but for theology, politics, and cultural palatability.

Some texts were cut. Others were stitched together. The result?

A sacred remix. Holy, yes. But also... edited.

A History of Interpretation

Let’s take a look at a few key milestones in the evolution of sacred texts.

Understanding the chronology of the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—helps reveal how original stories were repackaged and re-released to match shifting cultural tastes and target new spiritual markets.

Jewish Foundations & Talmudic Development

2nd century CE — Mishnah Compiled

The oral Torah was formally recorded after the destruction of the Second Temple. This forms the foundation of the Talmud.

5th–6th century CE — Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds

Two distinct Talmudic traditions emerge as Jewish scholars comment on the Mishnah, which is, again, the foundation for the Talmud:

The Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi), compiled in the Galilee, shorter, more direct, and operates within the restrictions of Roman rule.
The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), developed in the thriving Jewish academies of Babylonia, is more extensive, methodical, and philosophically expansive. It’s also the version most widely referenced today.

9th century CE — Babylonian Talmud Finalized

A vast compilation of oral law, commentary, and legal debate—central to Rabbinic study and tradition.

Think: the Talmud that won—not necessarily by being the best, but by being the last one standing.

Middle Ages — Rashi & Medieval Commentators

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) pens essential commentary on both Torah and Talmud—his notes are still printed in modern editions.

Bible Translation & Christian Reformation

3rd century BCE — Greek Septuagint

First major translation of the Hebrew Torah into Greek. Created for the Jewish diaspora in Alexandria; later adopted by early Christians.

4th century CE — Latin Vulgate

St. Jerome’s Latin translation becomes the official Bible of the Catholic Church—for over a thousand years.

A syndication run that made Friends look like an Instagram story.

1450 CE — Gutenberg Bible

The first mass-produced Bible (in Latin), printed in Germany.

Scripture goes viral—for the first time.

1522 CE — Luther’s German Bible

Martin Luther’s New Testament translation ignites the Protestant Reformation, making scripture readable to the public.

No additives, no preservatives—just raw doctrine.

1611 CE — King James Bible

Commissioned by King James I. Its poetic cadence and Protestant framing make it the most influential English translation in history.

Shakespearean vibes, royal seal, eternal copyright.

Qur’anic Canon & Interpretation

7th century CE — Qur’an Compiled

After the Prophet Muhammad’s death, oral revelations are compiled into a single Arabic text. This compilation is considered the final, unalterable word of God in Islamic belief.

8th–10th centuries CE — Tafsir Tradition Emerges

Scholarly Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir) begins. Explores linguistic, legal, and spiritual dimensions—establishing interpretive schools (e.g., Sunni, Shia, Mu'tazila).

When every streaming platform drops a docuseries about the same scandal—same events, but wildly different conclusions.

12th century CE — Qur’an Translated into Latin

Commissioned by Peter the Venerable as part of an anti-Islamic campaign. The translation—distorted, editorialized, and deeply hostile—introduced the Qur’an to Western Europe not as a sacred text, but as something to be refuted.

A Mean Girls smear campaign—only this one was state-sponsored and proudly distributed.

20th century CE — Modern English Translations

Translators like Muhammad Asad and Yusuf Ali attempt poetic, accessible Qur’an versions—balancing faithfulness with readability for global audiences.

Expansion into international markets—and doing post-smear-campaign damage control in a rebrand.

Modern Shifts in Interpretation & Controversy

1909 CE — Scofield Reference Bible

King James-based study Bible that popularizes dispensationalist theology. Strongly influences 20th-century American evangelicalism and perceptions of Israel.

And yes—King Charles still earns royalties (or residuals, if you prefer) on every King James Bible sold.

1960s–70s CE — The Living Bible / Good News Bible

Readability-focused paraphrases become popular in Protestant circles. Critics worry about doctrinal dilution.

Christians with no time to read the nutritional information on the label.

1990s–present — Gender-Inclusive & Revisionist Translations

Translations like the New Revised Standard Version and The Inclusive Bible spark discussion over patriarchy, pronoun use, and cultural adaptation.

Additives you can’t pronounce now included in the ingredients list.

2020s — Bible as Political Artifact

Resurgent Christian nationalism draws renewed focus on how interpretive traditions (e.g., KJV-onlyism, Scofield theology) have shaped political ideologies—especially around Israel and prophecy.

Considering the doctrinal consequences of decades spent consuming ultra-processed scripture.

Exploring the Septuagint Paradox

When the translation might be older than the original.

We’ve just skimmed the surface of how the major Abrahamic texts evolved over time—but before we move on, let’s take a detour into something quietly mind-blowing: the Septuagint.

This is the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, created in Alexandria around the 3rd century BCE for Greek-speaking Jews. But here’s the twist: in some cases, the Septuagint might actually reflect older versions of certain biblical texts than the later standardized Hebrew Bible.

To paraphrase: the translation might be closer to the source than what’s often treated as the original.

A portion of the Greek Uncial MS. **Codex Vaticanus**, from the Vatican Library. This image shows a passage from the New Testament and includes 1 Esdras 1:55-2:5.

Why? Because the Hebrew texts used by the Septuagint’s translators were different from the ones that later got canonized as the Masoretic Text—the version that became “The Bible” for both modern Judaism and Protestant Christianity.

So even something as seemingly objective as “What came first?” can change depending on which tradition you're viewing it from.

Interpretation isn't just about reading the words.
It's also about which version of the story you trust—and why.

Translation Is Theology

Every major translation comes with bias. Sometimes it's subtle. Sometimes it's seismic.

The Hebrew word "almah" means "young woman," but in the Greek Septuagint, it became "virgin." That one shift created the foundation for the Virgin Birth in Christian theology.

The word "Elohim" is a plural noun, yet often gets rendered singular as "God."

In Genesis 1:2, the word "ruach" can mean wind, breath, or spirit. Each choice casts the passage in a different light.

None of this is to say the Bible is invalid. Quite the opposite. It means that if we want to get closer to the truth, we need to start by acknowledging the layers of meaning that have been added over time—and the hands that added them.

What were the motivations that drove the team of writers, the studio, the network executives—carefully crafting a message designed to survive remake after remake, ad infinitum?

What’s the source material? Who’s plagiarizing whom? Can we ever really know what the original authors meant—or if there even was just one?

This isn’t just true for the Bible. It’s true for the Qur’an, the Torah, and the Hadith.

It’s true for every sacred text passed through human mouths and human hands. A generational game of telephone and translation.

Different sects interpret the same passages through different cultural and linguistic filters.

The result? Entirely different moral systems built on the same words—just arranged in different light.

✂️ Ready to go deeper?
If you’ve made it this far, you already know: this isn’t a Bible study—it’s a story hunt.
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Let’s keep flipping pages. The mystery’s just getting good.

Reading as a Spiritual Act

So what do we do with this?

We read. Slowly. Curiously. Courageously.

We stop expecting certainty, and start welcoming the questions.

What we're doing here in The Deeper Read is not looking for clean answers. We're looking for patterns. For character arcs. For secret motives. For reversals. For buried truths. For moments that make you whisper to yourself, "This feels familiar..."

Because if God is real, He can handle your questions.

And if the truth is sacred, then perhaps the questions that lead us there can be sacred too.

This Week's Reading Assignment

Genesis 1–3

Creation, Eden, the fruit, the fall.

Link to: Genesis 1–3 (NRSV)

For this first assignment, we’re using the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It’s widely respected in academic and interfaith circles, and offers a good balance of linguistic faithfulness and modern readability. It also makes subtle moves toward gender-inclusivity—important to note as we begin looking at how even small translation choices shape big theological ideas.

Start where the myth begins. But instead of asking, "Did this happen?" ask:

Who is this version for?
Why this order? This structure?
What words are repeated?
What's missing?

We'll dive into The Tree next time—and why it might not have been about obedience at all.