Paul’s Revelation: Lost in Smartphone Technology
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself talking to a couple of preachers and I asked them about their study habits and whether they used any of the latest Bible software bling. One of the two said that he did virtually all of his Bible studies off of his cellphone (no kidding). He explained that he had several translations on his phone (can't remember which one it was) and he could touch a word in any scripture and a definition would pop up. He said that he didn't see the need for anything more comprehensive than that.
Like him, I've got a slew of translations on my iPhone, but I don't dare try to traipse out a salvation with just that little gizmo. Here's an example why.
If you punch Genesis 17.8 -- God's famous promise to Abraham -- into your iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre, or whatever funky smartphone you might have, you'll likely get one of the following:
I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and he will be their God. (NASB95)
The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (NIV)
I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God." (The Message)
And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” (NLT)
The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Today's NIV)
Notice that all of these modern translations (who uses King James on a smartphone?) say that God made his promise to Abraham and his descendants, with descendants being plural. Without more, you'd think "Man, we are flat out of luck. The Jews have a lock on it all." The smartphone preacher might even go so far as to start some "Support Israel" type of PAC and preach that you'd better contribute because "[a]s Christians who believe in this everlasting covenant we [must] stand with Abraham's descendants now and forever."
The problem with smartphone theology is that sometimes it ain't so smart. In none of the translations on my iPhone, as wonderful as the little gadget is, is there any reference to Paul's inspired revelation about God's promise to Abraham. But references to Galatians 3.16 pop up like Toaster Strudels in the paper Bibles (and some whiz-bang Mac software) where Paul wrote about Abraham's "descendants":
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. (NASB95.)
Paul's terse statement about the singular "seed" expressly repudiates all of these modern scholars' translations of Genesis 17.8 and the gravitas of smartphone theology.
While having 2700 Bible translations on your smartphone might be fun and even make you look cool in a geeky-kind-of-way ("Hey, I can read that in Alter's Berkeley translation!") , you might be wary of the preacher who says that the sum of his Bible knowledge is in the palm of his hand. A clear conception of redemption is more than just an iPhone app away.
[Note: The King James's Genesis 17.8 reads "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee . . . "
For both of my cool geeky-greeky readers, you can look up the promise in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the early Hebrew texts, and readily see that "seed" is singular:
Genesis 17.8 - και δωσω σοι και τω σπερματι
Genesis 13.15 - σοι δωσω αυτην και τω σπερματι σου
Genesis 24.7 - σοι δωσω την γην ταυτην και τω σπερματι σου]
