Review: The History of the Reina-Valera 1960 Spanish Bible

This is a second book by Calvin George that I have read. His first book, The Battle for the Spanish Bible, I felt was a bit emotionally charged. Therefore, though I agreed with his position and final points, I did not like how he arrived at them. To be fair, it was a rebuttal to another book and therefore it took the same tone as the original work.

This book however is much more factual. I know many of my readers would not be familiar as to why there is even a need for books like this. If you are not familiar with the issues it is probably because it does not affect you.

In The History of the Reina-Valera 1960 Spanish Bible Calvin George really does not cover a set of bullet points trying to refute an opposing position. He simply tries to cover one issue well. Many people call into question the accuracy of the 1960 revision of the Spanish Reina-Valera Bible based on the men who made up the revision committee. Particularly as it pertains to Eugene Nida. George details what Nida’s responsibility was in the revision work (practically none) and what his translation principles were. I am as much opposed to many of the things that Nida taught, as most fundamental men would be. But as George points out in the book, those teachings came later in Nida’s life. While I have to agree that the seeds of wrong translation principles were probably present in his thinking during the time of the 1960 revision, it did not come out in his writings or recorded teachings until later. Or, at least according to George’s research.

I was shocked and humbled by some of the back stories of the men who did make up the revision committee. There were some true scholars who worked on that project. I have met a few Biblical scholars in my day, but it would have been an honor to sit and talk with some of these men who had to fight long and hard to just be able to obtain the education they had. I have the means whereby to obtain any type of education I choose if I truly wanted it. These men are testaments to God giving a remarkable education even in unlikely circumstances.

It is not a book for everyone, but if you are studying the continuing debate on this issue, it is worth your time.

The History of the Reina-Valera 1960 Spanish Bible Calvin George, Morris Publishing, 2004, 134 pages.

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