The Cebuano version of the Bible is strange to me. It refers to Elijah, even in the OT as Elias, as if it were translated from Greek?
Dear Dr. gdemetz!
Here is a step-by-step course, developed for You (and for McConkie-type TBMs).
Please read them sequentially, and please PLEASE stop reading and think 30 sec after each item.
1. There are languages outside of English.
2. Words can be more or less translated from one language to another.
3. "Simple" words - sun, moon, water, wind, rain, go, I, life, death - can be translated correctly, without any error.
4. "Difficult" words - god, spirit, thought, meaning, art - can be partially translated, with ambiguities and misunderstandings. Don't care, these are less important words, we could live without them.
5a. "Names". Mainly the names of persons (and places). Tricky words, I can say.
In the early times names were simple words used to identify one or more person. The person was tall, small, squint, gimp, or famous warrior. Whatever.
Their name have became Tall, Small, Squint, Gimp, or Famous-Warrior. The attributes have became name
. Stop here for 30s.
5b. These "names" are different in different languages. The man called small
in German and kis
in Hungarian. Simple words, You know. A famous warrior
was called in German hlud wig
- later Ludwig, it's me - can become famous among non-german tribes. 30!!
5c. It is not useful to translate
a name. Why? Because it sounds different, and the addressed person don't know he was addressed. By and by the variants of the names have evolved. Ludwig's French variant is Louis, English variant is Lewis, Hungarian variant is Lajos.
And this was happened with the name of a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings. Rest for a short spell, 30 + 30 s! (The next step will be a fatiguing one)
5d. - be it 6.
The name of that prophet has different versions in different languages.
It may be Elias, Iliya, Illés, Elia, Elijah, אֱלִיָּהוּ, Eliyahu, إلياس, Ilyās or whatever.
Its English translation would be "Yahweh is my God". Please don't forget, we are talking about one certain person. 30.
7. Stupid translators - hired by a king called James, who was really Jacob - used in their work, a bible, two different name for one person. They called the prophet mentioned above Elijah and
Elias. If the king can have two name, then why not the prophets?
End of the lesson.
The others are history.
Detractors of Mormonism have often alleged that Smith, in whose time and place the King James Version was the only available English translation of the bible, simply failed to grasp the fact that the Elijah of the Old Testament and the Elias of the New are one and the same person. Latter-day Saints deny this and say that the difference they make between the two is deliberate and prophetic.
Call me detractor of Mormonism
. I get it as courtesy.