Translation Versions of the Word "κατέλαβεν" of the Easter Gospel Readings in German, English, Church Slavonic and Russian – Vers John 1:5

Izotov Alexey Andreevich ORCID: 0009-0003-1560-945X Lecturer, Department of Philology, Perervinskaya Theological Seminary; PhD student, Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119071, Russia, Moscow, Donskoy district, Leninsky prospekt, 18, block 66 alexios20@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

During the celebration of the Lord's Passover in the Orthodox Church, according to tradition, the prologue of the Gospel of John is read in different languages (in biblical studies, when describing the outline of the Gospel of John, the first 18 verses are highlighted as the prologue ^{[1, p. 1610] [16, p. 118]}). Russian Russian Orthodox Church reads in 10 languages: Church Slavonic, Russian, Ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish ^[11]. When comparing these readings in Greek, German, English, Russian, and Church Slavonic, one can notice discrepancies that thematically relate to the following types through the prism of grammatical principles of language structure:

1. The use of personal and possessive pronouns, substitute words for personal and possessive pronouns, as well as masculine or neuter verb endings in translations into Russian – the verses of John 1:1-4; 1:10-12; 1:14-16.

2. Word order and punctuation affecting semantics – John 1:4.

3. The use of nouns and verbs with variable lexical meanings – John 1:5; John 1:12; John 1:14.

4. The use of a semantically enhanced phrase – John 1:16.

This article deals exclusively with the third point of discrepancies – we refer to the translation of the word "κατέλαβεν" from John 1:5.

The study of these fragments seems to be especially significant in view of the fact that most people turn to the text of Holy Scripture, which in turn is a translation from ancient Greek (there are usually three types of Bible translations – for more information, see ^{[14, p. 76]}). But the language of Holy Scripture is a special language, for example, in addition to words with many lexical meanings, it often contains an alternation of styles, for example, hymnography, which is characteristic of the Easter Gospel studied in this article ("According to many exegetes, the prologue of John (1-3; 9-14; 16-18) was originally a special hymn of the Apostolic Church." ^{[1, p. 1612]}. See also ^{[21, p. 588, 590]}). In view of such a variety of the language of Holy Scripture and, consequently, its translation options, this article uses primarily the principle formulated by one of the most famous theologians and hierarchs of the 19th century, canonized in the Catholic Church, Cardinal John Henry Newman: "When translating, the thoughts of the original should be conveyed as accurately as possible. But where it is necessary to choose between accuracy and clarity, clarity deserves preference. Because in books addressed to a wide range of readers, the understanding of non-specialists is more valuable than the praise of specialists." ^{[6, pp. 4-5]}.

John 1:5 – verb translation options

The verses of John 1:5 are as follows in the readings of the Easter Gospel in Greek, German, English, Church Slavonic and Russian ^[11]:

Καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.

The ancient Greek text of the Textus Receptus edition of 1980

Und das Licht scheint in der Finsternis, und die Finsternis hat's nicht begriffen.

The text of the German translation of Martin Luther, 1947 edition.

And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehend it not.

The text of the English translation of the Authorized King James version of the 1994 edition

and the light shines in darkness, and darkness does not embrace it.

The text of the Church Slavonic translation in the 2014 edition

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not embraced him.

The text of the Synodal translation in the 2013 edition

Ambiguity of the verb κατέλαβεν

The following relationship is observed in these verses:

The translations hat's nicht begriffen and comprehend it are used for the word κατέλαβεν– in the sense of "to understand", "to embrace", and also not embraced, not embraced it in the sense of "to embrace", "to master". These translations correspond to the ancient Greek word in meaning, but reflect somewhat different aspects of the ancient Greek word. Also, "possible translations: "did not overcome" or "did not comprehend"" ^{[1, p. 1612]}, "or "did not accept Him"" ^[24].

It should be noted that the ancient Greek word "κατέλαβεν" occurs 15 times in the New Testament, and everywhere with the meaning: to embrace, embrace, grasp, master, perceive oneself, into one's possession – in general and abstractly, as John 1:5, John 12:35; Rom. 9:30; 1 Cor. 9:24; Phil. 3:12, (bis). 13, – or externally, as Mark 9:12; John 8:3-4; 1 Thess. 5:4, – or spiritually – in the sense of comprehending, understanding – everywhere in Acts. Acts 4:13. 10:34, 25 – in the middle hall. with ὅτι or wine. with indeterminate. and in Ephesians 3 with the indirect. a question. Therefore, the slav.: "embraced", Russian.: "embraced" – accurately convey the term" ^[25].

However, when referring to the Galician Gospel-Tetras of 1144, there is a translation of "not comprehend" ^[26], which corresponds to the German and English translations of hat's nicht begriffen and comprehend it not.

This discrepancy in the translations can be explained by the fact that "perhaps John meant both meanings of the chapter: darkness can neither comprehend nor overcome light (Barrett). Here, ch. may also refer to the recognition and acceptance of the truth of revelation (Beasley-Murray)" ^[27]. Thus, we encounter a unique ancient Greek expression, the versatility of which is very difficult to convey in one verb. "The expression "darkness did not embrace the light" is probably based on a pun (hence such translations as "did not comprehend" NIV or "did not overcome" NRSV)."^[28]

V.N. Kuznetsova also explains the double meaning of this verb: "Probably, the past tense speaks of a specific episode where, it would seem, darkness has finally triumphed (cf. "But now is your time, the power of darkness!" - Lk 22:53). This is the death of Jesus on the cross. But it was followed by a resurrection. However, there is a possibility of another understanding, because the Greek verb catalambano also means "to know, to comprehend" (cf Phil 3:12; Eph 3:18). Russian Russian aorist, which usually corresponds to the past tense of the perfect verb, is sometimes used in proverbial and winged expressions to indicate some eternal truths (in Russian, the present or future tense is preferred in such cases). If this is the case, then the evangelist is talking about the intellectual inability of darkness to comprehend light, and this is not only about creation, but also about the incarnation. Cf. Prem 7:29-30: Wisdom "the light of day is immeasurably superior. After all, night follows the day, but no evil can overcome wisdom." In addition, a new juxtaposition appears in the dualistic series of the evangelist — truth and falsehood. See the words of the Apostle Paul on human and divine wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)" ^[28].

Professor A.P. Lopukhin builds a reasoned position in favor of the first translation option (not embraced, not embraced): "The darkness did not embrace it. The meaning of the Russian translation is as follows: the darkness failed to drown out, extinguish the action of the Logos in people. Many ancient Fathers and Teachers of the Church, as well as many of the modern exegetes, interpreted this expression in this sense. And this interpretation seems to be completely correct if we pay attention to the parallel passage in John's Gospel: "Walk while there is light, lest darkness overtake you" (John 12:35). The same verb (καταλαμβάνειν) is used here to denote the concept of "embrace", and there is absolutely no reason to interpret this verb differently from how our Russian translation interprets it."^[30]

But a number of saints of the Church of Christ perceived this ancient Greek word in the second meaning (hat's nicht begriffen, comprehend it not, do not comprehend). Among the most famous saints of the Church, we find two interpretations of this word. For example, St. St. Seraphim of Sarov in the first sense: "This means that the grace of the Holy Spirit, bestowed at baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, despite the human fall, despite the darkness around our soul, still shines in our hearts with the ancient Divine light of the priceless merits of Christ. This light of Christ, when the sinner is unrepentant, speaks to the Father: "Abba Father! Don't be completely angry at this unrepentance!“ And then, when the sinner is converted to the path of repentance, he completely blurs out the traces of the crimes he has committed, dressing the former criminal again with a garment of incorruption woven from the grace of the Holy Spirit, the acquisition of which, as the goal of Christian life, I have been talking about for so long to your Love of God."^[31]. St. Augustine, judging by his interpretation of these verses, primarily implies the second meaning.: "But it turns out that foolish hearts still cannot perceive this light, because they are burdened with their sins, and they cannot see it. But let them not think that there is no light if they cannot see it: they themselves are darkness because of their sins... So, brothers, just as it happens when a blind man is in the sun, and the sun is in front of him, but he himself is a stranger to the sun, so everyone who is foolish, every unrighteous, every ungodly is blind in heart. Wisdom is before him, but being before the blind, it is alien to his eyes. Not because she doesn't exist, but because he himself is alien to her. So what should he do? Let him be cleansed and then he will be able to see God."^[32].

The need to display in translation also the second meaning of this ancient Greek verb ("to understand") can be traced when comparing this verse with the temptations of Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13) - according to St. John the Baptist. According to St. John Chrysostom, "When Jesus was hungry,"the tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (Matthew 4:3). After he had already heard a voice descend from heaven and testify, "This is my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17), and heard John's equally glorious testimony about Him, the tempter suddenly sees Him hungry. This leads him to perplexity: remembering what was said about Jesus, he cannot believe that this was a simple man; on the other hand, seeing Him hungry, he cannot allow this to be the Son of God. Being in such perplexity, he proceeds to It with words of doubt. And just as when he went to Adam, he invented something that did not exist at all in order to find out the truth, so now, without clearly knowing the ineffable mystery of the incarnation, and the one before him, he cunningly weaves new nets in order to learn the hidden and remained unknown."^[33].

The need for a double understanding of this ancient Greek verb is also found in the writings of St. Peter the Great. St. Symeon the New Theologian: "Saying this, John the Theologian reveals the mystery of the undivided Trinity and calls the Father God, the Son in Word, and the Holy Spirit in life, who is also light; and again, all three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, are one Light that shines in darkness, that is, in this world. For God is present everywhere, in the entirety of existence, and, being Light, enlightens everything, and darkness does not encompass him, that is, sinful impurity does not approach Him at all. The world does not prevent Him from shining and enlightening, but neither has it known Him, nor has it found Him, nor has it seen Him."^[34]

Additional translation options

Thus, the German and English translations are the closest through the prism of grammatical correspondence to the ancient Greek text, since they convey both lexical meanings – "to understand" and "to master".

The verb "comprehend" is unique in its meaning, which conveys both lexical meanings of the ancient Greek word "κατέλαβεν" – "to understand" and "to master", and is also used both in Church Slavonic texts and in modern Russian, which would not cause great difficulties for its perception when reading in Church Slavonic translation.

Confirmation of the possibility of this translation into Russian and Church Slavonic languages can be found in a number of publications.:

1. In the commentary to this verse in the Brussels Bible, "she did not embrace" – possible translations: "she did not overcome" or "she did not comprehend" ^{[1, p. 1613]};

2. In the commentary to this verse in the Modern Russian translation of the RBO, where this word is translated as "to devour ... – A different understanding is possible: to comprehend, to possess, to capture, cf. Prem 7:29-30" ^{[2, p. 2143]};

3. In the translation of the Gallic Bible, the words "thou shalt not comprehend" ^[26];

4. Translated by Professor A. A. Alekseev: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it." ^[35]

Conclusion

In our opinion, the smoothest sounding and most appropriate in meaning in Church Slavonic and Russian languages are translations of John 1.5 of the Gallic Bible and the translation by Professor A. A. Alekseev, as well as the German translation and English translations used in the readings of the Easter Gospel. Thus, options for solving this translation issue already exist at the present time and it is possible to refer this issue to the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission for consideration.

The article is published in the version approved by the reviewers (after receiving a positive review recommending the manuscript for publication) with corrections made by the author (after receiving the editor’s comments, if any).
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