Following on the heels of my last post, I want to show you an example of how some Bibles grossly mistranslate Exodus 3:1 in order to attempt to prove that the Christian Mount Sinai tradition is true.
Let’s take a look at three examples of mistranslations.
“Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro (Reuel) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God.”-The Amplified Bible
“Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God.”-Easy-to-read Version
“Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God.”-GOD’S WORD Translation
Now let’s take a look at three translations that I think get the Hebrew right.
“Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev.”-Complete Jewish Bible
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”-King James Version
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
So some translations say Moses led his sheep “to the west side” and others say “to the far side” or “to the backside”.
So which one is right?
What does the original Hebrew say?
The Hebrew here is ACHAR.
This word appears 74 times in the Old Testament and every time it is translated into either “behind”, “to the backside”, or “at the rear”.
It is only here in Exodus 3:1 that some translators opted to translate “ACHAR” into “west”.
This is an obvious mistranslation and it is clear that these translators had an agenda.
If you begin with the assumption that Mount Horeb is on the Sinai Peninsula, then from Midian where Moses was, he would have to travel west to get there is the idea these folks are trying to push.
Uhh, nice try guys.
But hell no!
Moses stayed on the Arabian Peninsula and indeed as the original Hebrew says drove them “behind” or to the “far side” of the desert wilderness.
Incidentally the Hebrew word for “west” used in the Scriptures is YAM.
It is used exactly 68 times in the Old Testament.
However, those translators who have an agenda would like to us to believe that it is used 69 times in the Scriptures.
the dove will land in the west..the true is-ra-el is not what we think but to the casual reader, the Good book has been rummaged, adulterated and violated by “whomever” with an agenda that is obvious only to those who don’t swallow dogma or are tired of eating meaningless food lacking spiritual nutrition fed to the masses…the eye has to be single to see…
Amen to that. Too much of what we think we know the Scriptures say is guided NOT by the Scriptures themselves but by agenda-driven doctrine. May God’s pure, unadulterated Word shine forth unimpeded.