This article was previously published in June 2024 in Sparrow magazine
From stone tablets to scrolls, to Dutch translations, to your phone screen. The Bible belongs to all centuries and remains interesting. Gijs van den Brink has been involved with Study Bible for 40 years and has been passionately bringing modern readers closer to God's Word for all that time. He tells how history and passion for the Bible drive him to dive deeper and deeper into it.
The Bible remains interesting
"The importance of Bible study is to get to know God better, which is first and foremost for me. I also receive guidance from God's word and insight into life. What is the purpose of life on earth? What are we doing here? Why are we living? Where did you come from? Where are you going? I find answers to these big questions in the Bible, questions that every human being has to deal with, who is God? That's why I read the Bible, it convinces me that the God of Israel is the real God and because of that the Bible also becomes more and more interesting."
Old and new
"There has, of course, been a Dutch Bible for a long time. The most famous old translation is the Statenvertaling, which of course has been revised and kept readable over the years. This 'first' translation is also the first one we show in the Study Bible. We made a conscious decision to do so, as this is the most literal translation. This one is also number one for me! We also include the Greek text on which the Dutch translation is based. Modern translations have translated a different Greek text, which differs in all sorts of small ways."
"New manuscripts were all discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries, and more critical translations came on the market based on that. The most famous Greek edition of the New Testament is that of Nestle-Aland, and actually all modern translations are based on a particular edition of Nestle-Aland. It is very healthy to put different Bible translations side by side and look at the differences. But how do you know if a difference is due to a different translation or is based on a different Greek text? In the Study Bible, we list four text editions of the New Testament so you can see where differences exist. You don't even have to be an expert to see the differences. This is how we make the history of Dutch Bible translations and the history of the texts of the Bible understandable!"
Dutch isn't everything either
"The impact of limitations of the Dutch language differ from one Bible translation to another. In fact, translations are becoming freer, this is because more and more appreciation is given to the target audience, the readers. The target language is Dutch, the source language is Greek or Hebrew. It used to be very important to stay as close to the root language as possible, which is why the Statenvertaling scores the highest! Today, the goal is to come as close as possible to the modern reader; people are now trying to translate the content of a biblical text rather than the literal words. As a result, translations are becoming freer and freer. I like that on the one hand, because this is done with the intention of reflecting the author's message. But on the other hand, there are differences of opinion about the author's intent. Therefore, it is good to read different translations side by side. In the Study Bible we also provide a word-for-word translation of the original Greek or Hebrew text. So you can easily see for yourself how the differences between translations arise."
"The source texts are often much shorter than the Dutch text. We deal with the limitations of our language by often making the texts longer. The classical languages give much more information in few words, very staccato, than we can say in the same amount of words. Of course, there is also some 2000-4000 years between us and the source texts, which often leads to more explanatory translations to make the text understandable to modern readers."
The best Bible translation?
"There are some people who like to read several chapters in a row, those people I would recommend reading a free translation, such as NBV or Groot Nieuws Bijbel, it reads very pleasant and you understand pretty quickly what it says. If study is your goal when reading the Bible, I would take a more literal translation. That would be, for example, the (Revised) Statenvertaling, NBG1951 or the Willibrordvertaling."
The Bible as close as possible
"The mission of Study Bible is to bring the original Bible texts, in Greek and Hebrew, as close as possible to the people. This is the first time in the Dutch language that it is possible to read the original text as a layman, through that word-for-word translation! Thus, a layman can read the Bible as it was originally written. The Study Bible juxtaposes the Dutch translation, source texts and explanations for each text. Of course you can also find a lot on the Internet, but in the case of the StudieBijbel an editorial team of qualified Bible scholars has written, co-read and corrected the text. You have with the Study Bible app the weight of a solid reference book without the physical weight of a huge stack of books."
25,000 pages in your pocket
"The Study Bible app makes Bible study much easier and faster. If you have the books of Study Bible (29 volumes!), you can read the translations and explanations in one book and then look up the word study of the word by word with a number in another volume. That takes time, and you have to have all those books. The Study Bible app has 25,000 pages of Bible explanations that pop up for some 100,000 users in no time. You can also easily carry it in your pocket or purse to Bible circle and then consult each text. That doesn't work at all with those thick, heavy books. I have the Study Bible app open at every study circle."
BibliaDeEstudio, crossing borders
"We got the desire when we finished the Dutch edition of the Study Bible (of course we are never finished, we keep developing) to translate it into a language in which there are still few Bible study materials. After a time of reflection and prayer, we chose Spanish. Russian or Chinese was also briefly considered. We chose Spanish because there are very many young churches in Latin America that have an enormous need for Bible teaching. There are few theological books there, and there is relatively little Bible-related teaching. Meanwhile, all the New Testament commentaries have been translated and we are working hard to translate the Old Testament explanations. In addition to translating the Study Bible, we also try to build networks in Latin America, and we do so together with local translators who read along and with training programs in the region. Meanwhile, there are already 70,000-80,000 users in Latin America and about 1,000 new registrations are added every month for BibliaDeEstudio."
Gijs van den Brink (1953) studied theology in Utrecht. During his studies he married his wife Dieneke and has 3 daughters. For 40 years he has enjoyed living in the residential community 'Elim', which he helped found with two other couples. He has worked for over 40 years for Study Bible, in which he has been involved since completing his studies. Study Bible was an initiative of Herman ter Welle who founded the center "In de Ruimte. When this center ceased to exist in 1997, the editors of Study Bible established the Center for Bible Research (CoB).
