UCoverdale NeBhayibheli Lokuqala Eliphelele Elanyatheliswa NgesiNgisi

IBHAYIBHELI lokuqala eliphelele elanyatheliswa ngesiNgisi lalingabhaliwe ukuthi lihunyushwe ubani. Lalihunyushwe uMiles Coverdale, futhi inguqulo yakhe yaba khona ngo-1535. Ngaleso sikhathi, umngane wakhe uWilliam Tyndale wayesejele eboshelwe omunye wemisebenzi yakhe ephathelene nokuhumusha iBhayibheli. UTyndale wabulawa ngonyaka owalandela.

Ingxenye yenguqulo kaCoverdale yayisekelwe emsebenzini kaTyndale. Kwenzeka kanjani ukuba uCoverdale akwazi ukunyathelisa inguqulo yakhe kodwa angabulawa, kuyilapho abanye abahumushi beBhayibheli bosuku lwakhe babulawa? Yini agcina eyifezile?

Imbewu Iyahlwanyelwa

UMiles Coverdale wazalelwa eYorkshire, eNgilandi, cishe ngonyaka ka-1488. Wafunda eCambridge University futhi wamiswa njengompristi wamaRoma Katolika ngo-1514. Isifiso sakhe sokuguqula iSonto lamaKatolika sakhuthazwa uRobert Barnes, uthisha wakhe. UBarnes wabalekela ezwekazini laseYurophu ngo-1528. Ngemva kweminyaka engu-12 lo Mgqugquzeli Wezinguquko washiselwa esigxotsheni eshiswa abaholi besonto.

Ngo-1528, uCoverdale wayeseqalile ukushumayela ngokumelene nemikhuba yobuKatolika engekho eBhayibhelini yokukhulekela izithombe, ukuvuma amacala neMisa. Ngenxa yokuthi ukuphila kwakhe kwakusengozini, wahamba iNgilandi waya kwelinye izwekazi, lapho afike achitha khona iminyaka ethe ayibe isikhombisa.

UCoverdale wahlala noWilliam Tyndale eHamburg, eJalimane. La madoda asebenza ndawonye kulokhu ayekufuna, ukukhipha iBhayibheli abantu ababezokwazi ukulifunda. Phakathi nalesi sikhathi, uCoverdale wafunda okuningi kuTyndale ngekhono lokuhumusha iBhayibheli.

Isikhathi Soshintsho

Ngaleso sikhathi, izinto zazishintsha eNgilandi. Ngo-1534, iNkosi uHenry VIII walidelela ingcaca igunya likapapa wamaKatolika eRoma. Naye weyevumelana nokuthi iBhayibheli lihunyushelwe esiNgisini. Ngemva kwesikhathi, uCoverdale wawuthatha lo msebenzi. UCoverdale wayesazi kahle isiNgisi kodwa wayengenalo ikhono lokukhuluma izilimi ezimbili noma ngaphezulu njengomngane wakhe nothisha wakhe, uTyndale, yena owayesikhipha ngamakhala isiHebheru nesiGreki. UCoverdale wabukeza inguqulo kaTyndale, esebenzisa izinguqulo zesiLatin nezesiJalimane.

IBhayibheli likaCoverdale lanyatheliswa ezwekazini laseYurophu ngo-1535, unyaka owandulela lowo uTyndale abulawa ngawo. Lalihlanganisa amazwi enhlonipho abonga ngandlela-thile iNkosi uHenry. UCoverdale waqinisekisa uHenry ngokuthi iBhayibheli lakhe lalingenayo imibhalo yaphansi kaTyndale, eyayibonakala iphikisana ngoba phakathi kwezinye izinto, yayigcizelela izimfundiso zeSonto lamaKatolika ezingekho eBhayibhelini. Ngakho uHenry wavumelana nalokho kunyatheliswa kweBhayibheli. Itshe laqala ukugaya ngomunye umhlathi.

Ngo-1537, kwanyatheliswa izinguqulo ezimbili zeBhayibheli likaCoverdale eNgilandi. Ngawo lowo, iNkosi uHenry yagunyaza uhlelo olubizwa ngokuthi iMatthew’s Bible, olwanyatheliswa e-Antwerp, olwaluhlanganisa umsebenzi kaTyndale noCoverdale.

Umeluleki wenkosi oyinhloko uThomas Cromwell, esekelwa uCranmer, uMbhishobhi Omkhulu waseCanterbury, wasibona ngokushesha isidingo senguqulo ethuthukisiwe yeMatthew’s Bible. Ngakho waphinde wacela ukuba uCoverdale ahlolisise umbhalo wesandla ophelele. INkosi uHenry yayigunyaza le nguqulo entsha ngo-1539 futhi yayala ukuba amakhophi ayo—ayebizwa ngokuthi i-Great Bible ngenxa yobukhulu bawo—abekwe emasontweni ukuze wonke umuntu akwazi ukuwafunda. Leli Bhayibheli lamukelwa ngenjabulo ezweni lonke.

Igama UCoverdale Azenzela Lona

Ngemva kokufa kukaHenry VIII nokugcotshwa kuka-Edward VI, uCoverdale wamiswa njengombhishobhi wase-Exeter ngo-1551. Nokho, lapho iNdlovukazi yamaKatolika uMary ihlala esihlalweni sobukhosi ngemva kuka-Edward ngo-1553, uCoverdale waphoqeleka ukuba ayobhaca eDenmark. Ngemva kwalokho wathuthela eSwitzerland, lapho aqhubeka khona nomsebenzi wakhe. Waphinde wanyathelisa izinguqulo ezintathu ngesiNgisi ezaziwa ngokuthi iTestamente Elisha, ezinombhalo wesiLatin owawuyoba insiza-kutadisha yabefundisi.

Isici esasingalindelekile eBhayibhelini likaCoverdale kwaba ukungafakwa kwegama likaNkulunkulu elithi “Jehova.” UTyndale wasebenzisa igama likaNkulunkulu izikhathi ezingaphezu kuka-20 enguqulweni yakhe yemiBhalo yesiHebheru. Encwadini ethi Coverdale and His Bibles, uJ F. Mozley uyaphawula: “Ngo-1535 uCoverdale walenqaba ngokuphelele leli gama [elithi Jehova].” Noma kunjalo, kamuva walifaka kathathu igama likaNkulunkulu elithi Jehova enguqulweni okuthiwa i-Great Bible.

Nokho, iBhayibheli likaCoverdale, kwakuyiBhayibheli lokuqala ngesiNgisi elineTetragrammaton—izinhlamvu ezine zesiHebheru ezakha igama likaNkulunkulu—phezulu kwekhasi elingaphakathi. Okuphawulekayo ukuthi kwaba iBhayibheli lokuqala elahlanganisa zonke izincwadi ze-Apocrypha zaba isithasiselo kunokuba zibe khona kuzo zonke izincwadi zemiBhalo yesiHebheru.

Indlela ehlukile yokubeka imisho namagama kaCoverdale yabuye yasetshenziswa abahumushi abamlandela. Ibinzana elithi “isigodi sethunzi lokufa” elitholakala encwadini yeHubo 23 ivesi 4 liyisibonelo salokhu. UProfesa S. L. Greenslade uthi igama elithi “umusa wothando elisevesini 6 liyigama elikhethekile elihlukanisa uthando olujulile uNkulunkulu analo ngabantu bakhe othandweni oluvamile noma esiheni.” I-New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References isebenzisa lona leli gama, inezele umbhalo waphansi othi: “Noma ‘uthando oluqotho.’”

Incwadi ethi Bibles of England ithi i-Great Bible kaCoverdale “yayiwumsebenzi owumphumela wawo wonke umsebenzi wokwenziwa kweBhayibheli lesiNgisi . . . kusukela ngosuku uTyndale aqala ngalo ukuhumusha iTestamente Elisha.” Eqinisweni, yinguqulo kaCoverdale eyabangela ukuba abantu abakhuluma isiNgisi osukwini lwakhe bakwazi ukufunda iBhayibheli.

[Izithombe ekhasini 11]

ITetragrammaton, ngakwesobunxele, ekhasini elingaphakathi lenguqulo yango-1537

[Umthombo Wesithombe ekhasini 10]

Ithathwe encwadini ethi Our English Bible: Its Translations and Translators

[Umthombo Wesithombe ekhasini 11]

Photo source: From The Holy Scriptures of the Olde and Newe Testamente With the Apocripha by Myles Coverdale