Adding the Indefinite Article at John 10:33

Someone at the "Jehovah's Witnesses and Biblical Discussion Group" on facebook posted the above image from biblehub and their objection that the New World Translation Bible had added the letter "a" at John 10:33.

All Bibles add words, simply put. Have you ever noticed all those words in italics in the King James
Version and the New American Standard Bible? Those are words that are not in the original text, yet
there are thousands of them.

Also, the Greek word for "God" here is anarthrous which means it can be translated with the indefinite "a."

Now take note of how others have translated this:

“Claim to be a god.”—New English Bible

“Makest thyself a god.”—John Bowes, 1870

“Makest thyself a god.” Rev. Timothy Kenrick

“Makest thyself a god.” Charles Voysey 1872

“Makest thyself a god.” Joseph Cohen (Jewish) 1872

“Makest thyself a God.”—James Stark 1866

“Makest thyself a god.” Rev. R. Shepherd D.D. 1841

“Makest thyself a god.” Abiel Abbot Livermore 1844

“[M]akest thyself a god.”—Samuel Sharpe, 1881.

“Make Yourself out to be a god.”—Ferrar Fenton, 1909.

"being a man, pretend to be a God." Daniel Mace New Testament

"thou makest thyself a God" Leo Tolstoy (See also Emphatic Diaglott & Revised Version Improved and Corrected)

“Make yourself a god.” Bart Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, p. 84

"making himself a god." C.H. Dodd - The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, p. 205, Cambridge University Press, 1995 reprint.

“[M]akest thyself ‘a god’ not ‘God’ as in C[ommon].V[ersion, KJV]., otherwise the definite article would not have been omitted, as it is here, and in the next two verses,— ‘gods..[.] gods,’ where the title is applied to magistrates, and others, because in a certain sense they are God’s representatives. Compare also Acts 28. 6; 2 Cor. 2. 4.”—Robert Young, Concise Commentary, in loc. cit.

“[F]or making a mortal like yourself into a god.”—Andy Gaus, The Unvarnished New Testament, 1991.

The Revised English Version has "make yourself a god" with a footnote that adds: "'a god.' The Greek word Theos (2316 QEOS), God or god, does not have the definite article and should be translated “a god” or “divine.” Since the Jews would never believe a man could be Yahweh, and since it was common in the Aramaic and Hebrew to call an important man 'god,' that is the way we translated it."

Even MARTIN LUTHER translated the passage as "a God!"

"Any difficulty in understanding this verse is caused the translators. Had they faithfully rendered the Greek text in verse 33 as they did in verse 34 and 35, then it would read, "...you a man, claim to be a god." One God/One Lord by Graeser, Lynn and Schoenheit p.482

"Purely on the basis of the Greek text, therefore, it is possible to translate  [John 10:33] 'a god,' as NEB does, rather than to translate God, as TEV and several other translations do.  One might argue on the basis of both the Greek and the context, that the Jews were accusing Jesus of claiming to be `a god' rather than 'God.' "- p. 344, United Bible Societies, 1980.

"'...you are making yourself God [or a god].' The Greek word for 'god' here has no definite article. I personally suspect that we are intended to understand the statement as the accusation that Jesus is compromising God's uniqueness in making extravagant claims for himself. That is, Jesus is accused of making himself 'a god.' But commentators and translators are divided on exactly how to render the accusation." ~How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? by Larry W. Hurtado

Interesting how Biblehub adds the "a" to anthropos but not to theon even though the "a" is not actually in the Greek in either case.

Now look at this other screen capture from biblehub.

Notice how they add the indefinite "a" to both "god" and "man" here even though the Greek does not have an "a." Why did they add it here and not at John 10:33? Because the referent in Acts is not Jesus.

This is why most Christians should not translate the Bible.

It also makes literary sense to have the indefinite article A here:

    "thou, being A man,
makest thyself A god."

The NWT translation is yet again the superior translation here.

After stating all this, the group admin at "Jehovah's Witnesses and Biblical Discussion Group" muted me so that I could no longer comment.

........................................

Now let's take a different look at Phil 2:5-7..."Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...

You have to wonder if QEOU should be taken as indefinite here, such as “form of a god”? This would highlight a parallel that is overlooked by most, the parallel between "the form of a god" and "the form of a slave."

"In the epistle to the Philippians, 2. 6—11, he represents the Logos, as being first in the form of a god, and afterwards humbling himself, laying aside his majesty, and taking the form of a servant..." [A Monotessaron; Or The Gospel of Jesus Christ, According to the Four Evangelists by John Samuel Thompson 1828]

"Agreeably to the language here made use of, it is said in another place, that Christ, being in the form of God, or in the form of a God, took upon himself the form of a servant." ~Rev. Timothy Kenrick 1828

This Kindle book, And the Word was a god: Conversations on the Most Disputed Text in the New Testament - John 1:1 is available on Amazon by clicking here

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