요한계시록 3:10의 한글 번역에 대한 제언 - Τηρήσω έκ를 중심으로 ―

Abstract

In Revelation 3:10, Jesus says that he will keep the Philadelphian Christians, who have kept his word of endurance, from the hour of trial. This article suggests that the Greek clause κἀγώ σε τηρήσω ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πειρασμοῦ should be translated literally into Korean. The New Korean Revised Version translates this clause somewhat liberally as “I also will keep you exempt from the hour of trial.” In so doing, the New Korean Revised Version inserts exempt which does not appear in the Greek text. Instead, this article argues for a literal translation: “I also will keep you from the hour of trial,” which is faithful to the Greek text.<BR> The Greek preposition ἐκ may mean either source or separation in the Greek New Testament. When the ἐκ of Revelation 3:10 is taken to mean source, then Jesus promises to take the Philadelphian Christians out of the trial. But this reading is weakened by the fact that the meaning of τηρεῖν - to cause a state to continue - scarcely means out of, which presupposes a change of situation. When the ἐκ of Revelation 3:10 is taken to mean physical separation, then Jesus is promising to keep the Philadelphian Christians exempt from the hour of trial. This translation, however, is undermined by the fact that Revelation views the eschatological tribulation as something through which the followers of the Lamb must pass.<BR> The easiest and best translation is to construe the ἐκ of Revelation 3:10 as meaning spiritual separation or protection, in which case Jesus promises to keep the Philadelphian Christians from being negatively affected by the eschatological trial. The followers of the Lamb will have to pass through the trial but will come out victorious with his special help. This view is supported by the fact that Revelation encourages the readers to overcome the eschatological tribulation.<BR> The strength of the suggested literal translation of Revelation 3:10 lies in maintaining the ambiguity of the Greek, which can be taken to mean either that Jesus will keep the Philadelphian Christians from experiencing the trial, or that Jesus will protect them so that they can overcome the trial. In contrast, the liberal translation of the New Korean Revised Version fails to preserve this ambiguity, insofar as it excludes the second meaning. This study pays special attention to the possibility that the translation of the New Korean Revised Version is used as a proof text for dispensational premillennialism, especially the pre-tribulation rapture theory, though my suggested literal translation does not exclude the idea of pretribulational rapture advocated by dispensational premillennialists.