An Essay On the Principles of Translating the Holy Scriptures: With Critical Remarks On Various Passages, Particularly in Reference to the Tamul Language

by Charles Theophilus Ewald Rhenius

This English-language book, published in 1820, is a seminal work on translation in the context of biblical studies. The author, a Lutheran missionary based in southern India, provides critical analysis of the difficulties in accurately translating the Bible into Tamil, a Dravidian language spoken in India and Sri Lanka. This book is an important resource for scholars of linguistics, religious studies, and South Asian studies. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

70 pages, Hardcover

Published July 18, 2023

About the author

Charles Theophilus Ewald Rhenius (5 November 1790 – 5 June 1838) was a German-born missionary of the Church Mission Society (CMS). He was the first CMS missionary to arrive in India. For his missionary work in the Tirunelveli district, he came to be known as the "Apostle of Tirunelveli". He was involved in the attempt to revise the Fabricius version of the Tamil Bible and also published a Tamil grammar book. Rhenius’ split from the Anglican Church in 1830 and started his own congregation. Rhenius' work was recognized in 1980 by the Reverend Daniel Abraham, the then Church of South India (CSI) bishop of Tirunelveli diocese. Rhenius's work was given official recognition by the Anglican Communion during the Tirunelveli diocese bicentenary celebration in 1980, in which, all the bishops, including Anglican bishop Stephen Neill and all the presbyters, took an oath in front of the tomb of Rev Rhenius to follow the path of the resting soul, regard to evangelism.