Mission Crossroads is a three-time-a-year magazine focused on worldwide work of the PC(USA). It offers news and feature stories about mission personnel, international partners and grassroots Presbyterians involved in God's mission in the world.
Issue link: https://missioncrossroads.epubxp.com/i/491857
Mission Crossroads 1 In 2015, Bible societies across the Middle East are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the most widely used Arabic translation of the Scriptures. Te impact this translation cannot be overestimated. Since its completion in 1865, more than 50 million copies of the Van Dyck Bible have been printed and distributed. Hunter Farrell, director of World Mission, was a special guest at the 150th anniversary celebration in Cairo and spoke of the unique partnership that brought the complete translation of the Bible to the Arabic-speaking world. Commonly known as the Van Dyck Bible, the work was a partnership of several individuals and Middle Eastern churches, who worked 17 years to give birth to the most important Arabic translation in modern history. In the 19th century, Presbyterian missionaries arrived in Beirut but quickly found that Arabic translations of the Bible were scarce and dated. Rev. Eli Smith, a Presbyterian missionary, worked with Butrus al-Bustani, on translating the entire Bible. Smith died in 1857 before the project was complete. Presbyterian missionary, Cornelius Van Dyck, M.D., for whom the translation is named, took over coordination of the project. Te Arabic New Testament was fnished in 1860 and the Old Testament translation, which took another fve years, was fnally printed in 1865. In Beirut, in 1865, prominent Orthodox priest Ghubreen Jebara was quoted as saying: "But for the American missionaries, the Word of God had well-nigh perished out of the [Arabic] language; but now, through the labors of Dr. Eli Smith and Dr. Van Dyck, they have given us a translation so pure, so exact, so clear, and so classical, as to be acceptable to all classes and all sections." A century and a half later, the Bible Society of Egypt, the largest Arabic Bible publishing operation in the world, has the goal of making the Bible "available to all, understandable to all and afordable to all" and freely distributes copies of the Van Dyck Bible to refugees, the disabled, and prisoners and their families. Farrell closed his remarks at the celebration with Isaiah 40:8, "Te grass withers, the fower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Bible societies celebrate 150th anniversary of the Van Dyck Bible By Kathy Melvin A young man reads an Arabic Bible, commonly known as the Van Dyck Bible translation. Presbyterian Mission in Syria & Lebanon 1823 The frst Presbyterian mission personnel arrive in greater Syria (then part of the Ottoman Empire). They focus on establishing schools for boys and girls, doing medical work, and organizing churches. 1834 Rev. Eli Smith (1801-1857) brings the frst printing press with Arabic script to Syria. This press became a major factor in increasing literacy and literature in the Arabic language. In 1847, he collaborates with Syrian scholars Butrus al-Bustani and Nasif el Yazigy on translating the Bible into contemporary Arabic. Smith dies in 1857 and is succeeded by Rev. Cornelius Van Dyck in coordinating the project. By 1865, the translation is completed. The "Van Dyck Translation" continues to be used by most Arabic Christians in the Middle East today. 1834 Mrs. Smith opens the Beirut Evangelical School for Girls. It is the frst girls' school in the entire Ottoman Empire. By 1837, 600 students are enrolled in 13 schools in Syria and Lebanon, 120 of whom are girls. By 1890, 1,500 children are enrolled in Protestant Schools, of whom 7,000 are girls. 1848 First Evangelical Church is organized in Beirut followed by churches in Hasbaya (1852), Aleppo (1853), and Homs. By 1870 three Presbyteries are formed. Van Dyck