ABSTRACT
The Protestant Arabic Bible was one of the most influential translation projects in a period that can rightly be called an age of translation. The controversies it sparked in the Arab east reverberated through the local Christian communities and beyond. The term “deuterocanonical” (i.e., “of the second canon”) designates secondary authority among Orthodox Christians, but only a chronological one among Catholics. This is perhaps why the disputes occasioned by the Protestant Bible, and the translation projects that emerged in response, came predominantly from Catholic quarters. Notwithstanding the “native coloring,” accuracy was undoubtedly the Protestant missionaries’ primary concern. Thus, affirmations of accuracy and fidelity to the original texts are the main commendations for the new translation repeated consistently in the secondary literature produced by members of the Mission.
