Friends and neighbours in early modern England: Biblical translations and social norms

By investigating the language of neighbourliness and friendship in English translations of the Hebrew bible, the paper reflects on concepts derived from the bible and their significance in early modern English culture and thought. It shows how interpersonal relationships in the biblical text were understood by English translators within a world view shaped by their contemporary notions of community life. Protestant translators from Tyndales version to King Jamess not only drew on the original Hebrew and Greek, but also re-wrote key phrases in terms that spoke to the linguistic and cultural norms of their own society. These were further propagated in religious didactic literature and in secular text, spreading further the 'Anglicisation' of the Hebrew Bible.