João Ferreira de Almeida

João Ferreira Annes d'Almeida (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ ˈɐnɨʃ dɨ aɫˈmɐjdɐ]) (1628–1691) was a Portuguese Protestant pastor; the eponymous Bible translation he began also goes by his name.

For the soldier executed in the First World War, see João Augusto Ferreira de Almeida.
João Ferreira Annes de Almeida
Born1628
Várzea de Tavares, Kingdom of Portugal
Died1691 (aged 63)
Batavia, Java
NationalityPortuguese
OccupationDutch Reformed Pastor
Known forBible translator

Ferreira de Almeida, born in Várzea de Tavares, Portugal, is best known for his translation of the Bible into Portuguese, which he began at the age of 14, and continued translating until his death. He translated the New Testament completely and most books of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scripture). The translation was completed by his friend, Jacobus op den Akker. Almeida also wrote several other works, most of them against Roman Catholicism.[1]

He was a Dutch Reformed pastor and worked with churches in Java (at the time a Dutch colony; modern-day Indonesia), and also preached in Goa on the Indian subcontinent (at the time a Portuguese colony, now part of India). Ferreira de Almeida died in Batavia, Java. Little is known about his life; the majority of facts come from the preface of his Portuguese translation of a Spanish booklet entitled "Differença d'a Christandade".[2]

Bible translation

Ferreira de Almeida's translation of the Bible is most closely associated with Portuguese-speaking Protestants and is the most commonly used translation by Portuguese-speaking Protestant Evangelicals, particularly in Brazil. His work is the source of many Bible versions, like the Edição Revista e Corrigida (Revised and Corrected Edition, published in 1948, is an update of other editions), the Edição Revista e Atualizada (Revised and Updated Edition, most based in newer manuscripts), published by Brazilian Bible Society and Portuguese Bible Society, Almeida Corrigida e Fiel (Almeida Corrected and Faithful), by Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil, and Edição Contemporânea de Almeida (Almeida's Contemporary Edition), by Editora Vida. In 2015, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an edition of the Bible in Portuguese based on Ferreira de Almeida's work.[3]

The main principle of translation used by Ferreira de Almeida was that of formal equivalence (following the syntax of the original text in the target language), and he utilized the Textus Receptus as a textual basis. His Portuguese style is described as "classical and erudite";[4] the Brazilian Bible Society states that Ferreira de Almedia sought to reflect both the form, style, and language register of the original texts in his translation.

Editions
  • First edition of the New Testament, in 1681.
  • Second edition of the New Testament, in 1693.
  • Third edition of the New Testament, in 1711.
  • A Biblia Sagrada. contendo o Velho e o Novo Testamento (The Holy Bible with the Old and New Testament) - 1821, 1848, 1850
  • 1911
  • Ferreira de Almeida Atualizada (1948)

Sources
  1. Fernandes, Luis Henrique (2020). João Ferreira de Almeida: a vida, a obra e o combate de um tradutor da Bíblia. Amazon.
  2. Fernandes, Luis Henrique (2020). João Ferreira de Almeida: a vida, a obra e o combate de um tradutor da Bíblia. Amazon.
  3. "Church Portuguese Bible Available Online". 15 September 2015.
  4. "Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil - SBB". Archived from the original on 6 February 2010.
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