Folia Theologica 9. (1998)
György Benyik: Hungarian Bible Translation
230 GY. BENYIK GYÖRGY BESNYEI (1675-1749), a Calvinist preacher and dean of Madari. He translated the psalms from Hebrew and published them under the title of The Small Bible or the Book of King David’s Hundred and Fifty Psalms (Mineapolis 1740).67 He also translated the complete Bible, copying and correcting it at least five times, but this work remained in manuscript form.68 GYÖRGY SZENICZEI BÁRÁNY (1682-1757), a scholar who studied in Jena and Halle and became a Lutheran preacher. He translated and explained the New Testament69 with János Sartorius. The theological and moral comments they made were strongly influenced by the Lutheran theology of Feiner, Langius, Heidinger and Starkius. FERENC HUNYADI SZABÓ (1743-1795), a Calvinist bishop with several publications, though his translation of The Book of Job remained in manuscript form. Translations from 1800 to 1850 THEODOR STÉRIADY was a merchant.70 During their life in Hungary the Greek and Orthodox merchants lost their language. Therefore it became necessary to translate the Bible or at least the Sunday passages, and to write prayer-books for them. After the Act of Tolerance of Joseph II such books could be published. For the edition of Görög Keresztény Anyaszentegyház.-.tatji kalmár he used the Károli-Pethe Revision. IZIDOR GUZMICS (1786-1839)71, a Benedictine monk, poet and translator, who spent part of his life at the Benedictine Monastery of Pannonhalma. He wanted to reestablish the Association of Hungarian Church Literature, which was the literary circle of the seminarians of Pest. He was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 1832 he became the abbot of Bakonybél and the editor of the first Hungarian theological monthly, Church Repository (Egyházi Tár). A great admirer of Herder and a friend of the Hungarian language reformer Ferenc Kaz67 As the publishers did not want to name the real place of edition, gave it an imaginary name. Therefore the date and place of edition is misleading. 68 BÁRÁNY, József. Nagymegyeri B.Gy. kéziratos fordítása. Budapest, 1885. 69 A mi Urunk Jézus Krisztus Ujtestementuma. Translated from Greek and annotated in Lau in 1754. 70 Published in Vác in 1802 in Gottlieb Máramarosi’s typeface. 71 ZOLTVÁNYI L., Irén. Guzmics Izidor életrajza. Budapest, 1884.; VIRÁNYI, Ottó. Guzmics Izidor bencés hittudós és nyelvújító, in Katolikus Szó, 1976.
