1866 Ottoman Turkish New Testament (OTAS66)

Overview

The 1866 Ottoman Turkish New Testament is a translation by William Gottlieb Schauffler (1798-1883), a German-born missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) who spent over 25 years in Turkey [1][2]. Schauffler's New Testament, published in 1866, is considered by some scholars to be a masterpiece of elegant Ottoman Turkish prose [1]. Unlike the earlier Ali Bey/Kieffer translation (1819), which was a revision of a 17th-century manuscript, Schauffler produced a fresh translation designed specifically for Ottoman Turkish speakers, prompted by increased Muslim Turkish interest in Scripture [2][3].

Translation History

Schauffler arrived in Turkey under the auspices of the American Board and devoted decades to Bible translation work. His New Testament appeared in 1866, followed by the Psalms in 1867, and then portions of the Old Testament including the Pentateuch and Isaiah [2]. He completed the entire Bible by 1873 [2]. Schauffler's translation later served as one of the key inputs for the joint BFBS-ABS revision committee (1873-1878), which produced the standard Kitab-i Mukaddes edition published in Constantinople in 1878 [1][3].

References