What did God Really Create in the Beginning?
What did God really create in the beginning? The usual answer is as obvious as it is wrong.
On Genesis 1:1
While most translations agree that the translation of Genesis 1:1 should read, “In the beginning…” the (Jewish) JPS translation offers instead, “When God began to create…” And the NLT and some others offer a footnote with that possibility. What’s going on? The answer dates back 1,000 years to Rashi. He notes that the usual word…
Read more
Top Translation Traps: Mimicry
One of the most non-intuitive aspects of translation is that mimicry can lead the translator astray. For example, it stands to reason that an adverb at the beginning of Hebrew sentence should be translated into English by an adverb at the beginning of a sentence; and, similarly, that an adverb at the end in Hebrew…
Read more
First Things First: Stress, Focus, and Biblical Hebrew Word Order
The importance of word order in Biblical Hebrew recently came up regarding Genesis 1:1, and in particular how we know that that verse answers the question “when?” Here’s some more information and some additional examples. An English Diversion In English, stressing different words changes the implications of a sentence. For example: Example 1. This is…
Read more
Clear, Cogent, and Wrong
I frequently hear support for a translation philosophy that is in favor of only changing the original “as much as necessary” or of keeping the formal structure of the original “as far as possible” (to quote the introduction to the ESV). But I think that approach is fundamentally misguided. The first three words of the…
Read more
Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives
Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:
Interest Rates Old and New: How High is Too High? A short history of ancient interest rates, in light of a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates proposed in the US Senate by Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley
Happy Year of the Snake Why is there a year for such a despicable animal as the snake? There might be a very good reason...
The Surprising Connection Between Hanukkah and Christmas Hanukkah and Christmas, which happen to coincide this year, happen to have a surprising shared history. Here it is.
Positivity Is Poisoning the Holidays (but It Doesn't Have To) Here is an antidote the poisonous pressure to be happy, especially during the holidays.
