Gen 1:1:
In
the beginning …: this phrase represents the first Hebrew word in verse 1
and serves as the title for the book in the Hebrew Bible.
Gen 1:1 begins by presenting the translator with the
problem of how to interpret In the
beginning and the relationship of verse 1 to the following verses. All the
ancient versions as well as many modern ones understand verse 1 to be an
independent sentence, which serves as a general heading for the entire story of
creation and affirms the creation of the earth in the formless state described
in verse 2. Since early times this has been the view of most Jewish and
Christian interpreters, and it may be seen in such modern versions as rsv, Revised English Bible (reb), French common language version (frcl), niv,
German common language version (gecl),
njb, Bible de Jérusalem (bj),
and Spanish common language version (spcl).
Other scholars point out that the Hebrew form of the
phrase translated In the beginning
should be translated as a subordinate time clause, and so “In the beginning
when God created” (tev) or “When
God began to create.…” In this case verse 2 forms the main clause, asserting
that the earth was formless and desolate at the time when God began to create.
Some modern versions that translate in this way are tev, neb, the
New Jewish Version (njv), nab, the Anchor Bible volume on Genesis,
by E. A. Speiser (Speiser), and Moffatt (Mft).
Westermann gives a detailed survey of the opinions
expressed. tev gives the
translator a good model to follow by placing one form in the text and the
alternative form in a footnote.
In
the beginning refers to the time when God began to create. If the
translator interprets this as a dependent clause, the opening clause may be
translated, for example, “When God began to create,” “At the time when God
began to create,” or “In the beginning of God’s creation.” If the traditional
interpretation is followed, then the
beginning refers to the time when the universe came into existence, rather
than the beginning or opening of the story of creation.
For languages in which a reference to “the beginning [of
everything]” is not an appropriate opening phrase, it is often possible to use
an expression that means “a long time ago in the past.” Many languages use such
an expression as an opening for their own traditional stories of the past. For
instance, in a number of English-based creole languages, an equivalent of the
English word “before” is the term that means “in the past”; and a typical
beginning for Gen 1:1 in these languages is “Before, before true.…”
In many languages the form of an opening phrase like In the beginning gives a signal to the
reader or hearer about the type of story that is to follow. One example of this
is the opening phrase “Once upon a time” in English, which introduces a story
of the “fairy-tale” type. The matter of literary type is discussed under the
division heading above; but translators are advised here to be very careful in
the choice of an opening time phrase, so that readers are not given a signal
that gives the wrong impression about the nature of this whole passage.
In some languages the beginning of a story usually
includes the title of the story or tells in a very brief summary what the story
is about. The Genesis creation story includes this element, but it may need to
be moved or restructured to fit the normal pattern that readers expect. The
traditional translation of verse 1, as given in rsv,
may be quite appropriate. But if verse 1 is translated as a dependent clause,
it will probably not be suitable as a title or summary for the story; and in
this case something else may have to be provided. In the Hebrew text the
summary statement that describes the whole story is given at the end (“And that
is how the universe was created,” verse 2:4a, tev),
if we accept the view of most commentators and translations about that
statement. If it seems necessary to have a heading or summary statement at the
beginning, translators may wish to follow the model of Mft, who has moved 2:4a to the beginning of 1:1 as the
heading or introduction to the entire passage. (William David
Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis [UBS Handbook Series;
New York: United Bible Societies, 1998], 27-28)
Gen 19:24:
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is told in two
verses. If verse 23 opens this brief account, we may make verse 23 the
introductory time clause for verse 24; for example, “When the sun was rising
and Lot had reached Zoar, the Lord.…” If this structure is not satisfactory,
verse 23 can be kept as a separate sentence.
The
Lord rained means the Lord caused it to rain or “made brimstone fall
on.…” Brimstone is translated by tev as “burning sulfur.” Sulfur is a
yellow substance that burns with a high heat and produces a suffocating odor.
Fire and burning sulfur are used to describe the
destruction sent down from heaven by God in Ezek 38:22. Brimstone is also mentioned in Rev 14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8. “Fire
and brimstone” is the traditional rendering suggesting two separate elements,
but in the context they are to be understood as one and the same. Brimstone and fire may be rendered, for
example, “heat and fire that suffocate people” or “hot burning coals.”
From
the Lord out of heaven: this emphasizes that the source of
the destruction is from the Lord above. neb,
reb say “from the skies.”
In translation the picture of the destruction falling
like rain can often be used. Two translations that keep this figure of speech
are “The Lord sent rain like sulfur with fire from the sky” and “The Lord sent
burning sulfur, which fell like rain on those two towns.” Examples of
translations that do not use the picture of rain are “Straight away the Lord
sent hot stones with fire falling on top of Sodom and Gomorrah” and “Straight
away the Lord spilled out from the sky very hot stones with fire on top of the
two towns.” (William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis
[UBS Handbook Series; New York: United Bible Societies, 1998], 432-33)
Gen 20:13:
God is here ’elohim followed by a plural form of the
verb. Although scholars interpret the significance of the plural form in
various ways, this usage with ’elohim
is found also in 35:7; Exo 22:9; 2 Sam 7:23, and elsewhere. Driver suggests
that Abraham is adapting his speech to a pagan who believes in many gods,
saying in effect “when the gods caused me to.…” Speiser believes the plural
usage here suggests a broader concept of God, which he translates as “Heaven.”
However, it is probably best to take the plural usage in a singular sense,
since this usage occurs elsewhere. ((William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A
Handbook on Genesis [UBS Handbook Series; New York: United Bible Societies,
1998], 455)
Gen 49:26:
The
blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal
mountains: Skinner calls the expression the blessings of your father are mighty beyond “absolutely
unintelligible.” Speiser says the entire sentence is “hopeless on more than one
count” and gives a number of reasons why he believes this to be the case. tev “Blessings of grain and flowers,” as
its footnote shows, follows a change of the Hebrew text. hottp rejects this change, saying it
“might represent the original text, but it is not attested by any old text
witness. Therefore it is only a conjecture [a guess] resting on no textual
basis.” Accordingly hottp keeps
the Hebrew text and supports the rendering of rsv.
The translation suggested by hottp and followed by rsv
is a rendering that follows the Hebrew text without resorting to the ancient
versions or to conjectures. The sense thus far, according to Driver, is that
the blessings Jacob received from his ancestors are greater than the blessings
that come from the eternal mountains. We may translate, for example, “The
blessings that your father received from his ancestors are greater than the
blessings that come from the everlasting mountains.” We may change the pronouns
to say, for example, “The blessings that my fathers gave me are greater than
the good things we receive from the eternal hills.” We cannot dismiss the
possibility, however, that blessings of
your father may also be understood as the blessings or benedictions given
by Jacob to his offspring. Some translations express mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains as “the good
things you receive will be so many that they cover over the big mountains.”
The
bounties of the everlasting hills: this line repeats
closely what was said in the previous line. Bounties translates a word meaning “good things,” things that are
desirable in the good sense. See tev
“delightful things.”
May
they be on the head of Joseph: Jacob asks that these
blessings be given to Joseph. The expression is, however, poetic and comes from
the custom of placing one’s hands on the head of the person being blessed;
these blessings are thus expressed as resting on his head. If the figure of
blessings resting on the head is unnatural, it may be necessary to say, for
example, “May these blessings come to Joseph,” or “May Joseph receive these
blessings [good things],” or “May God give Joseph these blessings.”
And
on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers: brow
is used in the second line as a particular part of the head, in keeping with
poetic parallelism. Brow refers to
the forehead. Separate translates
the Hebrew term that is also used to designate a “nazirite.” This does not
emphasize physical separation but rather separation for a special purpose:
“dedicated from among his brothers” (njb).
Laws describing how a nazirite was to mark his separation and dedication are
set forth in Num 6:1–21. The word also means “prince” and is used in that sense
in Lam 4:7. If tev “set apart from
his brothers” is not suitable, it may be possible to say, for example, “who was
made the leader of his brothers.” niv
and neb/reb have “the prince among
his brothers. (William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A
Handbook on Genesis [UBS Handbook Series; New York: United Bible Societies,
1998], 1098-99)