![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/55\/2024\/12\/61CqwvqQ6xL._SL1200_-1-687x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIf we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal translation and letting the commentary do the explaining.\u00a0 So let\u2019s take a few samples from Alter\u2019s renderings of Gen. 1-5.\u00a0 So in the very first verse of Genesis we have \u201cthe earth was then welter and waste\u2019 a rendering of tohu wubohu.\u00a0<\/em>As you can see from the transliteration, the Hebrew rhymes, one of the reason various scholars have taken Gen. 1 as poetry.\u00a0 \u00a0Alter, I think rightly, says no, it is poetic prose, because it is a narrative about a series of events.\u00a0 I don\u2019t love \u2018welter and waste\u2019 as an attempt at rhyme,\u00a0 I would prefer \u2018lifeless and formless\u2019\u00a0 because tohu\u00a0<\/em>can clear mean emptiness, and what follows talks about God filling up the earth with creatures etc.\u00a0 \u00a0The next sentence reads \u201cGod\u2019s breath hovered over the waters\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0True enough nephesh<\/em> can mean breath, wind or spirit, just as the Greek pneuma<\/em> can, but here I would prefer the translation wind, not breath, even though it clearly means breath when we hear about how God animated the earth creature made from earth\u2014adam from adama.\u00a0 \u00a0Wind or spirit can hover, but breath not so much. <\/em>And here I must take exception to Alter\u2019s seemingly hard and fast rule that context doesn\u2019t determine a word\u2019s meaning.\u00a0 If a word has a range of meaning, surely the context does help one decide which of the range is the right meaning in a particular context.<\/p>\nIf we examine Gen. 1 carefully several thinks become apparent: 1) the verb bara\u00a0<\/em>meaning create, is only used of God in the OT, without exception, and sometimes it means creatio ex nihilo, creation out of nothing.\u00a0 But 2) a careful reading of Gen. 1 also shows that God uses natural processes to create other aspects of creation, for example we are told that the land itself created or produced some things, so the description is not all about creation out of nothing; 3) it is not until the 4th day that the sun of our solar system is said to be created, and this in turn means that the first three \u2018days\u2019 as they are called are not solar days as in our solar system.\u00a0 The point of the the descriptions is to make clear that there was a method to God\u2019s creating and an orderliness no matter how long it took, and generally speaking the order of creation of air, water land, then animals and things to eat, and last of all human beings makes sense whether one is considering this account and comparing it to evolutionary theory, or simply appreciating the orderliness of God\u2019s creating. 4) not only because the first 3 days are not solar days, but also because at the end of the account the phrase \u2018and it was evening and morning\u2019 ceases with the 6th day (see Origen, de Principiis 4.1.16, \u201cFor who that has understanding will suppose that the first and second and third day existed without sun, moon or stars?\u201d).\u00a0 \u00a0The seventh day, where God \u2018ceased\u2019 from creating is still ongoing if one is talking about initial creation that started the universe.\u00a0 And there is nothing in this account that means we should take this poetic prose to mean that God accomplished all this in a mere six 24 hour days\u2014 which would mean six solar days.\u00a0 Nor can we figure out how long ago God did this by a close reading of the genealogies, not least because they are not exhaustive, even if we start with King David in about 1000 B.C. and work backwards.\u00a0 \u00a0The point is God is the creator, however long it took, and however long ago it happened, and we are the creatures, and this fundamental creator\/creature distinction is crucial to Biblical theology.\u00a0 Among other things, it means creatures and material creation itself are not part of God, nor are they defiled by human examination and use.\u00a0 This is in fact the basic assumption of science, ancient and modern\u2013 we are not commiting a sacrilege by examining and trying to understand creation. There are no holy cows out there that should not be touched or used to examined.\u00a0 \u00a0 This is a fundamental difference between Hinduism and other religions that suggest that everything is part of the divine,\u00a0 and Biblical religion. 5) Of course the sticking point for most Christians is not whether or not some creatures evolved over time, and in some cases became something that really were not before\u2014 e.g. like caterpillar becoming a butterfly.\u00a0 \u00a0It does not matter if some sea creatures evolved and became land creature.\u00a0 \u00a0The sticking point has to do with human beings, because the Genesis account suggests they were uniquely created, they did not evolve from primates for example.\u00a0 Equally devout Christians view, whilst rejecting atheistic evolutionary ideas, may in fact affirm theistic evolution, or some sort of creation theory involving humans that does not deny all aspects of evolutionary theory.\u00a0 At Biologos, these things are properly discussed and debated by Christians.<\/p>\nWhen we get to Gen. 1.26 Alter wants to make clear the connection between humans being made in God\u2019s image and likeness and the task they were being asked to do so the text reads \u201cby our likeness, to hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air\u201d.\u00a0 This provides a clear clue as to what uniquely being in the likeness was all about for humans\u2013 they were to rule over the creation.<\/p>\n
Getting to Gen. 2.3 we hear: \u201cAnd God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, for on it He had ceased from all His work that He had done\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0 This seems clearly to be the right translation, and you will notice that the translation does not say \u2018rested from his work\u2019 as if God was worn out after a hard week of creating the whole of the universe!\u00a0 \u00a0There is not here a sabbath teaching like we find in the Mosaic covenant, not least because God doesn\u2019t inherently need rest.\u00a0 The text merely means he ceased from creating and admired his good work.\u00a0 \u00a0But what does hallowed really mean?\u00a0 \u00a0Does it mean a day set aside for appreciation of creation?\u00a0 \u00a0When one gets to the NT it seems clear that Jesus doesn\u2019t take it to mean that God entirely stopped working on a particular day, for Jesus says \u2018my Father is always working\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0And indeed, Jesus deliberately set about healing people on the sabbath which clearly was some sort of work.\u00a0 \u00a0Indeed, Jesus seemed to see sabbath as the perfect day to give people wholeness and healing\u2013 true shalom.\u00a0 So again, Genesis would seem to mean \u2018cease from creating, and admire the work done\u2019 because it was\u00a0tov mu\u2019ov<\/em>, very good indeed.\u00a0 The God of the Bible is no Gnostic\u2013 he believes the material creation is inherently good, but it can be spoiled, tainted.<\/p>\nIn Gen. 2.8\u2014 nephesh hayah<\/em> surely means \u2018a living being\u2019 with God having animated the creature he formed from the earth. It does not mean \u2018a living soul\u2019\u00a0 There is no body\/soul dualism here and the later Greek notion of the immortal soul should not be read back into the Bible.<\/p>\nGen. 2.18 reads \u2018it is not good for the human to be alone; I shall make him a sustainer beside him\u2019.\u00a0 This is an appropriate translation, much better than help meet or helpmate.\u00a0 I prefer \u2018suitable companion\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0 Alter notes \u201cthe second term means alongside him, opposite him, a counterpart to him. Help is too weak a term because it suggests a merely auxiliary function whereas ezer <\/em>elsewhere connotes active intervention on behalf of someone\u201d.\u00a0 (p. 9). In any case the Hebrew here doesn\u2019t imply the subordination of the woman to the man. If anything it implies that the man needed someone, for it was not good for him to be alone.\u00a0 the subordination of a wife to her husband only comes as part of the curse on Eve for sinning and leading Adam into sin.\u00a0 Put another way, it is a result of human sin and results in patriarchy\u2013 \u201cand he shall rule over you\u201d.<\/p>\n\u2018The human\u2019 only first speaks when God assigns him the task of naming the creatures.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal translation and letting the commentary do the explaining.\u00a0 So let\u2019s take a few samples from Alter\u2019s renderings of Gen. 1-5.\u00a0 So in the very first verse of Genesis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":68563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15067],"class_list":["post-68707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-it-is-not-good-for-the-man-to-be-alone"],"yoast_head":"\n
What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-16T06:55:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-21T04:12:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/55\/2024\/12\/61CqwvqQ6xL._SL1200_-2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/\",\"name\":\"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-16T06:55:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-21T04:12:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/67da39aff728f9d015878d198839df4b\"},\"description\":\"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?–Part 1\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/\",\"name\":\"The Bible and Culture\",\"description\":\"A One-Stop Shop for All Things Biblical and Christian\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/67da39aff728f9d015878d198839df4b\",\"name\":\"Ben Witherington\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cf1998568f0b6ccbd63f56b44d47303?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cf1998568f0b6ccbd63f56b44d47303?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ben Witherington\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/author\/benw333\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1","description":"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1","og_description":"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/","og_site_name":"The Bible and Culture","article_published_time":"2024-12-16T06:55:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-21T04:12:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":515,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/55\/2024\/12\/61CqwvqQ6xL._SL1200_-2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ben Witherington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ben Witherington","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/","name":"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?--Part 1","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-12-16T06:55:21+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-21T04:12:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/67da39aff728f9d015878d198839df4b"},"description":"If we follow the advice of Robert Alter, we will avoid the pitfall of trying to do explanation in a translation rather than doing an appropriate literal","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2024\/12\/16\/what-difference-can-a-literal-translation-make-part-1\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Difference Can a Literal Translation Make?–Part 1"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/","name":"The Bible and Culture","description":"A One-Stop Shop for All Things Biblical and Christian","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/67da39aff728f9d015878d198839df4b","name":"Ben Witherington","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cf1998568f0b6ccbd63f56b44d47303?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8cf1998568f0b6ccbd63f56b44d47303?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Ben Witherington"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/author\/benw333\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/55\/2024\/12\/61CqwvqQ6xL._SL1200_-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n