Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor & Julie Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

Chris wrote:

> Could
> this 'context' be used to suggest an understanding of the translation:
> "Ruin is brought to Him by those that are not His children, this is the
> blemish that lay upon the whole congregation, they are a perverse etc...

Context is certainly important, and can help in the process of deciding how
best to read a passage. But we shouldn't look at its role as one of
overriding grammar. I don't think this translation fits the context any
better than the reading I was suggesting (they're quite close in meaning, as
far as that goes), but I do want to make sure some elements are clear in
your understanding of the passage (which is a different issue from how we're
going to translate it). shichet is an active verb. Whatever you decide to do
with it in translation, that should be kept in mind. (And as far as
translation goes, I don't know how much it contributes stylistically to put
the English in a needlessly passive voice.) As for the rest, by explicating
the relationships, you are of course choosing interpretive possibilities
that may be more specific than the original poetry implies. That's fine, as
long as you understand what you're doing. If you want your translation to be
so interpretive that it hides from the reader the ambiguity in the source
text, I have no argument with that. Just make sure you know what the text
really says :-)

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics