Biblical Hebrew Forum

[CS Bartholomew <jacksonpollock AT earthlink.net>]

Was reading Robert Alter's "To The Reader" in "Genesis" (Norton 1996) and
found some of his comments eyebrow raising.

For example, he advocates rendering a repititous Hebrew word with a
repititous English equivalent. He firmly denounces altering the English
equivalent based on contextual considerations.

At first glance this sounds like concordant translation.

Has translation theory come full circle while I was napping?

Is Robert Alter using some irony here? Overstating his position as a protest
against the bland flat insipid fare that we find in the mainstream English
versions of the Pentateuch?

Good reading anyway.

Thanks to David Gray for reminding me to read Robert Alter.

greetings,
Clay Bartholomew