Biblical Hebrew Forum

[dwashbur AT nyx.net]

On 22 Oct 2008 at 7:58, K Randolph wrote:

> So which is the priority, the text itself, or what others, e.g. translators,
> say about it?

As with so many things, I think balance is the key.  Using those dictionaries 
and grammars 
and concordances etc. that you mentioned is quite similar to using a 
translation; in each 
case we're asking what somebody else who went before came up with.  And even 
if one 
ends up with a totally different idea, the way you have done with lexicology 
and I have done 
with grammar, we're still standing on the shoulders of giants, whether 
lexicographers, 
grammarians, commentators or translators.

That said, when I want to read English I use the NIV.  If I hit a passage 
with a word or two 
that I can't remember and don't feel like looking it up, I go to that 
translation because it's the 
most readable one I have.  I don't consult a whole slew of translations, even 
though I have a 
bunch available.  Like you, I go to the Hebrew text first.  But I can see 
where translations 
are useful for those with limited or no knowledge of Hebrew.

Dave Washburn
"I'll hold the nail.  And when I nod my head, you hit it with the hammer."