Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

No, I don't think it's a betrayal in this instance. The concept of 'time' here needs to be read within the context of the whole book. From Ecc 3, it's clear that there are many times that humans experience, and each comes at a particular time, but humans have little control over them. Within this larger context, humans not knowing their time makes perfect sense. If you take the verse on its own without the context, it doesn't necessarily convey everything. However, in English, it is common to talk about someone's 'time', and it is rhetorically understood to refer to death.

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)

On 30/10/2012, at 5:52 PM, "Pere Porta" <pporta7 AT gmail.com> wrote:

My dear fellows,

 

at reading many versions of Ecc 9:12, I remain astonished with how the first part has been translated.

כי גם לא ידע האדם את עתו

For instance, ESV has:  For man does not know his time.

This is a quite literal translation. But... is this not a nonsense?

In a general way, everyone knows what happens around him, in his town, in his village, in his country. Of course he does not know absolutely everything, I mean he knows the general things that happen... he knows "his time".

I think that the real meaning of the verse is:

Men will never know WHAT will happen to them (in their life), WHEN it will happen... and HOW will it happen.

Of course the sentence can be put in the singular:

For man will never know WHAT...  WHEN...  HOW...

Is this behavior of translators (= this literal translation) not a disloyalty to the readers or a clear sign of their lack of skill as translators?

--
Pere Porta
(Barcelona, Catalonia, Northeastern Spain)

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--
Pere Porta

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