Translating Hebrew Poetry

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

Woe, offending nation, people weighed down with crime, seed of evildoers, sons acting ruinously.  They have forsaken the LORD, scorned Israel’s Holy One, they have fallen behind.  Isaiah 1:4  Robert Alter Woe, offending nation – Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible attempts to use the same English words for the same Hebrew words whenever…

Fallen Fences

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is in Me! Hosea 13:9 Destroyed – How is Israel destroyed?  Hosea cries out on God’s behalf.  The word used is šāḥat.  Maybe you have some battle scenes in mind.  Maybe you think of collapsed buildings and sacked villages.  But if you read this word in Hebrew, some…