I
have tried out a study of Genesis 22 (the ‘sacrifice’ of Isaac) with a class of
Year 7 pupils recently using parallel texts: that of Robert Alter and the Good
News version. For good measure we
also studied the animated version of Abraham available on video. The idea came
from a question from a pupil who asked me why the Good News translation
of Psalm 23 was so different from the one I had required them to learn (from
the AV). We were studying the life of
the patriarchs next so I decided to have a go at some literary criticism of the
biblical narrative. Robert Alter is
professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California
in Berkeley and has written a translation of Genesis with a commentary. He has
produced a stunning book, with the simple title Genesis (W.W. Norton,
London, 1996). His starting point is that modern translations cannot resist the
temptation to explain everything to English readers and write in stylistic
conventions that are easy for the modern reader but which often lose an
essential point that the biblical writer wanted to convey. He has attempted to retain both the language
and literary conventions of the Hebrew.
For example, biblical Hebrew uses a restricted ‘special’ vocabulary, it
makes liberal use of the conjunction translated as ‘and’ in English, it does
not make use (generally) of subordinate clauses, rather giving equal weight to
every action or occurrence, it delights in repetition and word play.
I
explained all this to the classes and they then enjoyed finding out where Good
News had substituted subordinate clauses for main verbs; where GN had
explained things for their readers and compared other differences (one girl
counted up all the ands used by Alter). One striking difference is that Alter
(correctly) translates ‘cleaver’ where GN has knife. It may be that GN wanted to avoid using a word which conjures up
the work of a butcher. But the biblical
narrative is deliberately emphasising the terrible nature of what Abraham
believed he was required to do.
All
this was made easier by the fact that these children had studied under the
literacy hour and knew about conjunctions, and even about subordinate
clauses!
Why do this? In my mind what I am
doing is creating a respect for the biblical narrative and introducing children
to the scholarship that is being addressed to the Bible in our day. I am also attempting to help children get to
the heart of what the Word is and what the Word might be saying to them. If we believe that God speaks through the
Bible we must remember that He spoke first in Hebrew. We need to get as close to the Hebrew and its writer as we can.
I have included below the notes that I gave to
the class after the lesson. I would be
happy to pass on a copy of Alter’s translation to anyone for their personal use
but am not putting it on my website as this would breach copyright.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOOD NEWS AND ALTER IN TRANSLATING GEN. 22
Alter
retains the Hebrew word for ‘see’ wherever it occurs whereas Good News
substitutes ‘provide’ in order to make the meaning clearer (vss 8 &
14). This reduces the importance of the
theme of the story which is that ‘God sees’ and can therefore be trusted
Similarly
Alter retains ‘say’ where Good News has ‘show’ (vss 2 &9). Good News uses the more natural English
word.
Again,
Alter always keeps the word for ‘son’ whereas sometimes Good News uses ‘boy’ or
omits the word altogether to avoid repetition.
But an important theme is the terrible nature of the offering, a father
offering his own son.
An
example of the use of a subordinate clause by Good News occurs in vs 6: ‘As
they walked along together, Isaac said, “Father!”’ Alter has ‘and the two of them went together. And Isaac said to
Abraham his father, “Father!”’ Alter,
following the Hebrew, gives full weight to the ironical ‘they walked together’
whereas by turning the words into a subordinate clause, Good News lessens the
irony. Good News avoids the repetition
of the word ‘father’ but then loses out on the impact of a father about to
offer up his own son.
Good
News has ‘Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice’ (vs 6). Alter has ‘And Abraham took the wood for the
offering and put it on Isaac his son’. Good News explains what was going on for
the sake of the reader. But the writer
may have intended his readers to see yet another touch of irony. Abraham puts
the wood on his son at the beginning of
the journey to the sacrifice but at the end of the journey, Isaac will be put
upon the wood.
