Refining the Art of Biblical Translation

While much theory is devoted to the context in which literature is written, some scholars concentrate more on the language itself and the art of storytelling. An example is Robert Alter, a professor of comparative literature and Hebrew, whose recent work concerns the literary aspects of the Hebrew Bible. He reads and translates the Bible not as a theologian or historian, but rather as a literary critic who recognizes that some of the greatest narratives of all time are contained in the ancient scripture.

King David
is portrayed
as a sad,
mysterious
old man.
See reference page

The Los Angeles Times Book Review recently referred to Alter as "one of the world's leading Bible scholars" and selected his latest book, The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel, as one of the best books of 1999. Before The David Story, Alter wrote Genesis: Translation and Commentary, which was named the best translation of 1996 by the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association. He also is the author of two groundbreaking volumes about the art of biblical narrative and biblical poetry.

Alter's interests are not restricted to the Bible, however; he has written extensively on contemporary American fiction and on the European novel from the 18th century to the present. His 18 published works include book-length studies of Fielding and Stendhal, and Necessary Angels: Tradition and Modernity in Kafka, Benjamin, and Scholem.

After joining the newly formed Department of Comparative Literature in 1967, Alter says he felt compelled to create his own translation and commentary of the Hebrew Bible after teaching the Bible as literature and detecting weaknesses in existing translations. Most translations, he explains, fail to capture what he calls the magic of Hebrew -- its cadences, the way it plays with different levels of diction, and the expressive ways it uses syntax and rhythm.

"I'm not much of a theological person, but as a literary person, when I read the narratives and poetry of the Hebrew Bible, I see that it's great literature, some of the most marvelous stories we have in the Western tradition," he says. "It struck me that the existing English translations of the Bible do no more than minimal justice to the original because they have not been very attentive to its stylistic complexity and the fine precision of its vocabulary."

To remain faithful to the original Hebrew and capture its nuances, Alter strives for a high degree of literalism when choosing words and word order. For example, English versions of the Bible generally translate biryah as "food," which fails to communicate that biryah specifically refers to food given to someone who is fasting or physically ailing. To mirror the Hebrew word's sense of urgency, Alter uses the term "nourishment" instead. His work is closer in style to the King James version than many modern translations, but his understanding of Hebrew vocabulary and his ear for its poetry allow him to improve on that 17th-century precedent in several significant ways.

Given all of the stories within the Bible, one might wonder why Alter chose to translate the life story of King David after his work on Genesis. The reason, he writes, is that he considers the David story "one of the great probing treatments of man as political animal." The slayer of Goliath and loved by all, the calculating David later proved to be a Machiavelli of his time who committed adultery and murder. "Nowhere is the Bible's astringent narrative economy, its ability to define characters and etch revelatory dialogue in a few telling strokes, more brilliantly deployed," Alter writes.

Generations of scholars have translated and interpreted the Hebrew Bible, but Alter's work -- praised by one reviewer as "assured and authoritative, lyrical and lucid" -- stands out as a genuine improvement over its predecessors.

Whereas the commentaries accompanying many biblical translations have encyclopedic volumes of detail, Alter intentionally kept his notes about the cultural practices and historical context to fairly modest proportions. As he explains in the introduction, "What I have chiefly tried to do is to throw light on this book as someone trained in literature and deeply excited by the extraordinary narrative art of the David story, which becomes a vehicle for a penetrating representation of human nature, politics, and history."

Alter's forthcoming book from Yale University Press, Recasting the Canon: Modern Writing and the Authority of Scripture, looks at what happens to the canonical authority of the Bible when modern writers make radical and iconoclastic use of the scripture in their own works. He finds that while the authority of the Bible is subverted, it also, paradoxically, is affirmed because it asserts such a powerful imaginative influence on the writers.

Alter's work demonstrates the exceptional power of translations and their accompanying commentaries to inform one culture with the culture of others, and to connect a period in time with the past. "Given the multiplicity of languages, no culture could exist without translation," he notes. "Where would we be if we couldn't read Sophocles or The Brothers Karamazov? Translation is both indispensable to any given culture, and it helps jump-start a new creativity within the culture."

His work also reveals, indirectly, the challenges inherent in translation. More artists than scientists, translators have the potential to misinterpret through interpretation; to modify and muddle rather than elucidate. Generations of scholars have translated and interpreted the Hebrew Bible, but Alter's work -- praised by one reviewer as "assured and authoritative, lyrical and lucid" -- stands out as a genuine improvement over its predecessors. It is a contribution to scholarship that will introduce new generations not only to the revelations of the ancient text, but also to its literary pleasures.

Next essay: Creating a Literature of Native Presence

Framing the Questions: Home | Introduction | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Links | Site Map


	While much theory is devoted to the context in which literature is written, some scholars concentrate more on the language itself and the art of storytelling. An example is Robert Alter, a professor of comparative literature and Hebrew, whose recent work concerns the literary aspects of the Hebrew Bible. He reads and translates the Bible not as a theologian or historian, but rather as a literary critic who recognizes that some of the greatest narratives of all time are contained in the ancient scripture.

King David is portrayed as a sad, mysterious old man. See reference page	The Los Angeles Times Book Review recently referred to Alter as "one of the world's leading Bible scholars" and selected his latest book, The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel, as one of the best books of 1999. Before The David Story, Alter wrote Genesis: Translation and Commentary, which was named the best translation of 1996 by the Bay Area Book Reviewers Association. He also is the author of two groundbreaking volumes about the art of biblical narrative and biblical poetry. Alter's interests are not restricted to the Bible, however; he has written extensively on contemporary American fiction and on the European novel from the 18th century to the present. His 18 published works include book-length studies of Fielding and Stendhal, and Necessary Angels: Tradition and Modernity in Kafka, Benjamin, and Scholem. After joining the newly formed Department of Comparative Literature in 1967, Alter says he felt compelled to create his own translation and commentary of the Hebrew Bible after teaching the Bible as literature and detecting weaknesses in existing translations. Most translations, he explains, fail to capture what he calls the magic of Hebrew -- its cadences, the way it plays with different levels of diction, and the expressive ways it uses syntax and rhythm. "I'm not much of a theological person, but as a literary person, when I read the narratives and poetry of the Hebrew Bible, I see that it's great literature, some of the most marvelous stories we have in the Western tradition," he says. "It struck me that the existing English translations of the Bible do no more than minimal justice to the original because they have not been very attentive to its stylistic complexity and the fine precision of its vocabulary." To remain faithful to the original Hebrew and capture its nuances, Alter strives for a high degree of literalism when choosing words and word order. For example, English versions of the Bible generally translate biryah as "food," which fails to communicate that biryah specifically refers to food given to someone who is fasting or physically ailing. To mirror the Hebrew word's sense of urgency, Alter uses the term "nourishment" instead. His work is closer in style to the King James version than many modern translations, but his understanding of Hebrew vocabulary and his ear for its poetry allow him to improve on that 17th-century precedent in several significant ways. Given all of the stories within the Bible, one might wonder why Alter chose to translate the life story of King David after his work on Genesis. The reason, he writes, is that he considers the David story "one of the great probing treatments of man as political animal." The slayer of Goliath and loved by all, the calculating David later proved to be a Machiavelli of his time who committed adultery and murder. "Nowhere is the Bible's astringent narrative economy, its ability to define characters and etch revelatory dialogue in a few telling strokes, more brilliantly deployed," Alter writes.
Generations of scholars have translated and interpreted the Hebrew Bible, but Alter's work -- praised by one reviewer as "assured and authoritative, lyrical and lucid" -- stands out as a genuine improvement over its predecessors.	Whereas the commentaries accompanying many biblical translations have encyclopedic volumes of detail, Alter intentionally kept his notes about the cultural practices and historical context to fairly modest proportions. As he explains in the introduction, "What I have chiefly tried to do is to throw light on this book as someone trained in literature and deeply excited by the extraordinary narrative art of the David story, which becomes a vehicle for a penetrating representation of human nature, politics, and history." Alter's forthcoming book from Yale University Press, Recasting the Canon: Modern Writing and the Authority of Scripture, looks at what happens to the canonical authority of the Bible when modern writers make radical and iconoclastic use of the scripture in their own works. He finds that while the authority of the Bible is subverted, it also, paradoxically, is affirmed because it asserts such a powerful imaginative influence on the writers. Alter's work demonstrates the exceptional power of translations and their accompanying commentaries to inform one culture with the culture of others, and to connect a period in time with the past. "Given the multiplicity of languages, no culture could exist without translation," he notes. "Where would we be if we couldn't read Sophocles or The Brothers Karamazov? Translation is both indispensable to any given culture, and it helps jump-start a new creativity within the culture." His work also reveals, indirectly, the challenges inherent in translation. More artists than scientists, translators have the potential to misinterpret through interpretation; to modify and muddle rather than elucidate. Generations of scholars have translated and interpreted the Hebrew Bible, but Alter's work -- praised by one reviewer as "assured and authoritative, lyrical and lucid" -- stands out as a genuine improvement over its predecessors. It is a contribution to scholarship that will introduce new generations not only to the revelations of the ancient text, but also to its literary pleasures.