{"id":78696,"date":"2020-08-12T06:38:41","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T03:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78696"},"modified":"2020-08-12T06:38:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T03:38:41","slug":"of-euphemisms-and-metaphors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/of-euphemisms-and-metaphors\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Euphemisms and Metaphors"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"78696","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"544","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And the gap between original text and target language\r\n\r\n","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As this chapter opens, Habakkuk was awaiting God\u2019s reply to his earlier words of rebuke: \u201cI will stand on my watch, take up my station at the post, and wait to see what He will say to me, what He will reply to my complaint\u201d (1). The problem is that the Hebrew of the last clause reads: \u201cWhat I will reply (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mah ashiv<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) to my complaint.\u201d This is a typical Scriptural euphemism, meant to preserve the honor of the deity, that makes its first appearance in Genesis 18:22: \u201cThe men turned away from there towards Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before God.\u201d As noted there by Rashi: \u201cBut surely it was not [Abraham] who had gone to stand before Him, but it was the Holy One, blessed be He [who stood before Abraham]? \u2026 Rather, this is a scribal adjustment\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tikkun sofrim<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translators are regularly confronted with the challenge of whether to be more faithful to the original text or to the \u201ctarget\u201d language into which it is being translated. In our case, the English translation is seamless; however, it provides no indication of the euphemism that was employed by the original author. The same dilemma is posed by metaphors: translating them literally, gives a more authentic feel of the original but may be awkward in English, while substituting a comparable metaphor enhances comprehension but is not quite as faithful to the original.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God next instructed Habakkuk to write his prophecy down clearly on tablets: \u201cFor there is yet (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">`od<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) a prophecy for a set term, a truthful witness (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yafe\u2019ach<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) for a time that will come\u201d (3). This stich gives the appearance of synonymous parallelism\u2014SOP for biblical poetry\u2014save for the opening words that fail to meet the standards of synonymy. Since <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mo`ed<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">keitz<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are synonyms, each meaning an appointed time, and a <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yafe`ach<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a witness, it stands to reason that <em>`o<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">d<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should also indicate a witness\u2014which it can be, providing we vocalize it as <em>`<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eid<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than <em>`<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">od<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The verse would then read: \u201cThis prophecy is a witness to the appointed time, testimony to the end [at which Babylon will arrive]; even if it tarries\u2014await it, for it shall surely arrive in a timely fashion.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Much later, the phrase \u201cif it tarries, await it\u201d was subsequently incorporated into the Hebrew version of the twelfth principle (of 13) of faith extrapolated from Maimonides\u2019s Mishnah Commentary, which refers to the coming of the Messiah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":78697,"id":78697,"title":"hab2-translation","filename":"hab2-translation.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-translation.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/of-euphemisms-and-metaphors\/hab2-translation\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hab2-translation","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":78696,"date":"2020-08-12 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