{"id":88845,"date":"2021-02-15T23:49:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T21:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=88845"},"modified":"2021-02-15T23:49:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T21:49:37","slug":"a-springboard-to-better-hebrew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-springboard-to-better-hebrew\/","title":{"rendered":"A Springboard to Better Hebrew"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/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":"88845","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":87952,"related_cahpter":"678","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A learner looks\u00a0 deeply at what a verse might mean\r\n\r\n","content":"

When I started 929 at the beginning of Genesis, my Hebrew skills were basic. I could read and had elementary understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used reading the text every day as a springboard to building on these basics and get even more out of our daily study.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to take Psalm 111 as an example of how this works.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as a little child is given homework of reading out loud for a few minutes every day to increase their reading fluency, I have read every section out loud in Hebrew. I can certainly read more confidently and more fluently now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at the text in Hebrew reveals its structure and its pattern. You only need the <\/span>aleph-bet<\/em> <\/span>to spot that Psalm 111 is alphabetical, with each verse starting with a successive letter of the alphabet.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried to look at the translation from more than one source. There are often striking differences. For this post, I\u2019ve made an exaggerated effort to use multiple sources. I\u2019m not suggesting making this much effort every day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll focus on two words in verse five: <\/span>teref natan<\/span>.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found the following translations:<\/span><\/p>\n

He gives food (JPS,Steinsaltz)
\n<\/span>He provided sustenance (Artscroll)
\n<\/span>Sustenance he gives (Robert Alter)\u00a0
\n<\/span>He hath given meat (King James)
\n<\/span>He provides food (New English Bible)<\/span><\/p>\n

The translators can\u2019t agree on the simple word \u201c<\/span>natan<\/span><\/em>.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Moreover, both the past and the present appear here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teref<\/em> <\/span>is an unusual word so for this article I checked Brown-Driver-Briggs, a specialist dictionary for Biblical translation. This dictionary explains, with examples in context, that <\/span>teref<\/span><\/i> can mean:<\/span><\/p>\n

Prey – like the food of a lion
\n<\/span>Food – for humans and for outcasts
\n<\/span>Leaf – as the dove brought to Noah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only the relationship to food makes sense here.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just a tiny taste of how translations vary. They come from different perspectives: an attempt for linguistic accuracy, to produce something poetic, to incorporate the commentaries of Rashi. It\u2019s well worth the effort of using more than one, and also gradually expanding your own vocabulary.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re following 929 you have a daily opportunity to learn from the text. There\u2019s an underlying meaning and importance, which many commentaries including those on the 929 site support. You also have a daily chance for upskilling and gaining the foundations which could boost your appreciation of a lifetime of Jewish studies.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":82447,"id":82447,"title":"","filename":"ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/alphabetic-vagaries\/creative-hebrew-alphabet-texture-background\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"creative-hebrew-alphabet-texture-background","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":82446,"date":"2020-10-30 13:16:11","modified":"2022-05-18 03:18:25","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1600,"height":1064,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-1024x681.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":681,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1021,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","2048x2048-width":1600,"2048x2048-height":1064,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-1200x798.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":798,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters-632x420.jpg","home_baner-width":632,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"A 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