33
votes
Accepted
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
The KJV may give the general sense of a translation in many cases. However, it has a definite Christian bend and does not always follow the Jewish traditions in translation. I will illustrate this ...
- 3,556
24
votes
Accepted
What does בהאנרעלזשולע mean?
R. Hoffman is using the German word for business school: Handelsschule. The question thus raised is:
A father told his son to write in business school on the holy Shabbat.
He does not want to and ...
- 11.3k
21
votes
Accepted
"Anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world": Jewish life or any life?
In the manuscript Parma 3173 there is no "מישראל";
In the manuscript Budapest Kaufman A50 no more;
The Mishna of Mechon Mamre, Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5 based on Rambam manuscript idem;
לפיכך נברא ...
- 22.7k
19
votes
Why does it seem like Jewish texts are never translated?
There's no sin in translating Jewish texts (nowadays, at least). I have no source for saying so, but there's evidence in the vast amount of Jewish literature that has been translated into various ...
- 73.5k
17
votes
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
Harry Orlinsky, editor-in-chief of the NJPS, in a 1990 essay pointed to the example of three texts in the KJV as being faulty and showing Christian bias: Genesis 1:1-3, Psalm 2:12, and Isaiah 7:14. ...
- 1,754
14
votes
Sefaria and Rabbinic Endorsements
"Sefaria is one of my favorite things in the entire contemporary Jewish world. It is taking cutting-edge technology and doing something very spiritual by it. What it is doing is opening up the ...
- 474
14
votes
Accepted
Any known translations of the Talmudim et al into classical languages, prior to the 19th century?
Most if not all of the translations below include detailed notes that cite many other Rabbinical works.
(It must be noted that the purposes of the translations and commentaries listed below varied ...
11
votes
What is the best English translation of the Tanakh (hard copy, not online)?
Since you said Tanach, I'm going to only include full Tanach translations here and ignore the various translations which only include the Torah.
These are all the complete Tanach translations I know ...
- 6,976
11
votes
Accepted
What is the firmament?
The notion of a semi-spherical shell around the world, that the sun travels under during the day, and then back around and over at night is not necessarily the early Israelite understanding of ...
- 9,438
11
votes
Do Jews today consider the King James translation of the Tanakh to be acceptably accurate?
KJV is definitely not considered most-accurate; at the bare minimum, it was not a direct Hebrew-to-English translation. KJV was intended to sound old, and to sound really good when spoken out-loud.
...
- 131k
10
votes
Why does it seem like Jewish texts are never translated?
As mentioned above, there aren't any general prohibitions (per se) on translating Jewish texts into the vernacular, be it English, French, Russian, Yiddish, etc.
Regarding Text on This Site
Many ...
- 3,894
10
votes
Accepted
Rabbinic changes in the Septuagint (Megillah 9a) - facts or fables?
As I wrote in the comments, the modern Septuagint we have today is not the one made by the 72 elders. This is more so true for the Septuagints of the Prophets and Writings, which weren’t even ...
- 24.9k
9
votes
Accepted
What Egyptian/Greek text was Ibn Ezra consulting for his commentary on the name "Moshe"?
The ibn Ezra is almost certainly referring to the Nabatean Agriculture, a work that was widely cited by many rishonim (medieval authorities), most notably the Rambam. (Ibn Ezra appears to have ...
- 5,565
9
votes
Accepted
Can you help me translate an inscription on an amulet for a friend?
אם אשכחך ירושלים תשכח ימיני Im eshkachek Yerushalayim tishkach yemini
"If I forget you O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill." The words are from Psalms 137:5.
- 18.5k
9
votes
Translation of an inscription on a Kiddush cup
The inscription reads "L'chaim," and means "to life." It is a well known toast in Hebrew/Yiddish.
- 418
9
votes
Accepted
Would someone please translate this midrash on the death of Moshe?
Here's the first version (some of the punctuation is based on Eisenstein's edition) (some question marks in-between for words I wasn't sure how to translate):
“This is none other than the house of ...
- 24.9k
8
votes
Why translate Torah to 70 languages?
The gemara Sot. (35b) explains that the purpose was for other nations to know its meaning. See also Tosefta Sot. (8:5). In the Mekhilta on that part of Deut., which Dr. Solomon Schechter uncovered, ...
- 11.9k
8
votes
Accepted
translate inscription on pendant
It is the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph-bais) in order, but the letter samech (the fifteenth) is damaged, and the gimel (the third letter) looks like a nun, and the heh (fifth letter) looks ...
- 3,463
8
votes
Accepted
Other gods or gods of others?
It's from Rashi, Shemos 20:3:
אלהים אחרים. שֶׁאֵינָן אֱלוֹהוּת אֶלָּא אֲחֵרִים עֲשָׂאוּם אֱלֹהִים עֲלֵיהֶם, וְלֹא יִתָּכֵן לְפָרֵשׁ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים זוּלָתִי, שֶׁגְּנַאי כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה ...
- 7,781
8
votes
Accepted
Is the 1985 JPS Tanach translation available online?
1985 JPS Tanakh (online) : https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Tanakh?lang=bi
The 1985 Jewish Publication Society (JPS) Tanakh translation, a celebrated American-Jewish resource, is now available online ...
- 1,378
8
votes
Accepted
What is a קאפיזי"ש?
The first measurement listed there is a Fanega, and the Portuguese measurement is a Moio. I couldn't easily find the others, but hopefully this helps your understanding!
- 20.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Who wrote the מתרגם?
The section titled המתרגם was authored by R. Mordekhai Plungian (מרדכי פלונגיאן). He was a Lithuanian maskil (i.e. active in promoting Haskalah attitudes/methods) and served as a proofreader on the ...
- 6,482
7
votes
Translation of the word 'DiMistapina'
It literally means "that I am afraid." "לולא דמסתפינא"--"were it not that I am afraid" is a common rabbinic phrase typically signaling a novel interpretation which the author is not confident enough ...
- 6,392
7
votes
Accepted
Are there any reliable English translations of Masechtot Ketanot?
There was a reliable English translation of the masechtot published in a single volume and a two-volume edition from the Soncino Press, titled The Minor Tractates of the Talmud. The tractates were ...
- 11.3k
7
votes
What is the inherent connection between 5 and being armed?
The Baal Haturim there connects the idea of being armed with the number five; corresponding to the five types of weapons mentioned in Yechezkel.
וחמושים. מזויינים על שם חמשה מיני כלי זיין הנזכרים ...
- 18.9k
7
votes
Accepted
What is a "fishtran" fish?
According to Uriel Weinreich, Yivo Institute for Jewish Research - 1968 Yiddish English dictionary פִישְׁטְרָאן is cod liver oil.
Per Wikipedia cod liver oil is derived from liver of cod fish ...
- 139k
7
votes
Other gods or gods of others?
This translation is probably (ultimately) based on an opinion brought in Mekhilta 20:3:
וכי אלוהות הן? ... אלא שאחרים קוראין אותם אלוהות
Are they in fact gods? ... Rather, that others call them gods.
...
- 41.8k
7
votes
The Rabbis of the Septuagint
Aside from the Talmud, the story of the Septuagint is mentioned in the minor tractate Soferim (1:7-8):
מעשה בה׳ זקנים שכתבו לתלמי המלך את התורה יונית והיה היום קשה לישראל כיום שנעשה העגל שלא היתה ...
- 11.3k
7
votes
The Rabbis of the Septuagint
Edit: I've now noticed that the Letter of Aristeas, which records the story of the creation of the Septuagint, records the names of all of the sages involved:
"The following are the names of the ...
- 24.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible