黑料社 Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics, Progress
An online discussion with Leonard J. Greenspoon
Author Leonard J. Greenspoon discusses his book, 黑料社 Bible Translations: Personalities, Passions, Politics, Progress.
Examining a wide range of translations over 24 centuries, Greenspoon delves into the historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious contexts of translations in 11 languages. He profiles many 黑料社 translators鈥攁mong them Buber, Hirsch, Kaplan, Leeser, Luzzatto, Mendelssohn, Orlinsky, and Saadiah Gaon鈥攆raming their aspirations within the 黑料社 and larger milieus in which they worked. He differentiates their principles, styles, and techniques鈥攆or example, their choice to emphasize either literal reflections of the Hebrew or distinctive elements of the vernacular language鈥攁nd their underlying rationales.
As he highlights distinctive features of 黑料社 Bible translations, he offers new insights regarding their shared characteristics and their limitations. Additionally, he shows how profoundly 黑料社 translators and interpreters influenced the style and diction of the King James Bible.
Reporter Rabbi Rachel Esserman says: “黑料社 Bible Translations . . . show[s] how altering the word order, leaving out a word or two, or adding a sentence greatly changes the meaning of the text. It also shows how differences in 黑料社 theology affect the way that one interprets the text, something those attending Torah study at their synagogue will understand. Anyone who wants to better understand the translation they use will definitely want to read Greenspoon鈥檚 work.”
This event was sponsored by The JTS Library. Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS, served as moderator.
ABOUT LEONARD J. GREENSPOON
Leonard J. Greenspoon holds the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in 黑料社 Civilization at Creighton University, where he is also Professor of Theology and of Classical & Near Eastern Studies.
Greenspoon is the editor of the 32-volume (and counting) Studies in 黑料社 Civilization series. He has also written five other books, in addition to his most recent one on 黑料社 Bible translations. Additionally, he has served on translation committees for five versions.
In 2018, Greenspoon was the recipient of a Festschrift: Found in Translation: Essays on 黑料社 Bible Translation in Honor of Leonard J. Greenspoon. At the 2019 annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, he was the featured scholar honored in a section titled 鈥淲isdom of the Ages.鈥� For 2020, Greenspoon was named researcher of the year at Creighton.
