|
A Woman of Some Area?
The
second volume of the Children’s Illustrated Bible in modern Hebrew has
now been published. And it is impressive. As
you open it, you are confronted by a puzzling picture of an exceedingly
large lady. The introduction to the volume explains: the lady concerned
highlights the need for a translation of the Bible in modern Hebrew. In
the original Hebrew text of II Kings 4:8, the lady who turned to Elijah
for help is called “a large woman”. Obviously, the term does not refer
to her physical dimensions but to her social standing. The Authorised
Version therefore describes her as a “great” woman. But the Hebrew is
not as clear to the modern reader as the lady herself might wish…
This illustrates one of
the difficulties for the average Israeli when reading the Holy
Scriptures in his original language. Thousands of years have passed
since the Old Testament was written. Hebrew has changed considerably. A
child reading Second Kings in Hebrew may well imagine that Elijah
helped a big lady. In order to make things easier for the young reader,
our HaGefen staff have taken on themselves the task of translating the
Scriptures into a modern Hebrew that will help children understand the
Bible and enable them to eventually read and study the original text
for themselves.
We long to make this
Bible available to as wide a public as possible but for fear of
rabbinical reaction, secular outlets refuse to stock the book. CWI is
therefore seeking to place thousands of copies in the hands of
professional people, in the firm belief that God’s word has its own
power to stir the heart [For more up-to-date
information visit HaGefen Publishing].
|
