Translation Series – Genesis 1:1
Verse 1
Years ago I made an attempt to translate the Hebrew Bible (the Leningrad Codex) myself. My intent was to seek a deeper understanding of the text, and to learn if anything gets lost in translation or if there’s some further insight to gain from the original language. This was an incredibly daunting task, which I ultimately gave up on after two years of work having only finished the first three chapters. I don’t know the Hebrew language, or it’s idiosyncrasies, and the minds of the ancient Hebrews is vastly different from Western culture; so chances are I made a great many mistakes. However I thought I would share my translation and offer my thoughts on the text as I am able to understand it.
Genesis 1:1
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ
English (fairly literal translation):
In [the] beginning create The All Powerful the heaven and the earth.
Hebrew is written right to left, so the above Hebrew text should be read in this way. The first word pronounced “bereshith” meaning In [the] beginning. What’s interesting about the Hebrew language is that words are a compilation of letters each having their own unique individual meaning which when combined, provide a certain concrete picture of what the entire word is meant to convey. English is similar to Greek and Latin, which are abstract languages. What this means is that our words and letters in and of themselves don’t have any real meaning that isn’t memorized or attributed to them. A child for example couldn’t see the word for water and make a direct connection between the letters they see and the physical object itself. Hebrew, or Biblical Hebrew, on the other hand is a concrete language, the pictographs used originally represented tangible things that even an illiterate person could understand to a degree. The letter ‘M’ or in Hebrew pronounced “Mem” used a pictograph that looks similar to a wave, conveying something like water. The first letter “Beyt“, was originally written in this pictograph form, representing the outline of a tent or house. This tent having an inner room, therefore implying something along the lines of family, house, inside, within, etc. So the appropriate translation in this context being “In”. It’s interesting also to consider that the spacing between the words doesn’t distinguish words in the sense of their translated counterparts, but rather a prefix or suffix added to a word creates variations which provide context and a certain understanding of it’s meaning. The word beginning pronounced “reshith” is prefixed with the beyt meaning “in” so the word is translated “In beginning”. We then add “the” for clarity in the English and translate it to read “In [the] beginning”.
We also have to understand that, in addition to being written right to left, the structure or organization of a sentence is also different from English. A verb like “bara” (create) always precedes the subject “Elohim” (God, The All Powerful) who is doing the creating. In English we would say “God created”, in Hebrew it is written “create God” (Hebrew doesn’t really use past/future tense, primarily present tense). This doesn’t mean God was created, it means God did the creating.
“Bara” is an interesting word, a word which is generally only used to describe the creative or supernatural act of God, it is never used when humans or anyone else makes something, this would be the difference in English between ‘create’ and ‘make’. The word doesn’t specifically imply ‘from nothing’, but the context does imply that, as it is the heavens (universe) and the earth being created — all matter, and all space — they must have been made from nothing, other than the creative power of God Himself.
The next word, “Elohim” of course is typically translated “God”. I prefer to use something here that is more specific and indicative of the Biblical, Judeo-Christian view of God that would be distinct from the somewhat generic term that people can attribute to anything they want to view as a god. While Elohim and God are both titles rather than being a proper name, these titles can only apply, particularly in the context of this verse, to a single entity. The monotheistic God of Scripture. This doesn’t mean that “The All Powerful” is a contrived translation, the word is actually the word for power, however it’s presented in a somewhat unusual way. It is the masculine plural form of power. What is odd is that the nature of the verse itself is implying a singular subject, but using a plural form of the word. It might be quickly deduced by Trinitarian Christians as being plural because of the doctrine of the Trinity, however this isn’t what the intent seems to be. Rather it’s plural powers not plural persons, so this God being described is being described as a single All Powerful Creator. The word ‘elohim’ might also be used in other passages to refer to the ‘gods’ of other nations, but in this verse, it is identifying the Creator of heaven and earth, the singular God known to the people of Israel.
Next, prior to each of the items being created, is an untranslated word pronounced ‘eth‘. This word is pronounced, but not really translatable. It is an accusative word, sort of a pointer to the following objects as the things being created. The second instance ‘waw-eth’ the ‘waw‘ or ‘vav‘ is a kind of conjunction translated “and”. “Ha-samayim” being ‘the-heaven’ or ‘the-sky’, the “ha” meaning ‘the’, “samayim” meaning ‘heaven’. Which is then followed by “ha-eretz” or ‘the-earth’, concluding the verse.
So my translation, much like every other translation is essentially “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Or more literally, “In [the] beginning create The All Powerful the heaven and the earth.” Not a particularly distinct translation, but it does serve to provide confirmation at the very least, of the accuracy of other translations we typically read. There are of course those who have chosen to adjust things here and there; on some occasions because copyright laws might oblige them to distinguish their translation from others, and sometimes to provide an opportunity to support the gap-theory viewpoints of the creation account.
I personally can’t conceive any legitimacy in the gap-theory interpretation of the text. This tends to be an attempt to reconcile the creation, young-earth position to the evolution, old-earth position; or to justify a joint faith in both Biblical authority and the ‘authority’ of the current scientific consensus. It really doesn’t work with the text scientifically. Unless one can conceive of time, space, and matter being capable of independent existence. This verse is literally talking about the creation of time (in the beginning), space (the heavens), and matter (the earth). From a scientific perspective as I understand it, these three things are so heavily dependent upon one another, that they cannot exist apart from one another. So the text should be read and understood as an instantaneous creation of all things. Whether this is believable for anyone is not the same question as what the text implies. Therefore my interpretation is that this is describing an eternal God, outside of space, time, and matter; creating all of these things instantaneously.
My thought is to make this a sort of series, continuing verse by verse through my translation process, at least as far I had gotten up to chapter three. Also perhaps including any unique insights or interpretations I may have gathered while translating the text. One thing this exercise did give me, was a great admiration for the work of Biblical translators throughout history. While I may be mistaken in a lot of my attempt, with no real knowledge of Hebrew, I do believe it has also in many cases provided me with a much deeper understanding of the text; at least up to chapter three.
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