When Robert Alter published his complete English version of the Tanach at the end of last year, he wanted to emphasise the literary character of the “world’s bestseller”, as one scholar has called it. In this slim companion volume, he explains the challenges of trying to convey the style of the original, while striving to avoid the pitfalls of other “woefully inadequate” versions.
Although the King James Bible may have not always shown a perfect grasp of Hebrew, he argues, it rose to the literary occasion. In contrast, modern translators may have benefited from better scholarship but too often reduced the narrative to pedestrian prose.
One of his complaints is that recent translators have shied away from the device of parataxis — chains of sentences linked by “and” — and substituted a more English syntax built on subordinate clauses. In doing so, they have sacrificed the vividness of the Hebrew, failing to recognise the flexibility of a device able to portray both the epic harmony of Creation or the chaos of battle.
A tendency among modern translations to spell out the meaning of a phrase can result in a “deceptive antiseptic clarity”, where the original preferred ambiguity. The needless use of different English words for the same, repeated Hebrew one can detract from the “eloquent dignity of simplicity”.
Another modern failing is neglect of rhythm, with tin ears indifferent to the cadence of the Hebrew. While the Bible should be readable, he says, it should not sound as though it were written yesterday.
Alter is particularly alert to wordplay and allusion. For instance, when David’s son Amnon seeks to be alone with his half-sister Tamar in order to rape her, he says, “Clear out everyone around me” — an echo of Joseph’s words when he wants privacy to reveal his true identity to his brothers in Egypt. One moment brings reconciliation between siblings, the other launches a violent conflict in David’s family.
Alter’s book is a short masterclass in how to appreciate biblical language. We may read through the veil of translation but it helps us glimpse the colour of the original.
