圣经旧约诗篇里有无数震撼人心的句子，例如
虽然我走在死亡阴影笼罩的山谷里，
但我毫无畏惧，因为你和我在一起。
我不懂希伯来语。我根据的是这个英文翻译：
Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow,
I fear no harm,
for You are with me. (translated from Hebrew by Robert Alter)
王吉姆(King James)是这样翻译的：
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me (King James version)
王吉姆在这里用了‘evil'(魔鬼)一词，是原诗里根本没有的意思。这样的翻译显然有些——呃，怎么讲呢？用今天的话来说，好听的叫煽情，不好听的叫误导。
昨天回家的路上听NPR, 讨论的是Robert Alter的新书The Book of Psalms，讲圣经旧约诗篇从希伯来语到英语的翻译问题。例如‘灵魂’soul 这个字，作者指出，旧约时代的人并没有灵魂这个概念。那时候的人的肉体和灵魂是统一的，就是一个东西：生命。‘灵魂’soul 这个字样出现在后来King James版本的英文旧约诗篇里，但英文翻译完全不是希伯来语本来的含义。这个说法很有意思。
另一个有趣的事情是，旧约时代(biblical age)的上帝并不孤独。事实上，希伯来的上帝是老大，像希腊神话的宙斯那样统率着一群小神，让他／她们各司其职，管理人间的事。如果他／她们不认真工作，或是办了错事，就可能被贬为人类，打入凡尘。熟悉吧？
Robert Alter 是加大伯克利分校的希伯来语教授。他的新书 The Book of Psalms 对三千年前的旧约诗篇重新做了英文翻译和解说，指出了英国国王詹姆斯（也就是我说的王吉姆）的1611年圣经版本里的很多谬误和附加概念，涉及到一些很重要的神学概念，包括灵魂，拯救，魔鬼，永恒，等等。这些概念并不存在于希伯来语旧约诗篇里。詹姆斯王1611年版大概是英语世界最流行的圣经版本。
看来得去读读这本书。
Excerpt: 'The Book of Psalms' by Robert Alter
23
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 In grass meadows He makes me lie down,
by quiet waters guides me.
3 My life He brings back.
He leads me on pathways of justice
for His name's sake.
1. The LORD is my shepherd. Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink.
2. makes me lie down. The verb used here, hirbits, is a specialized one for making animals lie down; hence the sheep-shepherd metaphor is carefully sustained.
3. My life He brings back. Though "He restoreth my soul" is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh does not mean "soul" but "life breath" or "life." The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life.
pathways of justice. With this phrase, the speaker glides from the sheep metaphor to speaking of himself in human terms.
Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow, 4
I fear no harm,
for You are with me.
Your rod and Your staff—
it is they that console me.
You set out a table before me 5
in the face of my foes.
You moisten my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
4. in the vale of death's shadow. The intent of the translation here is not to avoid the virtually proverbial "in the shadow of the valley of death" but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew—begey tsalmawet. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic tsalmawet is actually a misleading vocalization of tsalmut—probably a poetic word for "darkness" with the ut ending simply a suffix of abstraction—the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (tsel means "shadow," mawet means "death"), so there is justification in retaining the death component.
I fear no harm. The imbalance between this extremely brief verset and the relatively long first verset, equally evident in the Hebrew, gives these words a climactic effect as an affirmation of trust after the relatively lengthy evocation of the place of fear.
You are with me. / Your rod and Your staff. At this crucial moment of terror in the valley of the shadow, the speaker turns to God in the second person, though the rod and staff are carried over from the shepherd image.
5. You moisten my head with oil. The verb here, dishen, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically,
it means something like "to make luxuriant." This verse, then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing cup of wine.
6 Let but goodness and kindness pursue me
all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for many long days.
6. for many long days. This concluding phrase catches up the reference to "all the days of my life" in the preceding line. It does not mean "forever"; the viewpoint of the poem is in and of the here and now and is in no way eschatological. The speaker hopes for a happy fate all his born days, and prays for the good fortune to abide in the Lord's sanctuary—a place of security and harmony with the divine—all, or perhaps at least most, of those days.
Excerpted from The Book of Psalms by Robert Alter.
The 23rd Psalm (King James Version)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
- Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/19/2007
王吉姆教授是哪个大学的？ - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/19/2007
老方，你逗死了，是故意不知道？王教授是king大学的。
fanghuzhai wrote:
王吉姆教授是哪个大学的？ - posted on 09/19/2007
Robert Alter 是加大伯克利分校的希伯来语教授。他的新书 The Book of Psalms 对三千年前的旧约诗篇重新做了英文翻译和解说，指出了英国国王詹姆斯（也就是我说的王吉姆）的1611年圣经版本里的很多谬误和附加概念，涉及到一些很重要的神学概念，包括灵魂，拯救，魔鬼，永恒，等等。这些概念并不存在于希伯来语旧约诗篇里。詹姆斯王1611年版大概是英语世界最流行的圣经版本。
Here is what NPR said:
Robert Alter, a professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California Berkeley, has published a new translation of the Psalms, The Book of Psalms.
Among the most noteworthy absences from his version is the soul. Why Psalms with no soul and no salvation? Robert Alter tells Robert Siegel that those are concepts superimposed on the ancient poems in more recent times. - posted on 09/19/2007
詹姆斯版(王吉姆、King James)一般说来是译自希伯来和希腊语版，这是具体什麽意思呢？这希伯来版的跟Alter 用的是同一版吗，希腊语版又是哪个（些）呢？先谢八一教授。
King James Bible: (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition )An English translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek published in 1611 under the auspices of James I. Also called Authorized Version, King James Version.
(The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition)The best-known English translation of the Bible, commissioned by King James I of England and published in the early seventeenth century. It is also known as the Authorized Version. In the late nineteenth century, the Revised Version was published in England.
(Wikipedia)The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible first published in 1611. The New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) edition of the Greek texts, so called because most extant texts of the time were in agreement with it. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.
八十一子 wrote:
Robert Alter 是加大伯克利分校的希伯来语教授。他的新书 The Book of Psalms 对三千年前的旧约诗篇重新做了英文翻译和解说，指出了英国国王詹姆斯（也就是我说的王吉姆）的1611年圣经版本里的很多谬误和附加概念，涉及了一些很重要的神学概念，包括灵魂，拯救，魔鬼，永恒，等等。詹姆斯王1611年版大概是英语世界最流行的圣经版本。
Here is what NPR said:
Robert Alter, a professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California Berkeley, has published a new translation of the Psalms, The Book of Psalms.
Among the most noteworthy absences from his version is the soul. Why Psalms with no soul and no salvation? Robert Alter tells Robert Siegel that those are concepts superimposed on the ancient poems in more recent times. - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/19/2007
已经订购了书。读了再回您的问话。
我的猜测：阿尔特教授用的是詹姆斯一世同样的希伯来版本，否则就不是做学问了。
rzp wrote:
詹姆斯版(王吉姆、King James)一般说来是译自希伯来和希腊语版，这是具体什麽意思呢？这希伯来版的跟Alter 用的是同一版吗，希腊语版又是哪个（些）呢？先谢八一教授。 - posted on 09/20/2007
谢八十一子介绍。
另一个有趣的事情是，旧约时代(biblical age)的上帝并不孤独。
是的，记不得在哪里听到过，早期犹太教时期上帝并不是唯一的，除了上帝也允许崇拜pagan的神。十戒中说的是
I am the Lord your God, ... you shall have no other gods before me.
用的是 before 不是 but，就是说只要God放在众神之前就行了。当然这里又有翻译的问题（也看到过“but me“）。
rzp wrote:
詹姆斯版(王吉姆、King James)一般说来是译自希伯来和希腊语版，这是具体什麽意思呢？
这里的圣经应当包括旧约和新约，所以我猜是指旧约译自希伯来语版，新约译自希腊版，因为新约本身是用希腊语写的。 - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/20/2007
其实就是犹太人的上帝本身也有至少两个来源，一个是火神，一个是山神，被摩西在西奈山取十戒时合二为一了。这在 Karen Armstrong 的《上帝的历史》一书里说得很清楚。
浮生 wrote:
是的，记不得在哪里听到过，早期犹太教时期上帝并不是唯一的，除了上帝也允许崇拜pagan的神。十戒中说的是
I am the Lord your God, ... you shall have no other gods before me.
用的是 before 不是 but，就是说只要God放在众神之前就行了。当然这里又有翻译的问题（也看到过“but me“）。
- Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/20/2007
八十一子 wrote:
其实就是犹太人的上帝本身也有至少两个来源，一个是火神，一个是山神，被摩西在西奈山取十戒时合二为一了。
这是不是绕饶就又绕回拜火教的二神论去啦？魔鬼拉，撒旦啥的也是那么进的基督教？ - posted on 09/20/2007
浮生 wrote:
八十一子 wrote:这是不是绕饶就又绕回拜火教的二神论去啦？
其实就是犹太人的上帝本身也有至少两个来源，一个是火神，一个是山神，被摩西在西奈山取十戒时合二为一了。
这个说法有点意思。亚伯拉罕 (Abraham) 的神叫做 El Shaddai - God of Mountains。El 行事比较温和，是个善神，主管生育。而帮助摩西带领犹太人出埃及的叫做雅威 Yahweh, 或 Yahweh Sabaoth - the God of Armies. 雅威比较残暴，主管死亡，杀死所有埃及家庭里的长子、淹死埃及大军的就是他。
出埃及后，摩西带着犹太人在沙漠里游荡很多年，走投无路，纪律涣散。群众们还怀疑雅威 Yahweh 不是亚伯拉罕的神 El，开始不听摩西的话了。摩西无奈，就到西奈山顶去见雅威，获得十大戒律，并努力说服了群众，告诉他们 Yahweh 就是 El, El 就是 Yahweh，迫使他们承诺，接受 Yahweh 是唯一的主子。这样才有了 Yahweh 这个唯我独尊的神。
- Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/20/2007
受教了，谢谢。 - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/21/2007
守望古典 wrote:
受教了，谢谢。
守望兄太客气。 - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/21/2007
八爷，我真的是很景仰您和WX等几位的学问的，我这辈子时间都消耗在无聊的生存俗务中，所以能从读帖中学点知识也是一种享受。所以要谢。：—） - Re: 鍦ｇ粡鏃х害璇楃瘒浠庡笇浼潵璇埌鑻辫鐨勭炕璇戣宸�posted on 09/21/2007
玛雅 wrote:
老方，你逗死了，是故意不知道？王教授是king大学的。
fanghuzhai wrote:
王吉姆教授是哪个大学的？
I liked this question myself. I think it's a great funny question posed for a great serious piece of writing.
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