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Hebrew Experts: Why This Translation?


Brett K.

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I hope it's okay to post this topic here since it's not really specific to Accordance. But using Accordance is how I came across this question.

 

I do not know any Hebrew so any insight would be appreciated.

 

The KJV translates PS 41.1 as:

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. (Ps 41.1 KJVS)

 

Modern translations that have gone "gender-neutral" eliminate "he" and "him" as in the NRSV:

Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble. (Ps 41.1 NRSV)

 

Modern translations that have not gone "gender-neutral" usually leave both "he" and "him" as in the NIV:

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. (Ps 41.1 NIV-G/K)

 

However, some non-"gender-neutral" modern translations have neutered the "he" but left the "him" as in the ESV:

Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;.(Ps 41.1 ESVS)

 

Is there anything in the Hebrew that would make any of these translations more accurate than the others? Is gender specified in the Hebrew? If so, is it specified in both places as "he" and "him"? What would be the reason for eliminating "he" but leaving "him"?

 

Thanks

 

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Brett

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Is there anything in the Hebrew that would make any of these translations more accurate than the others? Is gender specified in the Hebrew? If so, is it specified in both places as "he" and "him"? What would be the reason for eliminating "he" but leaving "him"?

 

I hope to answer your question without getting ensnared in identity politics.

 

The facts: translations are never one-to-one or word-for-word. In the case of Ps 41:1, there is no pronoun "he" used, but it is a participle (in English we would say it is a gerund). And it is in the masculine gender. So a literal "translation" would be "blessed is the understander of the poor," that is, someone who understands poor people, or takes them into consideration, or some such. In the second case, the pronoun is indeed masculine: "the Lord will deliver *him*."

 

Hebrew grammar distinguishes between the masculine and feminine genders. But grammatical gender is not the same as biological gender. There is overlap, yes, but from culture to culture, from one era to another, those ideas change. Take a modern example: in English we refer to ships and boats with the feminine pronoun "she." But Russian speakers use the masculine gender. And the Germans use the neuter gender for "girl" (das M

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Thanks for the info. It is difficult to discuss this particular translation issue without offending someone in either the dynamic or literal translation debate, but your answer does let me know what the underlying Hebrew says. With that information, it's easier for me to decide which English translation I prefer (whether more dynamic or more literal--since it's all a spectrum).

 

Thanks

 

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Brett

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