Cain’s warning

Posted on October 24th, 2008 by cyberdov

In the story of Cain and Abel, God’s first address to Cain is a somewhat cryptic verse (Genesis 4:6-7):
“Ha-lo im tetiv se-ayt / Ve-im lo taytiv / lapetach chata rovetz / ve-aylecha teshukato / ve-hu yimshal bo”
The translation I am familiar with is something like that of the New JPS:
Why are you distressed, and why [...]

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Filed under: DJC, Torah, Translation

Hendiadys alert (Breisheet)

Posted on October 24th, 2008 by cyberdov

Robert Alter’s translation of Genesis 4:12  “Na va-nad tihyeh ba-aretz”:
“A restless wanderer shall you be on the earth”.
What is a hendiadys? From Wikipedia:
Hendiadys (a Latinized form of the Greek phrase ?? ??? ????? hen dia duoin ‘one through two’) is a figure of speech used for emphasis — “The substitution of a conjunction for a [...]

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Filed under: Torah, Translation