| The History of Hebrew Translation | | | | and literary work into Hebrew. Traditional |
| | | | apologetics were replaced by a conscious |
| Hebrew is a member of the Semitic family of | | | | effort to highlight the power and versatility |
| languages. It is hard to imagine a linguistic | | | | of the language. Yet, the language model |
| structure more different from the Latin | | | | available to translators was that of Old |
| language group. It’s written from right | | | | Testament. Given that Hebrew Enlightenment |
| to left, spoken in a frenzy of throaty sounds | | | | made its début in Germany, the local |
| we’d be hard-pressed to repeat, and its | | | | culture supplied texts and new models, |
| alphabet and grammar seem unfathomable to an | | | | especially since the Enlightenment also |
| English speaker. It may surprise many to | | | | encouraged the mastery of German. The |
| learn that modern Hebrew is a product of | | | | evolution of Hebrew translation during this |
| centuries of European language influence on | | | | time had an enormous impact on the |
| ancient Hebrew. Yet, even today, Hebrew is | | | | development of modern Hebrew. |
| used as the language of religious rites, | | | | |
| having retained the prestige of the | | | | |
| ‘Holy Tongue’. Much like the use | | | | |
| of the language itself, translation into | | | | The Revival period of Hebrew translation |
| Hebrew has been sporadic, marked by a series | | | | |
| of revivals which coincided with Jewish | | | | During the nineteenth century, the cultural |
| migration to new territories. | | | | center gradually moved out of Germany and |
| | | | into the Slavic region. In the 1800s, Russian |
| Hebrew translation in ancient times | | | | culture had a strong effect on the ongoing |
| | | | evolution of Hebrew. It gradually replaced |
| The most famous work supposedly originally | | | | the German influences, and was to dominate |
| written in Hebrew is the Bible. Yet, the Old | | | | the Hebrew culture for generations. This |
| Testament reveals a number of passages with | | | | period, known as the Revival, had shaped |
| clear traces of translation. Later on, in | | | | Hebrew into the new Russified paradigm. |
| Israel and Egypt, where the Jews had settled, | | | | Russian became the main source of texts |
| translation from Hebrew into Aramaic and | | | | translated into Hebrew. For the first time, a |
| Greek became popular, to make the Scriptures | | | | kind of simulated spoken Hebrew has emerged |
| available to the less learned. Contemporary | | | | in prose fiction, to aid the translation of |
| literature contains many observations on the | | | | the new literature. |
| nature of translation and its inferior status | | | | |
| in the Jewish culture of the time. | | | | Modern trends of Hebrew translation in Israel |
| | | | |
| Hebrew translation in the Middle Ages | | | | With the rise of Zionism and Jewish |
| | | | immigration to Palestine, the Hebrew cultural |
| Following Jewish migration to Christian | | | | center began to shift back to the ancient |
| territories in the twelfth century, | | | | homeland. Then, in the twentieth century, a |
| translation into Hebrew resumed in medieval | | | | similar group of immigrants from Eastern |
| Europe. Interest in the achievements of | | | | Europe established a new community in the |
| Jewish scholarship resulted in numerous | | | | United States. Many writers and translators |
| translations of Hebrew ‘works of | | | | fluent in English later moved to Palestine, |
| wisdom’, or scientific texts. Jews were | | | | where English was widely used as a legacy of |
| reluctant to practice ‘literary’ | | | | the British mandate. English soon became the |
| translation, considered inherently inferior. | | | | main source language in Hebrew translation. |
| Medieval translators felt obliged to ask the | | | | Yet, only recently the full gamut of existing |
| reader's forgiveness for indulging in the act | | | | linguistic options began to appear in Hebrew |
| of translating Hebrew. The problematic image | | | | translations. |
| of translation in traditional Jewish culture | | | | |
| stems from long-standing resistance to | | | | Today, Hebrew translators have risen to a new |
| translating the Hebrew Scriptures. | | | | level of professionalism. Bar-Ilan University |
| | | | was the first to offer a specialized program |
| The Evolution of Hebrew Translation during | | | | in Hebrew translation. In 1973, Tel Aviv |
| the Enlightenment | | | | University established a Chair of Translation |
| | | | Theory where research and publications |
| The Hebrew Enlightenment movement in the | | | | continue to evolve the art of Hebrew |
| eighteenth century brought Jewish culture | | | | translation. Other institutions promote the |
| closer to the achievements of Central | | | | translation of Hebrew literature into other |
| European cultures. It coincided with yet | | | | languages. Various awards are offered to |
| another territorial shift: the cultural | | | | encourage translation into Hebrew. The new |
| center moved to Germany. There was virtually | | | | Israeli Translators Association, established |
| no chance of catching up with the civilized | | | | in 1980, has been affiliated with FIT since |
| world without translating major scientific | | | | 1987. |