Does there exist a Latin translation of the Old Testament which is a literal translation, from the Hebrew, with no attempt at adding on any “interpretation”. I was thinking it might be good practice in reading Latin. I’m interested, at this point, in the Torah part of it (first five books). I don’t imagine there was ever a market for it. I’ve read, I think in the OCD, that in ancient times the Jews, as a secular language, spoke mostly Greek. Since I can read Hebrew, I pick up these “interpretations” quite easily and find them painful. For example, I’ve been going through William Most’s Latin by the Direct Method. Though his method is excellent (basically many chapters with bite sized grammar in each one with lodes of reading on each bite) but in telling the basic stories of the Old Testament he will slip in points of Church doctrine which express his belief as he was himself taught rather than expressing what was actually written in the Old Testament. In looking at Sidwell’s Reading Medieval Latin I see that this practice of adding new “interpretations” started early on, probably with the founding of the Church.
I know of nothing like that. You are better off, if you want to practice your Latin, going with Jerome’s Vulgate. Differences in reading could come from other factors as well, such as text critical issues and the probable Vorlage Jerome was using.
Can you give an example of the type of interpretation you find objectionable, preferably from the Latin vs the Hebrew?
There is a page on Wikipedia that lists Latin translations of the Bible. It might be a good starting point for you:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_into_Latin
The standard Latin translation of the Bible is of course Jerome’s “Vulgata”. There is a revised 20th century version called the “Nova Vulgata”, which has been altered to conform more closely with the Hebrew version of the Old Testament.
A number of Latin translations were produced in the 16th century. Among them, the 1527 translation by Xanthus Pagninus might be what you’re looking for: It was intended as a very literal translation from the Hebrew. However, I don’t think there’s a modern edition of this translation, so it might be a bit of a pain to read.
Here’s a different angle, though: Every translation involves interpretation, since a translator will always have to make choices. Rather than trying to find a translation that is exactly like the Hebrew version you already know, why not read the common Latin version and try to spot the differences and the acts of interpretation involved in the translation? I think this might turn out to be very interesting and rewarding.
I know in New York there are plenty of stores where you can find kosher products. You should look in one of those stores. If you don’t find a kosher Latin Old Testament, you could try to find a halal one and use it, if you don’t mind.
Hope this helps.
I wanted to delete my post after I posted it, but couldn’t find the option to do so. In any case, thanks for taking the time to reply. I was afraid the post might disturb or offend some, and perhaps it did. That was not my intention. I just wanted to find some Latin which is true to the original source in Hebrew. If someone will tell me how to delete it at this point, I’ll do so.
I, for one, was certainly not offended and thought it a good question. Otherwise, there seems no ability to delete a post other than asking for the grace of a moderator doing so.
I really think it’s just a perception that the Vulgate is theologically loaded. I can attest, by comparing editions, that it is a reasonably faithful translation and will not have you running to Jesus anytime soon - at least anymore than any other translation.
Thanks Daedalus. Are you saying that you know, for example, Sefer Beraishis in Hebrew and have compared the Vulgate to it?
I’d rather not destroy a thread that now has contributions from others, if possible. I could stick it in the Academy, out of Google’s sight? Or I could do a minimal edit? Maybe a title change?
It’s too bad that pin130 does not give some examples, as Barry Hofstetter suggests that he do. That would be very interesting.
As far as needing to delete, edit, or hide the post–that seems totally nuts from my point of view.
Forgive me, if I’m not 100% on topic, but on the site Divinum Officium, which has the Breviary according to different usages in several translations, it is now possible to select Bea, instead of the default English. Thus one can compare the Gallican Psalter with the version by Augustin Card. Bea.
Thanks Jeidsath for your suggestions. I think it would be best to change the title to: A Latin translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew? Also, please delete my initial post and I will try to clarify what I meant. I have read a little of the Vulgate, not much. There are though two problems I see in proceeding to read it. One, I’ve read it is largely a translation from the Greek translation, not from the Hebrew. Two, one has to wonder if a clergyman would have the unswerving will to accurately
present a faith other than his own. As an example, I mention William Most’s Latin by the Natural Method. Most was an exceptional teacher of Latin. I’m almost finished with the first volume. Most was a priest and the books, it says in the introduction, would be good for seminary students. Not such a surprise than that when he relates the basic events of Genesis
he adds things which are from his faith and have nothing to do with the literal translation of the Hebrew. I was therefore inquiring (a long shot) if maybe some scholarly academic type at some point in history had made an accurate translation of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew with no other motive than to make such a translation.
I’ve changed the title. I will let your clarification stand here, rather than deleting the original post, so as to avoid making nonsense of the thread. If anyone is unnecessarily confused or offended, they have themselves to blame.
Jerome was famous for having learned Hebrew and working directly from the Hebrew to produce his translation, the one exception being the Psalms, in which he tended to follow the Greek more closely. He did make extensive use of Greek exegetical writings current to him, and a few sections of the Vulgate come from the Vetus Latina directly rather than being his translation, which I mention just to keep from oversimplification.
Hi pin130,
I concur with the previous answers: reading both the Hebrew text and the Vulgate in parallel could make for an interesting project.
There should be quite a few differences between the two, which (as mentioned by others) would mostly be due to Jerome working with a slightly different base text, rather than him not having “the unswerving will to accurately present a faith other than his own.”
In case you want something more straightforward for parallel Hebrew-Latin reading, I thought I’d mention that there is a wealth a Latin translations of Hebrew texts dating from the Middle Ages onwards. They were done by Jewish converts or by Christians, so you want escape the Christian filter (quite impossible to do with later Latin texts!) but at least the textual question is simpler than in the case of the Bible, which should make parallel reading and comparing the two versions easier.
Here are a couple of titles I have read, am currently reading, or intend to read:
- Sententiae vere elegantes, piae… (1541, tr. Paulus Fagius). Bilingual edition of the Pirkei Avoth, together with a commentary mainly(?) taken from Jewish sources
- Directorium vitae humanae (13th c., John of Capua). A Latin translation of a Hebrew version of the Kalila and Dimna stories (1881 edition of the Hebrew text; the beginning of the text is missing)
- Historia Judaica (1651, tr. Georgius Gentius), a translation of Solomon Ibn Verga 's Shevet Yehudah, a history of 64 persecutions endured by the Jews, first published in 1553 in the Ottoman Empire. Here is a 1855 edition of the Hebrew text.
The first title is probably the easiest one to handle, both language-wise and because it is a bilingual edition:
Thanks Barry and Shenoute for your input, and thanks Jeidsath for the title correction. But really there should be some kind of Bill of Rights for Internet Use which says that every man has the right to edit or delete anything that he himself has said. Sounds like a good cause for someone who needs to add a little purpose to his life.
The best person to answer this question would be Evan Der Millner (Latinum), he’s fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin. And I think he did mention a renascence Jewish translation of the Old Testament into Latin. And also a Passover book (Haggada) and other Jewish writings in Latin.