Hebrew Poetry in the Bible : A Guide for Understanding and for Translating : Lynell Zogbo and Earnest R. Wendland, United Bible Societies, 2000

Abstract

This paper reviews Lynell Zogbo and Earnst R. Wendland"s monograph entitled, Hebrew Poetry in the Bible, which is published by United Bible Societies. The focus of this study is on the relationship between features of Hebrew poetry and some problems related to the translation of poetry in target languages. In contrast to prose, poetry presents information in a compact, non-linear manner. On the one hand, Hebrew poetry is characterized by the formal structure, including many types of parallelism, chiastic structures, inclusios and refrains. On the other hand, stylistic features of Hebrew poetry can be described by figures of speech and sound effects as well. It means that the first step of translating Hebrew poetry is to identify the diverse poetic devices, that can be divided by the structural and stylistic features. In this respect, the span of this monograph extends from the features of Hebrew poetry (chs. 3-5) to the complex problems in translating Old Testament poetry, which is quoted in the context of the New Testament (ch. 8).<BR> After reviewing the life setting, genres, and principal features of Hebrew poetry in chapters 2 and 3, Zogbo and Wendland devote the next chapter to the major question: "What features of Hebrew poetry should we attempt to preserve in the translation?" The goal of this chapter is to appropriately translate Hebrew poetry in poetic form in the target language. Thus, the translator should know well what poetic devices exist in the target language. In Chapter 6, the authors further develop ideas on poetic devices of biblical Hebrew as means to solving some problems related to the translation of poetry. This chapter discusses a number of difficult problems in word choice, and the translation of key terms and difficult metaphors. Throughout the passages, the authors make the point that in contemporary languages, translated poetic text should be well-organized and well-formatted in order to make the characteristics of biblical Hebrew poetry understandable to readers.<BR> In conclusion, it is true that this monograph can help translators who begin their mission in the field of Bible translation. I may fully agree to the authors" argumentation that the essential content and function of the original text must be preserved, and that translators should not transform biblical poetry into today"s images. We have to be careful to keep what is in the original text.