Page:Philip Birnbaum - ha-Siddur ha-Shalem (The Daily Prayer Book,1949).pdf/16

 than “outcasts,” and raised the strength more idiomatic than “lifted up a horn.” Since the future tense in Hebrew often denotes repeated acts in the present, the correct form is by thy abundant grace I enter thy house. simply means I enter. The circumlocution “and as for me,” repeated four times in, is not implied in.

The fault of some translations is their literalness. Good translators should seek to make the original as clearly understood as possible; they cannot avoid being also interpreters. Words should be translated according to their context. It is decidedly wrong to use invariably the same English word to represent the same Hebrew word. Utterly misleading is a rendering such as “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). The adjective in this verse does not mean “precious” but grievous. The verb is not restricted to one connotation only and does not always mean “to gather.” Thus,  (Deuteronomy 22:2) signifies you shall take it home, and  (I Samuel 14:19) means withdraw your hand. Hence, the rendering “he gathered up his feet into the bed” (Genesis 49:33) is more ludicrous than authentic.

Every student of Hebrew knows that is not always the equivalent of a son. It frequently denotes age, membership in a definite class, or the possession of some quality. Similarly, and  are often used interchangeably to characterize a person. Thus, (Psalm 140:12) means a slanderer, and  (Exodus 15:3) a warrior. Hence, the rendering “the Lord is a man of war” is erroneous and nothing short of sacrilegious. “The children of thy covenant” is a mistranslation for thy people of the covenant. The term is applied in the Talmud to every adult Israelite in the sense of man of duty and not “son of the commandment.” Similarly,  is the counterpart of