Timshel: An Idiomatic Bible Translation
Well...
This is a "translation" that someone I met a few years ago is doing using Kickstarter.com for funding (and it is almost getting to the goal).
I am worried for the motivations and the scholarly behind the project, but I would like to read your comments. Here is a small sample:
“Years after Abraham had moved to Canaan and had the promise of his son fulfilled in Isaac, an ethereal voice called out to him in a dream. Abraham believed the summons came from Elohim, one of the pagan gods he worshiped, a god whose voice he heard when he left Ur. Yet, unbeknownst to Abraham, the pagan gods had remained silent, and it was Yahweh who spoke. Yahweh yearned to uncover Abraham’s ancestral convictions—to figure out what he still clung to and what he was willing to leave behind. He was measuring Abraham’s faith while Abraham was intent on discerning Elohim’s place in the divine hierarchy.” (Genesis 22:1)
To see the project and read a little bit more, here is the link: Timshel: An Idiomatic Bible Translation
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Thanks for sharing, Fausto! Ms. Lewis reports that when she expounds the biblical text, the reaction she gets is often, "I've never heard that before!" I hope she realizes there might be a reason for that.
I don't object to her publishing her quirky midrashim, of course, provided she is transparent with her target culture that that is what they are getting. What I wonder about is whether calling this "an idiomatic Bible translation" qualifies as transparency.
The term timshel appears to be a misreading of תמשל timshol in Gen 4:7 - it doesn't inspire confidence in a translation when it has a Hebrew error on the cover! Reminds me of the popular edition of Chouraqui's translation (which is incidentally also in other ways similar to timshel, though much better) that has the Hebrew back-to-front on the cover!