Bereshit, The Book of Beginnings. David B. Friedman
a phrase-by-phrase, sentence-by-sentence understanding. Sometimes I chose to make a conceptual rendition as opposed to a stiff English translation of what is very idiomatic Hebrew. At times there is a very thin line between translation and interpretation. I have tried to explain some linguistic aspects of Bereshit in my notes. However, at times I found it necessary to interpret given verses through my translation (as all translations, in the end, do).
Centuries ago, the Jewish sage Rabbi Yishma’el emphasized that although the Torah (Bible) is written in human language, it transmits a Heavenly message. He spent his career in the second century teaching particular methods of understanding the Torah through his finely developed thirteen methods of interpretation. Today, as in Rabbi Yishma’el’s time period, translating and interpreting the Torah remains an immense challenge. Today’s Jewish and Christian world, and our translators of the scriptures, still deal with human languages and finite understanding while simultaneously transmitting Heavenly narratives, principles, and instruction. I certainly appreciate Rabbi Yishma’el’s grasp of the complexity of understanding the words of the Torah.
Throughout this translation, I put Hebrew names into English forms that preserve a likeness to the Hebrew name. Thus, I write “Avram” instead of “Abram,” “Yakov” instead of “Jacob.” The glossary at the end of this translation will list these relevant names. I did not use a Hebraicized form for the name “Isaac,” as it is difficult to pronounce for English speakers. I ignore it in lieu of the English name. I also kept “Joseph” intact, due to the popularity of this biblical figure in western culture, instead of using his Hebrew name. Most names found in the text’s chronologies have been given a phonetically based translation, so that the original Hebrew name is best preserved. As a result, some names may look strange to the reader, yet they do best reflect the original name as preserved in the Masoretic text.
In the end, individuals may translate the holy Torah, but it is up to our communities to relay its true meaning by the way in which we live out its messages.
Dr. David Friedman
Tishrei 5770 (September 2009)
Phoenix, AZ
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us by His commandments and commanded us to be busy studying the Torah.
“. . . the Torah (Bible) is fire, was given from the midst of fire, and may be compared to fire. What is the nature of fire? If a man comes too close to it, he gets burned. If he keeps too far from it, he gets cold. The only thing for him to do is to seek to warm himself before its flames.”
—from the Mekilta of Rabbi Yishma’el (a midrashic work on the book of Exodus).
Chapter 1
1 At the very beginning, God dynamically created the heavenly bodies and the earth.1
2 Earth was chaotic and without order, and darkness blanketed earth’s surface. God’s spirit hovered over the waters.
3 Then God declared, “Let light exist!”, and light came into being.
4 Since God knew that the light was good, He separated the light from the darkness.2
5 God named the light “day,” and the darkness “night.”
6 Together, evening and morning made up the entire first day.3
7 Then God said, “There will be a separating space in the midst of the waters, and it will divide between the waters that are above the space from those that are below the space.” Then it happened that way.
8 So God made the separating space, and it divided between the waters. God named this space the “sky.” Together, evening and morning made up the entire second day.
9 God then said that the waters under the sky shall gather in one place, giving way to dry land. And it happened that way.
10 So God named the dry land “the ground,” and the pooling of waters He named “the seas”;
God knew that this was good.
11 Then God said, “The ground will sprout grasses and plants on the earth, and will produce fruit trees that bear fruit of its given species, with reproductive seeds within it.” And it happened that way.
12 So the ground bore grasses and plants, each producing reproductive seeds of its own species, as well as fruit trees that each reproduced after its own kind. And God knew that this was good.
13 Together, evening and morning made up the entire third day.
14 Then God said, “There will be lights in the sky of the heavens to separate between day and night, and to be signs of the appointed times, to mark the days and the years.4
15 They will function as lights in the sky of the heavens, providing light for the earth.” And it happened that way.
16 God made two great lights, the greater light (the sun) to rule over the day, and the lesser light (the moon) to rule over the night. God also fashioned the stars.
17 Then God set them in the sky of the heavens to provide light for the earth,
18 and to rule over day and night, as well as to separate between light and darkness. God knew that this was good.
19 So, together, evening and morning made up the entire fourth day.
20 Then God said, “The seas will be filled with aquatic life; and birds will fly over the earth, in the firmament of the sky.”
21 So God created dinosaurs, each species after its own kind. And God knew that this was good.5
22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Multiply in number, and fill the seas; but the birds will multiply on dry land.”
23 So, together evening and morning made up the entire fifth day.
24 Then God said, “The dry land will be the habitat for animals, each one reproducing after its own species—domestic animals, reptiles and wild animals, each fitting their own species.” And it happened that way.
25 So God formed animal life on dry land, each according to its species; both domestic animals according to their species and reptiles according to their species. God knew that this was good.
26 Then God said, “Let’s create humans in our image, according to our features; they will have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, domestic animals, and over all earth, including the reptiles that crawl on land.”6
27 So God created mankind in His image. He created mankind in God’s image; He made them male and female.
28 Then God blessed them, saying to them, “Reproduce and be numerous, fill the earth and take it over; take dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and over all reptiles that crawl on the ground.”
29 God then said, “Look, I am providing you with all kinds of vegetation and seeds that are found over the entire earth; every fruit tree that is found will provide you with food.7
30 Every animal on earth, bird of the sky, and reptile on land, every living creature, will eat from all kinds of green vegetation.” And it happened that way.
31 God took stock of everything that He made, and indeed, it was very good! Together, evening and morning made up the entire sixth day.
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