Stephen Barkley
John Goldingay makes the Old Testament weird again. And that’s a very good thing.
He’s already a prolific Old Testament scholar. His published output includes a three volume Old Testament Theology (check out Israel’s Gospel to start) and a seventeen volume entry-level commentary on every book of the Old Testament First Testament. What’s left for a scholar to do other than translate the entire Hebrew Bible?
The First Testament is the most idiosyncratic translation of the Bible that I’ve ever read. His translation principles include:
- Stick to the Hebrew and Aramaic language rather than paraphrasing it.
- Use everyday English, including contractions.
- Try to use the same English word to translate every Hebrew word.
- Use the name of Yahweh.
- Transliterate the Hebrew of proper nouns (e.g., Yerushalaim rather than Jerusalem, Misraim instead of Egypt).
These principles lead to unexpected translations, especially noticeable to people who are well versed in scripture. But that’s precisely the point. Goldingay’s translation forces readers to encounter the text afresh. Passive reading becomes active as the mind seeks to understand the rationale for various translation choices.
Here are some examples of common texts to give you a feel for the work:
At the beginning of God’s creating the heavens and the earth, when the earth was an empty void, with darkness over the face of the deep, and God’s breath sweeping over the face of the water, God said, ‘Light!’ and light came into being. (Gen 1:1–3)
My help comes from Yahweh,
maker of heavens and earth.
He doesn’t give your foot to slipping;
your keeper doesn’t doze.
There, he doesn’t doze and he doesn’t sleep,
Yisrael’s keeper.
Yahweh is your keeper, Yahweh is your shade,
at your right hand. (Psalm 121:2–5)
He has told you, people, what is good,
what Yahweh requires from you:
Rather, exercising authority and being loyal to commitment,
and being diffident in how you walk with your God. (Micah 6:8)
This isn’t a good translation for public recitation but it’s the perfect translation for a biblically fluent Christian to reignite their love for the Scripture.
Goldingay, John. The First Testament: A New Translation. IVP Academic, 2018.
