2020-8-23
In the Documentary Hypothesis, as found in Richard Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible?, second edition, the entirety of Genesis 1 is from the Priestly Source. See here for more.
1 When God began ... This translation, following in a tradition of translation which goes back at least to Rashi, treats the Hebrew bereshit as being in the construct state, a "noun bound to a clause" like the tehillat of Hosea 1:2. The other tradition, extending from the Septuagint or Vulgate ownward, reads bereshit as being in the absolute state, and thus reads the verse, "In the beginning God created ...".
1 sky. The Hebrew term is shamayim, which has been variously translated as either 'sky' or 'heaven'. In English, 'heaven' at least in some contexts refers to a destination of fortunate souls after death, while the Hebrew term has no such connotations.
4 firmament. While in today's English firmament has become a poetic synonym for "sky", which modern people see as an insubstantial blue color produced by the atmosphere, the biblical author here envisions something more solid. It lies "in the midst of the waters", that is, above the waters below (the ocean) and below the waters above, which were believed to be a celestial ocean above the sky-vault. Later in Genesis, when the global flood occurs, openings in the sky-dome will allow the waters above to pour down and kill all living things. So, in the creation narrative, the newly invented sky creates a space for living beings by holding back the waters above. It is only after the firmament is created on the second day that it becomes possible for dry land to appear on the third day.
11 of every kind. Hebrew lemino. The traditional English translation "after its kind" is unfortunately vague enough that I don't think it works as a translation anymore.
14 across the face of the sky's firmament. This is a more literal rendering than the JPS's in the open firmament of heaven. It seemed necessary to go with the more literal rendering in this case to avoid giving the mistaken impression that the author here is viewing the firmament as a mere expanse in which birds fly. Instead, the firmament is a sort of solid dome, and from the viewpoint of someone standing on earth, birds appear to be flying across in front of it.
24 livestock. JPS "cattle", but at least in terms of today's English, the Hebrew behemah refers to more than just cattle.
24 crawling thing. JPS "creeping thing", but at least in terms of today's English, "creeping" is not quite the right meaning.
24 wild animal. Hebrew "living thing of the earth".
26 man. Hebrew adam, a term which includes both men and women.
28 fill. JPS "replenish". But while replenish might suggest filling up something which has previoulsy been filled and is now empty, there is no such connotation in the Hebrew term מלא.
In the Documentary Hypothesis, as found in Richard Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible?, second edition, the Genesis 2:1-3 is from the Priestly Source, and so properly these verses should be regarded as concluding the story begun in Genesis 1. The second version of the creation story begins in verse four, and comes from the J source, except for the opening of verse 4, "These are the generations of the sky and of the earth when they were created"; which Friedman credits to R, a redactor. See here for more.
7 being. JPS "soul". I am generally avoiding translating the Hebrew nephesh as soul. While nephesh has a range of meanings, it does not map neatly onto the dualistic assumptions that tend to be imported by invoking the English word "soul".
14 Tigris. Hebrew Hiddekel.
23 Woman ... Man. Hebrew ish ... ishah.
In the Documentary Hypothesis, as found in Richard Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible?, second edition, this entire chapter is from the J source. See here for more.
1 subtle (KJV, RV "subtil"). Driver suggests perhaps rendering the term "wily" or "crafty", and notes that it is also used in a positive sense in Proverbs 12:16 and 23.
5 like God. Or, "like gods" (cf. Driver).
6 to make one wise. Driver notes that an alternate opinion translates this Hebrew verb, hiskil, as "to look upon". Despite the support for 'look upon' found in the Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgate, Gesenius, and Revised Version margin, Driver rejects it, as this proposed meaning, in biblical Hebrew, can be found nowhere other than this passage.
8 the cool of the day. Driver takes this to refer to the evening.
8 voice. Hebrew qol. Driver proposes that we read sound, interpreting this as Adam and Eve hearing Yahweh's "footsteps" in the garden.
13. Driver notes that Yahweh God questions both the man and the woman, but does not ask any question of the snake. "No such questions are put to the serpent, because, being not a morally responsible being, the awakenment of a sense of guilt in it is not needed, or indeed possible."
20 Eve. Hebrew hawwah, which appears to have an ancient etymological relationship to the Hebrew hyh, "living".
For the raw JPS text which I used as a base, see here.
For the Hebrew text to which I referred at difficult points, see here, an online transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
Driver, S. R. (1916). The Book of Genesis: With Introduction and Notes. Tenth Edition. At HathiTrust. (The first edition was published in 1904.)
1 gotten. The Hebrew verb is qanah, which the text is implicitly punning against qayin, the name typically written in English as "Cain".
16 Nod. According to the JPS note, this means "Wandering". Jerome, in his Vulgate, did not even treat the Hebrew nod here as a proper noun. Instead of "dwelt in the land of Nod", he read "dwelt as a fugitive on the earth" (Douai-Rheims Challoner translation, 1914 John Murphy edition).
18 Mehujael ... Mehijael. Some error has apparently crept into the Hebrew text here, either of a yod for a waw, or vice versa.
25 Seth is in Hebrew shet, while has appointed is shat, and the text is punning the two (cf. JPS note).
For the raw JPS text which I used as a base, see here.
For the Hebrew text to which I referred at difficult points, see here, an online transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
For the "Douai-Rheims" or "Challoner" translation from the Latin Vulgate into English, as it was published in 1914 by the John Murphy company, see here.
This page is released under the CC0 1.0 license, which spells out in as much legal detail as possible my desire to waive any copyright I have over the work. Feel free to use it as you like.