Reading the Old Testament

I have always tried to read different translations to get a different perspective. At the moment, I am using John Goldingay’s translation called First Testament. The translation has the following features.

• It sticks close to the way that Hebrew works rather than paraphrasing it, so the readers can get as close as possible to the details of the original text. Consequently, it is more suitable for a slow read than for reading out loud.

• Where a sentence does not make sense in the Hebrew, he has left it that way.

• Goldingay tries to use the same English word every time a Hebrew word is used, so readers can see the points of connection between passages

• It uses God’s name Yahweh. That is the name that he said would be used forever.

• He transliterates many of the names from the Hebrew, rather than using the anglicised versions most other translations use, eg Mosheh for Moses, Yisra’el for Israel, Ya’aqob for Jacob.

I am finding this translation really refreshing.