Favorite Bible translation?

[Sara Wolkenfeld]

If you could pick one translation to set as the default English translation of Tanakh on Sefaria, what would it be and why?

Keep in mind that Sefaria supports multiple translations, and we are looking forward to being able to offer translations geared for different purposes and types of users. But one translation will need to be the default...

(Those who have already shared thoughts privately are invited to repost to the list)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,

Sara

[David Kasher]

Oy, that's hard. Each one has its limitations, of course.  I might go with Aryeh Kaplan's The Living Torah.  It just seems to be a good combination of clarity and faithfulness to the text.  Artscroll is famous for taking interpretative license, but then JPS can get so obsessed with accuracy, that it gives a funny read that doesn't flow well.  Kaplan's feels like it hits a good balance in the middle.

Rabbi David Kasher
Director of Education
www.kevah.org
(510) 280-5656

Follow my parsha tweets!  (on Twitter @parshanut)

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sefaria Project" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sefaria+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to sef...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sefaria.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

[Sara Wolkenfeld]

Hi David,

It's so interesting that you picked that one! This question actually came up in the course of a conversation about the limitations of that particular translation. 

I agree that it's great for readability, and I like to use it when I teach students who lack the skills to look back at the Hebrew, and when I want to give a good overview of a text. However, I wouldn't want it as our default, because of the ways in which the English often diverges from the Hebrew (the title page of the book makes it clear that the translation is done in consultation with sources from Chaza"l...) and therefore not ideal for someone who is trying to learn to better translate Biblical Hebrew, or trying to go back and forth between the two texts. But I appreciate hearing your perspective; I hope that we will be able to at least offer this translation in the long run, whether or not it's our default.

I agree about Artscroll. I like JPS, though I agree it's sometimes awkward...any other thoughts?

All the best,

Sara

[Aharon Varady]

I like Robert Alter and Everett Fox's translation.

I also like what Dovi Jacob's was doing with his JET (Jewish English Torah) over on the Open Siddur Project -- based on the open source WEB. <http://wiki.jewishliturgy.org/w/index.php?title=JET>

I'm also a fan of Rabbi David Seidenberg's translation work building off of James Moffatt's translation. See his work on Eikhah: <http://opensiddur.org/2011/08/megillat-eikhah-lamentations-for-tisha-bav-by-rabbi-david-seidenberg/>

Aharon

CC'ing Rabbi David Seidenberg

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sefaria Project" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sefaria+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to sef...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sefaria.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

--
Aharon Varady
Founding Director, Hierophant
the Open Siddur Project
http://opensiddur.org

[adam...@gmail.com]

I am not sure that I could commit to a specific translation. What I have on my book shelf are...

JPS 1985, Hirsch (not sure who did the english translation), Artscroll, Soncino (which is JPS 1917)

on my wish list are Aryeh Kaplan and Robert Alter.

I would hope that Sefaria would ultimately allow users to pick their own default translation.
Thanks,
Adam

[Brett Lockspeiser]

I would hope that Sefaria would ultimately allow users to pick their own default translation.

Definitely. But we still need to pick something to show to a new visitor that we don't know anything about. Unless we randomize it...

 

On Tuesday, August 20, 2013 3:42:56 PM UTC-4, Sara Wolkenfeld wrote:
> If you could pick one translation to set as the default English translation of Tanakh on Sefaria, what would it be and why?
>
>
> Keep in mind that Sefaria supports multiple translations, and we are looking forward to being able to offer translations geared for different purposes and types of users. But one translation will need to be the default...
>
>
>
> (Those who have already shared thoughts privately are invited to repost to the list)
>
>
> Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
>
>
> Sara

[Marc Stober]

You could do A/B testing and see which text gets more new users to keep reading.

- Marc

--
marcs...@gmail.com ~ www.marcstober.com ~ twitter: marcstober

[Brett Lockspeiser]

That is actually a very interesting idea!

Would be very cool to generate some hard data about how different translations affect engagement. 

[Yehoshua Kahan]

I also like the idea of A/B testing candidate default translations. Of course, you'd want NOT to let the reader know they're serving as guinea pigs. But, again, you'd need to know who's a USER and who's a contributor, reviewers, etc. I know a person who might well spend a long time viewing a number of pages of a given translation, making critical notes about what he perceives as its shortcomings (and, yes, I know this person is a "he" - dai lachakima b'remiza).

Oh, and as long as I'm at it, my vote: Everett Fox (whose translation's are available on-line). Does anyone know if Robert Alter's translation is also available on-line?

Rav Berachot,

Yehoshua

[Marc Stober]

Yes, that's how A/B testing works, the user is unknowingly randomized into it. :) And you'd probably associate with a login or cookie or something...as Brett was saying this is more for brand-new users. Though a similar (and maybe easier) analysis would be to simply see what version is selected/read most often. Brett, do you do any analytics like this?

By the way, do you have a link to Everett Fox's translations online?

- Marc

[Yehoshua Kahan]

sure - http://toby.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/4/8/2748917/everett_foxxstorah.pdf

[Aharon Varady]

WorldORT famously has R' Aryeh Kaplan's translation and commentary online.  -- R' Kaplan's translation is based on a very good Public Domain translation that was also used as the basis for the English translation in the Koren TaNaKh, Michael Friedländer's Jewish Family Bible (1884). <http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp> I love to learn with this translation.

Whatever work that was previously done on digitizing this text has unfortunately remained private. I'd very much like to see it become available with a free-culture license before its copyright term expires in 2053.

Thanks to Yehoshua for his link to Fox's translation. I'm going to town with Fair Use on this in my sourcesheets.

Aharon

[Yehoshua Kahan]

Aharon, shalom

forgive my ignorance of the law, but what implications does Fair Use have for sourcesheets? 

YK

--

[Aharon Varady]

There shouldn't be any implications unless the copyright owner feels that there has been infringement. When the copyright owner feels that way, they might sue you and then you'd have to defend your Fair Use.

--
Aharon Varady, MCP,  MAJE (2013)
Environmental Educator, Public Domain Advocate, Community Planner
Writing | Research

Read my latest paper on the sacred space and spiritual praxis of vegetation in Judaism.