https://eitan.bar/articles/every-bible-translation-is-an-interpretation/ Eitan Bar is a Theologian & Author Bringing a Jewish Perspective to the Christian Faith Sun, 13 Sep 2026 18:39:11 +0000 hourly 1 https://eitan.bar/articles/every-bible-translation-is-an-interpretation/#comment-134 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 13:59:20 +0000 https://eitan.bar/?p=5253#comment-134 […] There are depths of understanding you simply cannot reach through a translation, especially with Hebrew, because of how the language is built. Hebrew words often carry a far wider range of meaning than any single English word can hold, so the translator is forced to pick one shade and quietly drop the rest. Take chesed. English needs a whole handful of words to chase it, love, mercy, kindness, loyalty, faithfulness, and still doesn’t quite catch it. Or nephesh, which we usually render “soul,” but which also means throat, breath, appetite, life, the whole living self. When the psalmist says his nephesh thirsts for God, he doesn’t mean some ghostly inner part of him. He means his throat is dry for God, his whole being gasping. “Soul” is true, but it’s thin. […]

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