Expert: Messianic Rabbi Yochanan Levine - 7/6/2011

Question
QUESTION: Shalom from Jerusalem.  There is a little known Hebrew NT produced originally by Elias Hutter (German)in 1599.  It was subsequently edited and published in 1661 by William Robertson and in 1817 by the London Jews Society and J. Frey. Have you seen any of these editions?  I would like specifically to collate the changes made from edition to edition.  Also perhaps you know where to find copies in order to do this collating? Thank you.

ANSWER: Shalom Leonard,

Elias Hutter's Dodecaglott Bible is the first known translation of the B'rit Hadahashah into Hebrew --- although it can be argued with some evidence that much of the original text of these books were first written in Hebrew and later replaced the Greek and Aramaic.

It was first published Nuremburg, Germany, 1599 and printed in Syriac, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, English, and Danish. It comprises (a) an Old Testament in six languages (1599), carried only to the Book of Ruth; (b) a Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German Psalter (1602); (c) a New Testament in twelve languages (2 parts, 1599)Syriac, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, Greek, French, Vulgate, English, German, Danish, Bohemian, and Polish; (d) a New Testament in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, taken from the preceding (1602).

The Hutter Bible can be found here in downloadable format:

http://hebrewbooks.org/home.aspx:
http://hebrewbooks.org/42651
http://hebrewbooks.org/42654
http://hebrewbooks.org/42653
http://hebrewbooks.org/42652

A bound version may be available here: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=844554767&tab=1&searchurl=tn%3D

Shalom and best of success

~ Rabbi Yochanan


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your help.  Have you yourself read the original Hutter? Have you read the 1661 William Robertson edition?  Have you read the 1817 London Jew Society/J. Frey edition?  As I mentioned in my original question, I am interested in collating the changes made in the subsequent editions of this Reformation Era Hebrew New Testament.  All the Best.

Answer
Shalom Leonard,

While I am aware of this translation I have never studied it in any of its editions. I've read excerpts but that's about it. I would not therefore be any assistance to your project I'm sorry to say.

Despite what translators like to think, to some degree every translation is a paraphrase that reveals about as much about the translator's beliefs as the text itself. Studying many translations is therefore a good thing in my opinion.

May HaShem bless your endeavors to draw you ever closer to His Light.

~ Rabbi Yochanan