The Lost Matriarch: Finding Leah in the Bible and Midrash

Note on the Sources

xv note on the sources The classical or “biblical” Hebrew originally used for the Bible is an ancient language. As a result, the Bible presents several special problems for reading in translation. The language of the time possessed only limited grammar and vocabulary. And the Bible in its original Hebrew text lacks capitalization, vowels, and punctuation (no commas or periods). There isn’t even a word for the present tense of the verb “to be” (the basic “is,” in English). Furthermore, the Bible’s literary style is often laconic and ambiguous. We have also lost some word meanings over time. All these problems have left us with biblical words and phrases—some of them crucial to understanding the story being told—that defy any agreed-upon translation.1 As a foundation for the English translations of Genesis (B’reishit), I have relied upon the New Jewish Publication Society (njps) translation (1962) for its high level of contemporary language and modern scholarship. However, some of the early commentaries or my own interpretations of the text are easier to understand when read with older, sometimes more literal translations, especially to appreciate the rabbinic wordplay often used in classical midrash. And so I have modified many of the Bible translations by using some words or phrases either from the first jps translation (1917) or my personal translation. While the jps translations are the most widely read, there are other fine ones as well, so for your personal use and study I hope you will consider sampling the many available translations and commentaries, which reflect a broad range of con- xvi Note on the Sources temporary scholarship and viewpoints, such as the several listed in the bibliography: jps’s Torah: The Five Books of Moses and Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary; Oxford’s The Jewish Study Bible; Harvey A. Fields, A Torah Commentary for Our Times; Robert Alter, Genesis: Translation and Commentary; Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah: With a New English Translation; Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses; Stephen Mitchell, Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories ; and W. Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary. I have also substantially adapted passages from the Midrash Rabbah and the Talmud, based on the translations of contemporary commentator Jacob Neusner.2 The capitalized text in the Midrash Rabbah and the Talmud refers to passages from the Bible, which either appear in the original translations or have been added by me for clarification. Use and adaptation of the selections from the Torah and from Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, are with permission of the Jewish Publication Society. Use and adaptation of the Neusner/ Scholars Press selections from midrash and Talmud is with permission of University Press of America (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group). ...