Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation (Afterlives of the Bible) - Softcover

Seidman, Naomi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226745066 ISBN 13: 9780226745060

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2006

Synopsis

Faithful Renderings reads translation history through the lens of Jewish–Christian difference and, conversely, views Jewish–Christian difference as an effect of translation. Subjecting translation to a theological-political analysis, Seidman asks how the charged Jewish–Christian relationship—and more particularly the dependence of Christianity on the texts and translations of a rival religion—has haunted the theory and practice of translation in the West.

Bringing together central issues in translation studies with episodes in Jewish–Christian history, Naomi Seidman considers a range of texts, from the Bible to Elie Wiesel’s Night, delving into such controversies as the accuracy of various Bible translations, the medieval use of converts from Judaism to Christianity as translators, the censorship of anti-Christian references in Jewish texts, and the translation of Holocaust testimony. Faithful Renderings ultimately reveals that translation is not a marginal phenomenon but rather a crucial issue for understanding the relations between Jews and Christians and indeed the development of each religious community.

About this title

About the Author:

Naomi Seidman is theKoret Professor of Jewish Culture and director of the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Review:

"[An] ambitious study...it is stimulating, often affording a fresh perspective on familiar texts. Seidman’s métier is cultural theory and hermeneutics, and it is here that she has something to offer biblical specialists." (Cameron Boyd-Taylor Review of Biblical Literature)

"Seidman reveals what a complicated, and sometimes dangerous, business translation is. . . . Certainly as an examination of the intricacies both of translation and of Jewish-Christian relations it is superb." (Ann Conway-Jones Journal of Jewish Studies)

"Faithful Renderings so dazzles with knowledge and insight that it is a daunting read. . . . Even more remarkable is the attentiveness to nuance, offering rich detail, for example, about debates in virtually every age over the spirit and letter in translation." (Mary C. Boys Theological Studies)

"An outstanding and valuable contribution to translation studies and a description of Jewish approaches to translation throughout history." (Francine Kaufmann Translation Studies)

"[An] important contribution to the fields of Translation Studies, Jewish Studies, and Holocaust Studies, to name just a few of the disciplines [this] work will enrich." (Emily Wittman Shofar)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0226745066
• ISBN 13: 9780226745060
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312