>The Baptist Press is reporting that a new translation of the Hebrew Bible is being published in Modern Hebrew. Below is how Baptist Press is reporting the story:

Modern Hebrew Bible translation reaches out to Israeli youth
Apr 7, 2006
By David Roach
Baptist Press

RISHON LETSION, Israel (BP)–The Old Testament was written originally in Hebrew. So you might think that the millions of Hebrew-speaking youth in Israel would be able to read and understand it.

But HaGefen Publishing, a Christian publisher in Israel, has taken note of vast differences between the biblical Hebrew of the Old Testament and the modern Hebrew of today that make it very difficult for Israeli youth to understand the Bible. HaGefen is attempting to remedy the problem by publishing the first-ever translation of the Old Testament in modern Hebrew.

The new translation is part of a modern-Hebrew translation of the entire Bible called “The Testimony” (“Ha’Edut” in Hebrew). The first volume, containing the first five books of the Old Testament, was published in 2001; volume two, containing the historical books, was published in early 2004. Volume three contains the prophetic books and is scheduled for release in late 2006. The entire project began in 1994 and is slated for completion by 2010.

All volumes are translated into simple, modern Hebrew vocabulary by Shoshan Danielson and edited by Baruch Maoz. Experts in Hebrew and the Bible are among those involved in the project, along with a control group of children. The finished product will feature more than 1,000 illustrations, including diagrams of genealogies.

To read the rest of the news release, click here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary