Four Tuesday Nights
7-8:30 PM ET
August 29; September 5, 12, 19

The Septuagint, the first translation of the biblical texts from Hebrew to Greek was completed centuries before the Hebrew Bible was even canonized in the 1st-2nd century CE. Also, as the spoken language was Aramaic in the Jewish community, it became customary in places of study to read the Hebrew text and immediately follow it by reading an Aramaic translation. Eventually, these practices led to several written translations into Aramaic.

Much can be learned from these translations, as they may reflect the opinion of the translator or may reflect the use of a different version of the Hebrew text than the one we have today… or the translators may have even added or modified the text for various cultural or theological reasons.

Join us to examine these early biblical translations and discuss their impact on Jewish tradition leading to our understanding of the Bible today.

ENROLL

Instructor: Gideon Amir
Location: Zoom Classroom
The Zoom link will be sent to all registrants prior to the first session.
Registration: $65

Gideon Amir was born in Holland to Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel in 1947. He grew up in Jerusalem and served in the IDF as a Paratrooper.

Gideon received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot. In 1980, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a manager in several companies including Sperry Univac, British Telecom, and Cisco Systems.

In 1999, he pursued his interest in Judaic Studies and enrolled in a full-time graduate program at Baltimore Hebrew University, where, in May 2001, he received his Master’s degree with honors. Redirecting his passion for teaching from computer science to Jewish and Bible studies, he became an adult Jewish educator for several education programs, including the Haberman Institute, where he continues to teach today.

Early Translations of the Bible