Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley
Renowned scholar Robert Alter discussed the enormous challenges faced in translating biblical Hebrew to modern English. Features of style, such as rhythm, word-play, expressive syntax, and significant repetition, are essential to the meaning and the emotional impact of the biblical texts. Alter spoke about the difficult balancing act a translator must perform in getting as much of this as possible into readable literary English.
See article in the Forward: An Alter-ed Perspective on the Bible.