bubble50 DH Freelance 中翻英 英翻中

This, the second of our two Hebrew creation stories, is from Genesis 1:1 to 2:3. It thus appears first in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis, but it is actually the younger of the two stories presented there. A considerable body of scholarship over the last two or three centuries has concluded that this story was written in about the sixth century B.C.. That was after Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and at a time when the Hebrews were faced with exile in Babylon.

這第二個希伯來創世故事，來自創世紀1：1到2：3。從這點而言，它看似是第一個出現在希伯來聖經創世紀中的故事，但是事實上，在這兩個故事中，它卻是比較晚出現的。在過去的兩個或三個世紀裡，相當多的學者們得出的結論是，這個故事寫於西元前六世紀。那是在以色列人被亞述人於西元前722年征服之後而成的故事，當時也是希伯來人在巴比倫流亡的時期。

The author of this later story is known to scholars as "P", because he or she wrote from a much more "priestly" perspective than J, the author of the chronologically earlier story that appears in Genesis 2:4 to 3:24 (see "Yahweh", above). P's story is one of creation ex nihilo (from nothing), and the creation is a much more stately process than that in J's story. Because of the timing of its writing and the grandeur of its language, P's story has been interpreted by scholars "as an origin story created for the benefit of a lost nation in the need of encouragement and affirmation" (Leeming and Leeming 1994, p. 113). In fact, some scholars have suggested that P's story was actually written in Babylon.

       後來的這個故事，它的作者被學者們稱為「P」，這是因為他或她比J更從「教士的(取英文中priestly的p)」角度來寫作，J是創世記2：4到3：24（詳見另一文「耶和華」[1]）中的作者，若按時間順序排列的話，比P的故事還要早。P的故事是ex nihilo（無中生有）的創世之一，而它的創世過程比J的故事更為莊嚴肅穆。由於其寫作的時間和宏大的用語，P的故事被學者們解讀為「一個為了鼓勵和肯定某個失落的國度所創造出來的起源故事」(Leeming and Leeming 1994, p. 113)。事實上，有一些學者認為P的故事實際上是在巴比倫寫成的。

P used the name "Elohim" for the creator, and that usage is continued in the paraphrase below. "Elohim" ( pronounced "e lo HEEM") is actually a plural word perhaps best translated as "the powerful ones". P also used plural phrasing in the Elohim's creation of humankind "after our own likeness". Scholars have suggested that the use of the plural "Elohim" rather than the singular "Eloha" may hearken back to polytheistic roots of Middle Eastern religions and was a way to emphasize the magnitude of the deity in question. P's first people have no names at all, in keeping with the story's focus on the grandeur of the creator rather than on the created.

P使用「以羅欣」作為造物主的名字，而這個名字在下面的釋義中仍被繼續使用。「Elohim」(發音為「e lo HEEM」)實際上是一個複數形，或許最好是譯為「強大者們」。P也使用了複數的措辭來說明以羅欣創造人類時是「依照我們自己的模樣」。學者們認為會使用複數的「Elohim」而不是單數的「Eloha」，可能可以回溯至中東宗教中多神信仰的根源，而且是一種用來強調所討論的神靈有多強大的方式。P的第一個人類根本就沒有名字，這也與故事是將重點放在造物主有多偉大而非造物這點相應。

The Elohim[2]

以羅興

In the beginning the Elohim made the sky and the earth, but the earth was shapeless and everything was dark. The Elohim said "Let there be light," and there was the light that made day different from night. And that was the first day.

起初，以羅欣創造出天空和大地，但大地卻沒有形狀，而一切的事物都在黑暗之中。以羅欣說「要有光」，然後光就出現了，而白天也因此與黑夜不同。那就成了第一天。

The Elohim said, "Let there be a dome to separate the heavens from the waters below," and there were the heavens. And that was the second day.

以羅欣說：「要有蒼穹，讓天與下面的水分開」，然後天就出現了。那就成了第二天。

The Elohim said, "Let the waters of the earth gather so that there are seas and there is dry land," and so it was. The Elohim said, "Let there be vegetation on the land, with plants to yield seeds and fruits," and so it was. And that was the third day.

以羅欣說：「讓大地的水聚集起來，產生海洋和乾燥的陸地」，然後確實如此。以羅欣說：「要有植被在陸地上，而植物生出種子和果實」，然後確實如此。那就成了第三天。

The Elohim said, "Let there be light in the heavens, and let them change with the seasons," and so there were stars. Then the Elohim made a sun and a moon to rule over the day and to rule over the night. And that was the fourth day.

以羅欣說：「天要有光，讓它們隨著季節變化」，然後星辰就出現了。接著，以羅欣製造了一個太陽和一個月亮來統治白天、統治黑夜。那就成了第四天。

The Elohim said, "Let there be creatures in the waters, and let there be birds in the skies," and so there were sea monsters and sea creatures and birds. The Elohim blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply". And that was the fifth day.

以羅欣說：「要有生物在水中，要有鳥類在空中」，然後海怪、海洋生物和鳥類就出現了。以羅欣祝福牠們說：「要生養眾多[3]」。那就成了第五天。

The Elohim said, "Let the earth have animals of various kinds", and so it was. Then the Elohim said, "Let us make humans after our own likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle and creeping things of the land, and over all the earth." The Elohim said to these humans, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, ruling over the fish and the birds and the animals of the land. We have given you every plant and tree yielding seed. To every beast and bird of the Earth we have given every green plant for food." And that was the sixth day.

以羅欣說：「讓大地有著各式各樣的動物」，然後確實如此。接著，以羅欣說：「讓我們依照我們自己的模樣創造人類，讓他們統治海中的魚、空中的飛鳥、地上的牲口和爬行的生物，以及整片大地。」以羅欣對這些人類說：「要生養眾多，遍布大地，征服大地，統治著魚類、鳥類和陸地上的動物。我們給了你們每一種能生出種子的植物和樹木。對大地上的每一隻野獸和鳥類，我們給了每一種能當成食物的綠色植物。」那就成了第六天。

And on the seventh day the making of the heavens and earth was finished, and the Elohim rested.

在第七天時，天與地的創造已經完成了，所以以羅欣就休息了。