Thank you, Jim!
Your conclusions were very much the same as the ones I had when I first wrote.
But, to put it bluntly, translations (such as the ones I am dealing with) often
tend to follow the weight of English authorities. I needed something more
rigorous than hunches to support any movement away from accepted English
interpretations.
To "preserve the ambiguity of the Hebrew in ... translation" is as you
correctly say, the the ideal approach. This will not be easy, given the target
language, but it will be the topmost priority.
Besides the "Diselection" book (which I will procure), do you have any other
discussions or dissertations bearing on the subject? Does anyone on the list
have anything to add? Anecdotally, there was a lady from Israel who when
confronted with the dilemma said that the traditional English interpretations
were "impossible"! That strange incident, of course, is hardly a valid argument
for the linguistic committee!
B. Chan
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