Translation

"We must never forget that translation is the most basic act of interpretation. One cannot convey words meaningfully from a source language to a target language without first determining what they think the text means to say."—The Lost World of Genesis One, page 49

<idle musing>
There is an Italian saying, "Traduttore, Traditore!" which translates roughly as the translator is a traitor. There is no direct one-to-one correspondence between languages; there is more a cloud of meaning that overlaps to a greater or lesser degree with the target language.

Communication is hard enough in your native language between two people; it is even more difficult between languages. And, just to make it even better, take away all native speakers. Now, add a few thousand years in, just for good measure! No wonder we have problems with the Hebrew text.
</idle musing>