Most translations translate Genesis 1:1 as, In the beginning God created... However, in the Mechanical Translation I have translated it as In the summit Elohiym fattened... You might be asking, "Why?"

Let's examine the first word, "Summit." The Hebrew word is reshiyt which comes from the root rosh meaning "head," therefore, the word reshiyt has a meaning similar to this. The Hebrew language uses the same words for space and time (Interestingly, scientists today have determined that space and time are very similar). As an example, the Hebrew word qedem can mean the "east" or "ancient." The Hebrew word reshiyt can then be the "head" of a "time" (such as an event) or a "space" (such as the summit of a mountain). With this definition of reshiyt, let's examine the following verse where the word reshiyt has been translated as "principle thing."

Now to the word "fattened." Let us first examine the context of the Hebrew word bara. The word "create" is an abstract word and as the Ancient Hebrew did not think in abstract terms, we need to find the concrete meaning of the Hebrew verb bara. The following verses use the exact same verb bara but is translated with its concrete meaning (the underlined word).

If you "fatten" something up, you are making it "full" and this is the idea behind the word bara in Genesis 1:1. Throughout this chapter we see Elohiym "filling" the water with fish, the sky with the birds, and the land with plants and animals. Now let's examine the etymology of the verb bara. This word is derived from the parent root bar meaning grain, which is used to feed animals that are to be "fattened" for the slaughter or a sacrifice. The noun b'riy is derived from the verb bara and means "fat" as seen in the following verse.

Other cognates (other words of similar meaning that are derived from the same parent root bar) include; the verb barah meaning "to select the choice meat and the noun biyrah meaning a "fat place" such as a palace.

The phrase קנה שמים וארץ (qoneh shamayim va'arets) is usually translated as "possessor (or maker) of heaven and earth." The Hebrew verb קנה (qoneh) comes from the parent root קן (qeyn) meaning nest. The verb קנה (qoneh) literally means "building a nest" and with this understanding placed within the verse, the phrase means "Elohiym" has gathered all the materials together to build a nest, home, for his children, us.

What does "life for life" mean? How about "eye for an eye?" The King James Version translates Exodus 21:23-25 as, "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." In this translation is the phrase "life for life" and implies that if you take a persons life, your life is to be taken. I do not believe this is what the verse is implying. The Hebrew translation of "life for life" would be hhayim l'hhayim, but this is not what is found in the Hebrew. The Hebrew reads nephesh tahhat naphesh which means "being in place of being." I interpret this to mean that if you take a life, such as that of a servant (see the previous verses) or a beast, then you must replace that life.

The KJV translation of "eye for eye" also implies that if you take the eye of another, then your eye must be taken. In the Hebrew, this phrase is written as ayin tahhat ayin meaning "an eye in place of an eye." If you take the eye of a person, then you must replace that eye. Of course this cannot mean implanting a new eye, but instead, you must take whatever measures are necessary to give that person what he needs in order to compensate him for the missing eye. This might mean giving him a servant to see for him or money to replace his lost wages.

This interpretation can be supported with the next two verses (26, 27) which read as follows from the RMT. "but if a man will hit the eye of his servant, or the eye of his bondwoman, and he damages her, he will send him to freedom in place of his eye, and if the tooth of his servant, or the tooth of his bondwoman is made to fall out, he will send him to freedom in place of his tooth."

And you shall put them upon Aaron your brother, and upon his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. (RSV)

In this verse are four verbs describing Aaron and his sons installation as priests; anoint, ordain, consecrate and serve as priest. While these words describe this installation, they are describing it from an abstract perspective. The Hebrew verbs in the Hebrew text describe this installation from a more concrete perspective that is hidden in the English translation.

משח - mashahh, Strong's #4886
This verb is translated as "anoint," which unlike the other three translations, is a concrete concept. The verb literally means to "smear" as can be seen in Jeremiah 22:14 where it is translated as "paint," to smear on a color. Aaron and his sons were "smeared" with an oil as a sign of their installation.

מלא - maley, Strong's #4390
In the RSV is the word "ordain" and in the KJV it is translated as "consecrate," both being abstracts. In the Hebrew, there is more than just the verb but a phrase, which reads ומלאת את ידם (umileyta et yadam) which literally translates as "and you will fill their hand." The actual meaning of this phrase is uncertain but may be related to an Akkadian (another Semitic culture) custom of handing a scepter to the king at his ordination, a filling of his hand.

קדש - qadash, Strong's #6942
This verb is translated as "consecrate" and in the KJV it is translated as "sanctify," again these are abstracts. The Hebrew word means to "set apart" meaning to separate from the whole for a special purpose. Aaron and his sons have been separated from the rest of the community for the special purpose of taking care of and administering the tabernacle.

כהן - kahan, Strong's #3547
This Hebrew verb is variously translated as "minister in the priest's office," "serve as priest" or "be a priest." The literal concrete meaning of this word can be found in Isaiah 61:10 which reads, in part, "A bridegroom decks himself with ornaments." In this passage the word "decks" translates the verb kahan. Kahan literally means to "adorn" and Aaron and his sons were adorned with special garments and ornaments. The noun כוהן (kohen, Strong's #3548), usually translated as "priest," literally means "adorned one."

Below is the literal and more concrete translation of this verse from the Revised Mechanical Translation .

and you will clothe them, Aharon your brother and his sons with him, and you will smear them, and you will fill their hand, and you will set them apart, and they will be adorned for me

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

In some translations, including the KJV, the word "LORD" is written in italics meaning that it has been added to the text. Why did the translators feel it was necessary to add the word "LORD?" Simply, to "fix" the text. This verse is translated as follows in the Revised Mechanical Translation.

and it will come to pass, when Mosheh is about to come unto the tent, the pillar of the cloud will go down, and he will stand at the opening of the tent, and he will speak with Mosheh,

Notice that the second half of this verse includes three verbs; go down, stand and speak. When two or more verbs are written, only the first verb will identify the subject of the verb, which is then applied to the following verbs. Here is an example from Exodus 2:15; "And Mosheh fled away from the face of Paroh, and he settled in the land of Mid'yan and he settled upon the well." Note that only the first verb identifies Mosheh as the subject the verb and the following two verbs use the pronoun "he," in reference to Mosheh. We can see the same structure in Exodus 33:9 where the first verb states, "the pillar of the cloud will go down," and the following two verbs simply say, "he will stand," and "he will speak." It should be noted that in Hebrew, all nouns are either masculine or feminine and since the word עמוד (amud) is a masculine word, it would be identified with the masculine pronoun (he).

From the grammar in Exodus 33:9, we can see that it was the "pillar" that spoke with Mosheh. The standard translations have revised the text so that the "pillar" remains an inanimate object and YHWH, as a separate entity, becomes the active participant. Does this mean that YHWH is taking an inactive role here? Not at all. In verse 11 we read that it is YHWH who is speaking to Mosheh." Therefore, we can conclude that YHWH is not "in" or "with" the pillar, he "is" the pillar.

Because the Mechanical Translation preserves the syntax of the Hebrew language, it would be helpful to have a basic understanding of Hebrew syntax. But before we do this, let's be sure we understand English syntax first. Basic English sentence structure is Subject / Verb / Object. In the sentence, John drove a car, the verb (the action word) is the word drove, John is the subject (the recipient of the action of the verb) and the word car is the object (what the action is imparted upon). In Hebrew, the structure of a sentence is slightly different; it is Verb / Subject / Object. So, the above example would be written as drove John a car.

There are two types of objects, definite and indefinite. An indefinite object is something that is not specifically identified such as a car, book or a building. A definite object is something that is specifically identified such as his car, the big book or Empire State Building. When a direct object appears in a sentence, it is usually preceeded by the Hebrew word את (et). In the sentence, John drove a car, or in Hebrew syntax, drove John a car, the word car is an indefinite object. However, if the sentence read drove John his car, the car is now definite, as it is "his" car, and would then be preceded by the word את-drove John את his car.

Now let's look at a Biblical example. The following is the first part of Exodus 13:19.

Many simple phrases exist in the Hebrew text that when understood correctly, will make translating much easier. An example of a common phrase is על כן (al keyn), which is literally translated as "upon so" but would be translated with the English word "therefore." Below are few common phrases found in the Hebrew Bible and their translations.

Hebrew: על כן
Transliteration: al keyn
Literal Translation: upon so
Translation: therefore
Example: and he said, you are very lazy, therefore, you are saying, we will walk, we will sacrifice to YHWH, (RMT Exodus 5: 17)

Hebrew: יום יום
Transliteration: yom yom
Literal Translation: day day
Translation: daily
Example: and it will come to pass, in the sixth day, and they will prepare what they will bring, and double will exist in addition to what they will pick up daily, (RMT Exodus 16: 5)

Hebrew: כי אם
Transliteration: kiy iym
Literal Translation: For if
Translation: instead
Example: you will not eat from him raw or boiled by being boiled in the waters, instead, a roast of fire, his head, in addition his legs and in addition his within (RMT Exodus 12: 9)

Hebrew: תמול שלשם
Transliteration: temul shilshom
Literal Translation: yesterday three days ago
Translation: previously
Example: you must not again give straw to the people to make bricks like the bricks previously, they will walk and they will collect straw for themselves, (RMT Exodus 5: 7)