Abstract
The earliest documentable Bible translation dates from the first half of the third century bce and is located in the Egyptian capital city and metropolis of Alexandria. In terms of the impetus for the first Bible translation, the matter is typically phrased as either/or; that is, either the call emanated from outside the Jewish community or from within. Jewish translations of the Bible, as the phrase is commonly and correctly understood, are versions prepared by Jews primarily for the benefit and education of other Jews. Bible translating by Jews continued up to, and in some cases beyond, the Holocaust. One of the most extraordinary German-language translation projects had its inception in the pre-World War I period and reached completion only in the early 1960s. There are many factors – theological, literary, social, even fiscal– that promote the production of Bible translations in society. The Bible, in its original languages and in translation, has unique potential to unify or to divide.