A Rejoinder concerning Genesis 3:6 and the NJPS Translation

This rejoinder counters the thrust of an article published in this journal in late 2013, “Blaming Eve Alone: Translation, Omission, and Implications of עמה in Genesis 3:6b,” by Julie Faith Parker (JBL 132, no. 4: 729–47). That critique focused largely on the NJPS translation's rendering, which it assailed. Four flaws in the earlier piece are now adduced, covering every aspect of its argumentation. This rejoinder holds that (1) the NJPS translators' alleged motive for interpretive bias is lacking; (2) the prior author's understanding of the narrated events is not supported by the Hebrew text's grammar and syntax; (3) the nature of the NJPS translation was misconstrued, so that it was judged according to the wrong criteria; and (4) even if NJPS had rendered this passage as advocated by the earlier article, such wording would not hinder misogynistic interpretations. The NJPS has not misled readers in this instance, nor has it created an opening for misogyny. Rather, the NJPS rendering of Gen 3:6b accurately reproduces the text's depiction, while remaining true to that translation's approach.