犹太人的故事（2013）

Even today, it's easy to imagine
what life must have been like
即便今日，也能很容易想像这群犹太人的生活并不容易
in the narrow streets
and close-packed, mud brick houses
of Elephantine,
Elephantine岛上穷街陋巷，土坯房♥一间挨着一间，
where Judeans mixed
with other races and creeds.
犹太人与各色人等无论信仰与种族不分彼此杂居着。
We know in detail about their lives,
我们对岛上生活之所以知道的如此详尽
thanks to a rich trove
of papyrus documents
归功于19世纪末从此处出土的
found on the site
at the end of the 19th century.
大量纸莎草文献
Mostly, they're legal documents,
其中多是法律文书
marriages, divorces,
property disputes, wills,
包括嫁娶，离异，财产纠纷，订立遗嘱等...
but between the lines,
we find out about the kind of Jews
who lived here.
不过其中也找到了关于此地犹太居民的记载
We know they honoured Moses's law,
or as much of it as they knew.
从中得知他们依旧遵守摩西律法---
或者说是他们仍记得的那部分(摩西律法)
They prayed to the Jewish God,
他们依旧向以色列上帝祈祷
but they also invoked his consort,
the Queen of Heaven.
不过他们也拜所谓"天母"--"上帝的配偶"
(严重违反一神教的教义)
Some took Egyptian wives
and husbands
其中一些人与埃及人通婚
who converted to their religion
and changed their names.
改信埃及人的宗教，并且改了埃及化的名字
Just ask Jews in Los Angeles
or St John's Wood today
就像今天 洛杉矶或者伦敦St John's Wood(伦敦著名的高大上街区，地♥产♥价格破天)的
if any of this sounds familiar.
犹太人那样 [这段我理解为当代上述两地的犹太人许多都与异族通婚，改名易教，不确定] #
The people who feature
in the Elephantine papyri
“不过Elephantine岛出土文献上记载的这些犹太人”
are not the grandiose patriarchs
and prophets of the Bible.
“可不是圣经里头那些不接地气的犹太先祖和高高在上的犹太先知”
They're ordinary, everyday Judeans.
“他们只是普通的邻家犹太郎.”
The documents really are
the first complete portrait we have
“这是首次有文献翔实呈现了一幅
of an entire community of Jews.
当年的完整的犹太社区生活图景”
But the Elephantine Jews
did more than just build houses
and lives here.
岛上的犹太居民不只是安居于此
They also built themselves a temple.
他们还建起了属于他们自己的圣殿
According to the strict rules
laid down in the Bible,
根据圣经订下的严格律法
the high temple in Jerusalem was the
only place where it was permitted
耶路撒冷的圣殿是唯一一处允许
to make animal sacrifices to God,
宰牲献祭之所
an essential part of the Jewish
religious ritual of ancient times,
这(宰牲献祭)是古代犹太宗教仪式中的重要组成部分
especially on high days
and holy days, like Passover.
每逢逾越节这类关键的宗教节日就(显得)尤其重要
Perhaps the Elephantine Jews
didn't know about the rule,
也许Elephantine岛上的犹太居民对此律法无知
or perhaps distance
from Jerusalem made them
indifferent to it,
又或者由于离家千里流亡，他们已经对此(律法)不在乎了--
because they built their own temple,
因此他们在异国他乡的
here in the heart
of this alien land.
小岛中心私建了圣殿.
They boasted about its antiquity,
他们四处炫耀此圣殿的历史久远
how it was older
than the rebuilt Jerusalem temple,
声称它比耶城的那个重建品更有年头
with five monumental gateways,
a holy of holies inside,
圣殿有5个宏大的入口，内建了至圣所（神的居所）
with bronze hinges to the doors,
a cedar roof,
配备了青铜门铰链，雪松木屋顶 ... (总之就是豪华装♥修♥)
and gold and silver vessels.
以及金银的祭祀礼拜器具 #
More outrageously, animals were,
indeed, sacrificed to Elephantine
更奇葩的是，他们还真的在这个伪殿里
along with offerings
of grain and fruit.
宰牲献祭，祭品中还有谷物和果品
There was much curling of smoke
and sprinkling of blood.
一时间伪殿里头乌烟瘴气，鲜血四溅。
But circumstances were about to deal
the proud Elephantine Jews
a cruel blow.
不过现实马上就给这些得意忘形的Elephantine犹太人狠狠上了一课
Their temple stood right next
to the Egyptian temple of Khnum,
因为他们的伪殿就建在埃及人的Khnum神庙边上 (Khnum-公羊库努姆神，基本就是创世纪神+河伯)
the ram's-headed god who presided
over the annual life-giving flood
of the Nile.
Khnum 是个羊头人身的神祗， 主管着哺育两岸生灵的尼罗河年度泛滥
The Egyptians held rams sacred,
but the Jews sacrificed them
(信奉多神教的)埃及人对他可是顶礼膜拜。可是隔壁那些
to a God they proclaimed
as the one and only.
不识时务的犹太人成天对着他们自己的“宇宙唯一真神”祭拜
Not tactful.
可以想象当时的埃及人看在眼里有多不爽 #
The priests of Khnum
bribed the commander
of the local Persian garrison
于是Khnum神庙的祭司贿赂了当地波斯驻军的司令官
to attack and destroy
the Jewish temple.
丘八拿钱办事，铲除了犹太圣殿(我看就是伪殿)。
A catastrophe
for the Jews of Elephantine.
对当地犹太人造成灾难性的打击
But, for the temple authorities
in Jerusalem, it was an opportunity,
不过对于远在耶路撒冷的圣殿执事们来说，
when they were asked to support
a petition to rebuild the temple.
来自Elephantine的重修圣殿申请倒也是个机会(来纠正当地的宗教乱象)
There was a lot of stonewalling
at first,
“刚开始自然是各种推诿”
but eventually permission
was granted,
“不过圣殿当局最后还是同意了重修申请”
but on the strict condition
that only cereal and fruit offerings
“只是附带条件非常严苛: 从此Elephantine朝拜所里
were going to be made in Elephantine
in the future.
只能供奉素菜和果品 ”
No more animal sacrifices,
no more blood, no more smoke.
“不允许宰牲，不准见血，不准烧香”
The Elephantine Jews
had been put firmly in their place.
“Elephantine犹太人从此必须安守本分”
They couldn't really describe
their place as a temple any more,
“他们的'圣殿'如今再也不算圣殿了”
it was merely a sanctuary
“仅仅是个庇护所而已”. #
Hard Jerusalem rules
had definitely won.
“耶城最高祭司当局的强势律法规定终获全胜”
By then, a new power was emerging
in the region - the Greeks.
不久，希腊势力崛起
And the Jews were faced
with a new kind of threat -
犹太人这回将面对全新挑战，那就是---
annihilation through assimilation.
和平演变...被同化吸收直至犹太民族的特征消失...
In the 4th century BC, led by
a warrior king called Alexander,
公元前4世纪，希腊人在军事天才亚历山大大帝的
the Greeks took over
the ancient world.
带领下征服了古代世界
In the wake of the warriors
随着铁血武士同时席卷世界的
came the philosophers, poets,
architects and artists,
还有哲学家，诗人，建筑家以及艺术家
who made their own
cultural conquests.
他们带来的是文化领域的征服。
The hard military power
of Assyria or Babylon
之前不管是古亚述或者是古巴比伦军事强权
had sought to destroy Jewish
identity through invasion
and deportation.
他们只是寻求用军事侵略和驱逐来消灭犹太人的民族性。
The soft power of Hellenism
threatened to submerge it
beneath its welcoming waters.
而强势的古希腊文化是软刀子，温水煮青蛙一般消灭犹太文明于无形
I was brought up to believe
that Hellenism and Judaism
“我自小受的教育使我深信”
was one of the great dividing paths
in the history of culture.
“希腊人与犹太人在文化之路上分道扬镳已久，二者的差异在文化史上极为突出”
You couldn't be Jewish
and Greek-ish.
“你不可能既身为犹太人又显得很希腊化”
Which was it going to be -
philosophy or the psalms?
“因为你无法在二者间取舍，你是要宗教热情还是冷静的哲学思维？”
The nude or the word?
“到底是崇尚裸♥露♥的人体之美还是埋头经卷自信书中自有颜如玉？”
God as a formless, invisible being
“上帝到底是无形无像”
or God as the ideal vision
of the human body?
“还是说上帝就该以完美的人体形象来存在？”#
Beauty or law?
“你是要选择白纸黑字的律法？ 还是奔放热情的希腊美学？”
So, what do we make of this?
“(基于这没多的水火不容...)那我们要怎么看这个呢？”
Iraq El Amir--约旦境内的一处地名，出土不少古希腊时期遗址，片中演出的是其中一处希腊建筑风格的宫殿遗址
This spectacular palace,
40 miles east of Jerusalem,
这座壮观的宫殿遗址位于耶路撒冷以东40英里
was built in the 2nd century BC
for a rich Jewish family,
由公元前2世纪某富有犹太家族建造
the Tobiads, who'd made a pile
collecting taxes for the Greek
government in Egypt,
该犹太家家族属于犹太Tobiads部(犹太人的一支，是当时的亲希腊派别), 因为在埃及境内为希腊占领军政♥府♥收税而发了大财。
but it was still kosher enough
to marry into the family
of the high priest.
不过他们依旧谨遵包括《膳食法令》在内的犹太教各项规章制度，算是根正苗红，还与大祭司结了亲家
Their cash bought them an authentic,
Jewish, classical masterpiece,
足够的钱财，使他们得以拥有这座宫殿，正统，犹太式的经典杰作 #
a combination of grace and power.
是优雅与力量的结合体。
Like the Tobiads,
many Jews were seduced by Hellenism.
许多犹太人都像Tobiads那样被希腊文明所深深吸引
Some even went through the painful
operation of reverse circumcision,
其中有些犹太人甚至愿意为了重新长出包皮而忍♥受痛苦的过程。 (割包皮即割礼，是犹太教习俗之一)
an eye-watering procedure
involving weights and pulleys,