Europeanness and scripture in David Frischmann’s translation of “Also Sprach Zarathustra”

The article examines David Frischmann’s well-known yet little-studied translation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The article opens by placing the Zarathustra translation in the context of Frischmann’s adulation of European literature, suggesting that the biblical Hebrew idiom his translations develop is at odds with the broader scheme of his cultural architecture. It is followed by a detailed evaluation of Frischmann’s reception of Nietzsche’s work, reconstructing the Hebrew author’s idiosyncratic definition of the philosopher’s “Europeanness.” The article concludes with a close analysis of what I define as the “scriptural quality” that Frischmann sought to grant his translation, justified by his identification of Nietzsche as the modern author who came closest to reflecting the Bible’s aesthetic greatness.