Being an obedient Newbie (?What is thy bidding my mater?) I?ve read the FAQ (July 30th) and came across the following: > 26. What does the Hebrew lettering on Darth Vader's chest-plate mean? >Answer: The chest-plate can be seen at >http://www.umr.edu/~hanlon/picpage.htm Of course I rushed to explore that site!! Hebrew lettering on "Papa" ?s chest-plate !? [ If my *real* father knew who I soo fondly call "papa" ;) ] >The readers of rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc have been researching this topic. Hope I wont be 'flamed' for bringing it all up again, but I think I have a - ?significant contribution?, that may shed some light on this matter?.. Especially as Hebrew is my first language! >The readers believe that it is indeed Hebrew lettering. Indeed it is? >Some possible translations are "until he won" >(where 'won' means a prize or money as opposed to a victory) Well, roughly? > or "until a return" Incorrect !!! >David Fleischer recently wrote in saying that - >The first line may be "Or, and his works", Not entirely correct. > the second may be "which will move", ????????????????????????????????????? >and the third may be "until he has won". Well, this IS true - ?from a certain point of view? :) These lines (which, together form ONE sentence BTW), are written in an ancient (Or ?Biblical? if you like) Style / Syntax, as opposed to Modern Hebrew Syntax. In Hebrew (Like in many other languages, both modern and ancient), Words often have several ?meanings? - (Regardless of the style, grammar, or syntax in which they are used). These are then defined according to the context of the sentence . Therefore, translating these lines can be tricky?.. With that in mind ;) I would suggest the following translation: The First Line - (Phonetically pronounced - ?Ein Maasav?) Means - ?His deeds (and not ?works?) will not? The Second Line - this is a difficult one: To begin with it is placed up-side down! + I think it is partially covered (i.e. the letters are partially ?cut?), + I think it is misspelled as well? (That is if I guessed it right in the first place!) Anyhow, IMHO, this line means - ?Be forgiven? (Phonetically pronounced - ?Nisslachim?) And The Third Line (Phonetically pronounced - ?Aad shezacha?) Means - ?Until he merits? (and not ?won?) Put together, the sentence reads - ?His deeds will not be forgiven, until he merits? Which, not only makes MUCH more sense (IMHO), but also sounds very familiar. I know I?ve herd it before, but for the life of me I just cannot remember where? At first I thought it may be part of the prayers or hymns of the Jewish - ?Day of Atonement? service. I?ve look it up (read the whole thing) and it?s not in there. Then I thought it might be mentioned in the holy scriptures - in one of the books that deals with repentant - ?Palms? / ?Proverbs? / ?Ecclesiastes?..? (May be the book of prophets as well?) As I?m not orthodox - my knowledge of the old testament does not go beyond ?basic? (in Jewish terms). My knowledge of the new testament is probably less then ?basic? - Anyone out there care to have a go? It just might be in there ( in an English version of course! ) I?m currently researching these venues. I haven?t found anything yet..? But you?ll be the first to know if I do! [ BTW, someone at work was very impressed with my - ?religious devotion? - If only they knew :D ] The more interesting aspect of this ?mystery chest-plate? is - Who put it there? And why? Is it meant to be part of the story? Or just an anecdote? Another related issue is the ?upside-down? line / word... In the ?Kabala? (=Jewish mysticism) words are very powerful. Perhaps placing a word upside-down can reverse its meaning? (I?m not an expert in 'Kabala' either). If this is the case, does the chest-plate convey some kind of prophecy or 'curse' placed by - say - Yoda, or Ben - only to be 'reversed' by our beloved Palpy? (Wild speculation..?) Or may be it?s just a fluke? May be the costume department just got it wrong, by mistake? ;) [Someone that knew nothing of the ?hidden meaning? - in these odd Hebrew symbols (regarding them as just an ?exotic font?) accidentally placed it upside-down?..] Coincidence? I think not! In any case - food for thought?.. -anat ?Our childhoods never end... They simply move on? [English Poem]