[While waiting for James D. Tabor to come up with his translation of the Hebrew Bible, this one showed up on the list of amazon.com, in hard copy as well as downloadable as ebook.
Of course when a new translation lands in the marketplace of non-stop publications of yet a newer and better and improved version over the last edition, one tends to think:
Image from amazon.com
What’s new? They almost all sound alike, and some even appear as though they simply ‘eeny-mynie-moe’ through synonyms to avoid overused words and phrases. In fact, one even came up with some sort of ‘take-your-pick’ by including in brackets, every synonym possible for the original Hebrew/Greek word, then calling it “amplified” . . . but then why not? Any aid to one’s understanding of the original is welcome, after all book-production is a free-for-all enterprise, not to forget big business!
This is not to put down efforts to deliver to those of us who do not speak/read/understand biblical Hebrew; definitely, it is good to have continuing updated translations that help us better understand Divine Revelation in a language we are absolutely clueless about. In fact we should be grateful that new generations of translators keep improving as often as necessary, since the alternative is almost—though not impossible—for many of us: learn biblical Hebrew yourself! Hereunder are details about this translation. —Admin1.]
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THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES
A Translation with Commentary
ROBERT ALTER
W.W. Norton & Company NEW YORK LONDON
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First, FYI and some Editorial Reviews:
“This brilliant and rigorous book by Alter, who teaches Hebrew and comparative literature at Berkeley, strikes the perfect balance. It delves into literary and biblical scholarship, yet is accessible to the general reader. It argues forcefully and persuasively, but is never arrogant, even when Alter is detailing the inadequacies of other biblical translations. It points to the ways a single Hebrew word can make all the difference in our understanding of the text, but it never loses the forest for the trees. In a stimulating and thorough introduction, Alter makes a case for the coherence of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) as a whole, while acknowledging that it is “manifestly a composite construction” that was written and edited by many people over several centuries. He discusses why we need yet another translation, contending that every existing English translation has an anemic sense of the English language, while the King James Version—the most beautiful and literary English-language translation—is unreliable and sometimes inaccurate with the original Hebrew. After this energizing introduction, Alter proceeds with his eminently readable translation and fascinating footnotes on various Hebrew terms. This may well be the best one-volume introduction to the Torah ever published in English.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Robert Alter‘s ongoing translation of the Hebrew Bible, the magnificent capstone to a lifetime of distinguished scholarly work, has won the PEN Center Literary Award for Translation. His immense achievements in scholarship ranging from the eighteenth-century European novel to contemporary Hebrew and American literature earned Alter the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Los Angeles Times. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley.
“The poets will rejoice. Alter’s language ascends to a rare purity through plainness that equals the plainness of the Hebrew.” — Cynthia Ozick, The New Republic
“[An] astonishing translation. Out of Mr. Alter’s close reading and translation, something grander really does take shape, along with a conviction that the Bible is not just incidentally mysterious, posing challenges because of its antique references and sources. It is essentially mysterious.” —Edward Rothstein,
New York Times
“[A] remarkable new translation of the Pentateuch, a monument of scholarship. . . . The result greatly refreshes, sometimes productively estranges, words that may now be too familiar to those who grew up with the King James Bible . . . . Alter’s translation brings delight because it follows the precepts of the committee of King James, but is founded on a greatly deeper conversance with Hebrew than the great 17th-century scholars could summon. And Alter . . . brings to his own English a scholarly comprehension of the capacities of literary usage . . . . Especially fine is the way Alter seems to dig into the earth of the Hebrew to recover, in English, its fearless tactility.”—James Wood, London Review of Books
“In the ancient Hebrew, Alter discovers a profound music. He can raise an already beloved text to new heights of resonance and reality . . . . Alter’s combination of a freshly minted text and splendidly concise commentaries makes the biblical words resonate.”—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor
“This is a masterpiece of clarity, erudition, and synthesis. Alter uses his talent as a literary critic to inspire in the reader a passion for studying the text . . . .This work abounds in stimulating thinking and eloquent writing. He honors those he invites not just to follow him but to accompany him.”—Elie Wiesel, Bible Review
“The arrival of this new translation of The Five Books of Moses—a heroic and literary achievement that captures in almost standard English the rhythms, repetition, and beauty of the Hebrew original—is cause for celebration . . . [This translation] well might become the definitive text for readers and scholars alike.”—Pearl Abraham, The Forward
‘The renowned scholar Robert Alter has produced a fresh translation [and] backed it up with an enlightening commentary. The result offers Old Testament newcomers, long-term absentees, and veterans a compelling reading experience.”—Matt Love, Sunday Oregonian
“The Five Books of Moses is a fine work that deserves admiration for its sheer scale and literary power. The commentary is at least as important as the translation, and the two together make up a unique contribution both to biblical studies and to the understanding and appreciation of a text that is central to Western culture.”—John Barton, Times Literary Supplement
“Alter has succeeded admirably in conveying to English readers something of the flair, mystery, majesty, and power of the original Hebrew.”—John W. Rogerson, Church Times
“Alter’s accomplishment is immense. He has produced a translation of the Pentateuch that respects and captures the beauty and majesty of the original.”—Eric Ormsby, New Criterion
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ALSO BY ROBERT ALTER (on Scripture)
Canon and Creavity
Modern Writing and the Authority of Scripture
The David Story
Genesis
Hebrew and Modernity
The World of Biblical Literature
The Pleasures of Reading in an Ideological Age
The Literary Guide to the Bible (coeditor with Frank Kermode)
The Invention of Hebrew Prose
The Art of Biblical Poetry
The Art of Biblical Narrative
Modern Hebrew Literature
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[S6K: It would have been more interesting if there were reviews by Jewish translators/commentators/Rabbis since IT IS THEIR SCRIPTURE, after all . . . but none was provided, perhaps because none bothered.]
CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION
I. APPROACHING THE FIVE BOOKS
II. THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH AND THE HERESY OF EXPLANATION
III. ON TRANSLATING THE NAMES OF GOD
IV. ABOUT THE COMMENTARY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
MAPS
GENESIS
INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK OF GENESIS
EXODUS
INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK OF EXODUS
LEVITICUS
INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS
NUMBERS
INTRODUCTION : THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
DEUTERONOMY
INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY
FOR FURTHER READING
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S6K: Excerpts from Robert Alter’s Introduction will be posted in a subsequent article.