Through a distinguished career of critical scholarship, Robert Alter's masterly new translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books. Alter's translation recovers the mesmerising effect of these ancient stories - the profound and haunting enigmas, the ambiguities of motive and image, and the distinctive cadences and lovely precision of the Hebrew text. Alter's translation conveys the music and the meaning of the Hebrew text in a lyrical, lucid English. His commentary illuminates it with learned insight and reflection on its literary and historical dimensions.
The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
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From Publishers Weekly
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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Robert Alter's translation with commentary of The Five Books of Moses can be fairly described as a godsend." Seamus Heaney, Books of the Year, The Times Literary Supplement "In this remarkable translation... a monument of scholarship... Alter brings a kind of sensitivity to bear on moment after moment of his translation..." James Wood, London Review of Books "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, The Times Literary Supplement "...a new translation with fascinating annotations..." Robert Crumb, Summer Books, The Guardian"
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Much of what I have to say in my commentary about the details of the narrative presupposes that Genesis is a coherent book, what we moderns would think of as a work of literature. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Much of what I have to say in my commentary about the details of the narrative presupposes that Genesis is a coherent book, what we moderns would think of as a work of literature. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
Unlike many of the standered translations, i found it was a easy read, and kept my attn. It made it all very interesting, and brought new life to the five books. The only thing i found a tad more difficult was the very wordy commentary. Somethings things are better in plain english. I do give this book two thumbs up. I would strongly recomend this book to anyone.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Andre Lawrence
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Update: Jan. 2010
I wrote to Prof. Alter to inquire about any other biblical translations because, quite frankly, his translation (and, Prof. Everett Fox' translation) are some of the most exciting and intriguing books to be published in any genre. Here is Prof. Alter's response:
Dear Mr. Lawrence,
Many thanks for your enthusiastic response. The next installment of my Bible translations, the Wisdom Books (Job, Qohelet, Proverbs) will be published in October [2010].
All best,
Robert Alter
***** ***** *****
The Five Books Of Moses, a scholarly translation of The Torah by Dr. Robert Alter is nothing short of magnificent. I've been wanting a book such as this for quite some time and to be quite frank, I was greatly disappointed with the recently released Oxford Jewish Bible.
The Five Books of Moses, is just that a translation of the first five books of our Bible, but it also has substantial and thorough annotations which entices the reader to reconsider age-old beliefs about the text and how one perceives the patriarchs, matriarchs and the Torah in general.
In addition to the text, Dr. Alter offers alternative translations based on the oldest historical usage of individual words. In some cases, he also he focuses on the history of the letters and how that might affect translation.
I must also point out that Dr. Alter doesn't side step the influence of rituals and tradition (i.e. the verbal recitation) on the stories. This book reveals much and re-visits long, forgotten lessons. Mazel Tov, Professor.
I wrote to Prof. Alter to inquire about any other biblical translations because, quite frankly, his translation (and, Prof. Everett Fox' translation) are some of the most exciting and intriguing books to be published in any genre. Here is Prof. Alter's response:
Dear Mr. Lawrence,
Many thanks for your enthusiastic response. The next installment of my Bible translations, the Wisdom Books (Job, Qohelet, Proverbs) will be published in October [2010].
All best,
Robert Alter
***** ***** *****
The Five Books Of Moses, a scholarly translation of The Torah by Dr. Robert Alter is nothing short of magnificent. I've been wanting a book such as this for quite some time and to be quite frank, I was greatly disappointed with the recently released Oxford Jewish Bible.
The Five Books of Moses, is just that a translation of the first five books of our Bible, but it also has substantial and thorough annotations which entices the reader to reconsider age-old beliefs about the text and how one perceives the patriarchs, matriarchs and the Torah in general.
In addition to the text, Dr. Alter offers alternative translations based on the oldest historical usage of individual words. In some cases, he also he focuses on the history of the letters and how that might affect translation.
I must also point out that Dr. Alter doesn't side step the influence of rituals and tradition (i.e. the verbal recitation) on the stories. This book reveals much and re-visits long, forgotten lessons. Mazel Tov, Professor.
By Rodge
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Unless you are an expert in Hebrew, as Alter is, and I am not, you will not be able to assess the quality of his translating judgement. Alter attempts to imitate the Hebrew as much as possible in the English, without making it completely unreadable. To that extent he exceeds. His commentary occasionally casts new light on old stories. Highly recommended - this is not a lame attempt to "modernize" the Bible, this is a translating effort worthy of respect. Of course Alter's perspective on the veracity of the Bible will not be shared by all . . . his main perspective is literary, and it is clear that he is not so concerned with historical accuracy and other similar issues in this volume.
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