The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
by Robert Alter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert AlterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-17
ISBN: 0393333930
Number of pages: 1120
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
Book Review: An excellent thought-provoking translation and commentary
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Alter, an expert on both the Bible and literature, presents a unique, interesting and informative translation and commentary on the Five Books of Moses. For example, the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) translates Genesis 1, verses 1 though 3, as follows:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said `Let there be light.' And there was light.
There are several problems with these verses, both in the original Hebrew and in this English translation. Two problems are: First, contrary to what seems to be stated, the heaven and earth were not the first creations; verse 3 says that the first creation was light. Second, what is the meaning of the Hebrew tohu vavohu, which JPS translated "unformed and void."
The classical Jewish rabbinic Bible commentator Rashi, who was born in 1040, understood the first verse differently than the usual translations such as JPS. Alter incorporates Rashi's interpretation when he writes:
When God began to create heaven and earth, and the earth then was welter and waste and darkness over the deep and God's breath hovering over the waters, God said. "Let there be light." And there was light.
Thus, according to Rashi and Alter, heaven and earth were not the first creations.
Alter handled the second problem in his commentary where he writes that that the word vavohu is a nonce term coined to rhyme with tohu and to reinforce it. A nonce term is a word invented for one occasion. Alter seems to be correct. The Hebrew words tohu and vavohu do rhyme and do have a "ring" to them. In this case, Alter did not borrow from an ancient sage, but used his own training. He treated the Torah as literature and sought to explain the Torah's literary style.
These two examples from the first page of Alter's book show that the work contains a new vibrant translation and an original commentary that stimulates readers to think about the Bible; in this instance, that Scripture was frequently written in a poetic fashion.
I wrote a review of Everett Fox's and David Rosenberg's Bible translations today and readers may want to read them to see the differences between the three approaches to Scripture.
Summary of The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
"A modern classic....Thrilling and constantly illuminating."?Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World
Through a distinguished career of critical scholarship and translation, Robert Alter has equipped us to read the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, cohesive work of literature. In this landmark work, Alter's masterly translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books. Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Translation and the Koret Jewish Book Award for Translation, a Newsweek Top 15 Book, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book.Reference Books
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