GENESIS. Translation And Commentary.

Alter, Robert

ISBN 10: 0393039811 / ISBN 13: 9780393039818

Published by NY & London. 1996. W.W. Norton & Co., 1996

About this Item

green & green ½ cloth hardbound 8vo. 8º dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. very fine cond. mint cond. looks brand new. as new. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking , underlining, remainder markings etc ~first edition so stated. first printing ( # 1 in # line). li+324p. translation of the Masoretic Hebrew text. references. index. religion. theology. ancient history. ancient philosophy. cosmology. book of genesis.ancient hebrew religion. judaism. christianity. islam. paleography. ancient literature. mythology. folklore. adam and eve. garden of eden. cain & abel. noah and the flood. destruction of sodom and gomorrah. abraham and isaac. jacob and esau. joseph and his brothers. chosen people. ~ Genesis begins with the making of heaven and earth and all life, and ends with the image of a mummy ~Joseph's ~ in a coffin. In between come many of the primal stories in Western culture: Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden of Eden, Cain's murder of Abel, Noah and the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's binding of Isaac, the covenant of God and Abraham, Isaac's blessing of Jacob in place of Esau, the saga of Joseph and his brothers. These are stories we attend to throughout our lives, for their literary power and beauty, their emotional resonance, their philosophical weight, and their sacredness. They connect us with one another and with generations past and future. In Robert Alter's brilliant translation, these stories cohere in a powerful narrative of the tortuous relations between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, elder and younger brothers, God and his chosen people, the people of Israel and their neighbors. Alter's translation recovers the meanings, literary strategies, and eloquence of the ancient Hebrew and conveys them in striking literary English. The result is a Genesis with the continuity of theme and motif of a wholly conceived and fully realized book. Alter's translation is enhanced by his insightful, fully informed commentary, which illuminates the book in its many dimensions.

Seller Inventory # 10302404

Bibliographic Details

• Title: GENESIS. Translation And Commentary.
• Publisher: NY & London. 1996. W.W. Norton & Co.
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393039811
• ISBN 13: 9780393039818
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • judaism
  • biblical studies
  • ancient literature

About this title

Synopsis

The Book of Genesis is regarded as the bedrock of Western civilization and culture, its stories and language reverberating down the centuries. The author of this translation argues in his preface that English readers have not been well served by existing translations. While the "King James" version is a work of literature in its own right, which has greatly contributed to English literature, its translators did not know the Hebrew society and language well enough to be faithful to the original. Modern translations, on the other hand, tend to simplify the Bible, aiming above all to be easily understood, and thereby losing the ambiguities of the original and its music. This translation seeks to bring the great work to life; it has extensive footnotes which aim to throw light on the language and the world of Genesis. Whereas the "King James" version inevitably changed the ancient society of Genesis into an early English one, this translation tries to convey the subtle shades of its social and familial hierarchies. In it, the characters are portrayed as real human beings, complex and flawed, with bodies as well as voices. In capturing the cadences and meanings of the Hebrew Bible, the author attempts to convey its immense literary power.

About the Author

Robert Alter's 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.