First time in paperback: “One of the most ambitious literary projects of this or any age.”—Adam Kirsch, New Republic Here in Robert Alter's bold new translation are some of the most magnificent works in world literature. The astounding poetry in the Book of Job is restored to its powerful ancient meanings and rhythms. The creation account in its Voice from the Whirlwind is beautiful and incendiary. By contrast, a serene fatalism suffuses Ecclesiastes with a quiet beauty, and the pithy maxims of Proverbs impart a worldly wisdom that is satirically shrewd. Each of these books addresses the universal wisdom that the righteous thrive and the wicked suffer in a rational moral order; together they are essential to the ancient canon that is the Hebrew Bible.
Murphy sees three of the six books (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes) as being technically 'wisdom literature.' The others are either love poems or historical narrative that fit well within the context of the subject presented here. In this volume previous form-critical work is carefully evaluated, and the result is a thorough-going form-critical treatment of this part of the Old Testament. The work is enhanced by bibliographies for each Old Testament book and a glossary of general terms.
Craig G. Bartholomew and Ryan P. O'Dowd provide an informed introduction to the Old Testament wisdom books Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. More than an introduction, however, this is a thoughtful consideration of the hermeneutical implications of this literature.
In his brilliant new translation of one of the Bibles most cherished and powerful books, Alter captures the simplicity, physicality, and coiled rhythmic power of the Hebrew, restoring the remarkable eloquence of these ancient poems.
This volume, which follows the pattern of the highly successful Navarre Bible New Testament, consists of the Revised Standard Version and the New Vulgate with a Commentary by members of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Navarre, Spain.Whereas the first five books of the Old Testament - the Pentateuch - record the Law of Moses in the form of commandments, the Wisdom Books propound that teaching in the form of counsels and proverbs. They also reveal the close connection between knowledge that comes through faith, and knowledge acquired through human reasoning.
"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.
The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
A pioneer in the burgeoning movement to understand the Bible as literature assesses the spate of new developments in this area. Robert Alter reflects on the paradoxes inherent in considering this great religious work as literature.