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The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary
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Average Rating:  out of 23 Reviews
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Price: $24.95
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Sale: $14.70
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Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780393333930
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Robert Alter
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Publisher: W. W. Norton
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Dewey Decimal Number: 221
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Publication Date: 2008-10-06
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Reading Level: 1064
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Description: "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.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: A priest's review a Jewish Commentry on the Pentateuch |
Date: 2008-12-02 |
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Details: I have ever had a great love of, and interest in, the Scriptures. From the beginning of my interest I have carried on delving into the background of the Scriptures both from the texts, English, Latin and Greek, and also their historical background.
All the commentaries I have studied were written by Christian authors.
Finding the "Five Books of Moses" by Robert Alter, a Jewish Scholar, has quite opened my eyes to aspects of the Scriptures I had never encountered before. As it is over 1,000 pages long I use it for cross references and find it very illuminating and certainly don't see myself reading it from cover to cover! As a work of reference, however, I'm finding it both very interesting and enriching and worth every penny. |
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Review Summary: Let the reader dive in! |
Date: 2008-09-21 |
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Details: Years ago, classicist Richard Lattimore set out to offer a one-person translation of the entire New Testament from its original Greek. With "The Five Books of Moses," "The David Story" (1 & 2 Samuel), and "The Book of Psalms," Robert Alter is well-along the much longer path of providing something similar for the Hebrew Bible. Though Lattimore's translation provided only the barest of end-notes, Alter brings to bear perhaps four times as much commentary as actual translation, so that one is more likely to spend one's time in the notes than in a continuous reading of the text. Not a bad place to spend some time, it turns out.
In introducing New Testament letters in the New Interpreter's Bible (Volume X), Robert W. Wall discusses three goals in considering a Biblical text: (1) To discover something of the ancient "world behind" the text, (2) to examine the "world within" the text via study of its literary arrnagent, and (3) to engage readers living in the "world before" the text, as it may speak to modern audiences. In Alter's project, it is the world within the text which he seeks most to illumine, though he presents enough of the world behind the text to provide background sufficient to the task. (Thoughtful readers may thereby be able to better recognize the range of meanings available "before" the text as well, though that seems not to be Alter's primary aim.)
It's delightful to read (or to play in, really) Alter's notes. In the Song of the Sea, for example, on leading to the Israelites through the waters to safety, Alter points to its heightened testament to God's activity via the strikingly patterned use of the Hebrew verbs "nattita"..."nahita"..."neihalta" (" You stretched out"..."You led forth"..."You guided" -- Exodus 15: 12-13). Does learning of such assonance help one better appreciate the world within the text? If so, let the reader dive in! I look forward to having Alter as a continuing guide to the literary terrain of the Bible. And to a one-volume, non-annotated, translation-only edition of his completed work, some day! |
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Review Summary: A Beautiful Edition |
Date: 2008-04-27 |
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Details: Alter, Robert. "The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary", W.W, Norton, 2004.
A Beautiful Edition
Amos Lassen
I am always on the lookout for new editions and new commentaries of "The Five Books of Moses". The beauty of the books is that they can be read and reread and each time new ideas can be found. Alter gives us a faithful English translation of the books and every translation is a commentary in its own right. Alter is one of the leading, if not the leading, Hebrew translator at work today and what he gives us here is both thoughtful and fascinating. He looks more at Biblical themes and poetics rather than a strict historical translation giving new life to the words on the page. Rather than translate the Torah as a historical document, he works with it as a piece of literature and his final translation is stunning. The commentary and background information show the intricacies of the Hebrew language. Alter manages to give a perfect balance between the original language of the Torah and the detail that he provides in the English language. The text is lively as are the footnotes which tell a great deal about the Mosaic text. Alter gives great detail as he describes the origins of many Hebrew words and explains their usage in the context of the Torah text as well as pointing out how rabbinical scholars view the words. This gives the reader a chance to see the text from both a modern perspective alongside a traditional view.
Alter considers the major views of "The Five Books" (Yahwist, Elohist, Deuternomic and Priestly) but also goes to Jewish and Christian scholarship in the commentaries and introductions he provides and sometimes takes issues with leading theories providing the reader with new food for thought. Alter is seen throughout the text with his many footnotes of explanations and we never lose sight that this is his translation and commentary. He, however, never forces his thoughts on the reader and even though I felt he was looking over my shoulder as I read, I never once found him to be intrusive. In fact, I kind of look at him as an old friend and mentor who is there to answer my many questions. His psychological observations, however, at times, seem a tad speculative but, on the other hand, he does show the humanity of the characters and rather then being just names on a page, they come to life.
I am particularly fond of Alter's approach to the book of "Genesis" as he gives the state of the human before the patriarchal rise of the Israelites and then he looks at the patriarchs as human. "Genesis" of late has taken a major role in the world because of what the Christian world calls "original sin" but when we read the first book in context with the other four, we realize that the entire Pentateuch is merely the background for Moses, the protagonist of almost the entire Torah. He becomes the mouthpiece of G-d and it is from his lips that we receive both the wrath of the Supreme Being as well as the law. The Torah, without Moses, would not have much to say.
It is astounding when we see that the ratio of law to narrative is four to one and reading about the law is perhaps the most difficult aspect of "The Five Books". There is a great deal of repetition but Alter shows that this is necessary to stress the importance of Mosaic Law.
The modern age that we live in is one of extreme arrogance and as we become more and more modern, it becomes more and more difficult to get past the diversities of culture and religion. Many dismiss the Torah as being hard to understand and merely a representation of an ancient culture that has little bearing on life today. The difficulty of the philosophy and the tremendous amount of repetition seem to underlie the mentality of modern man but a study of "The Five Books of Moses" allows for thoughtful questioning and a better understanding of issues about modern Israel. But we must also not forget that the Pentateuch is not an end all but merely one of the building blocks of all of the Hebrew scriptures and in order to gain a full understanding of what we have, further study is needed. Nevertheless, Robert Alter is a fine place to start.
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Review Summary: Gross Omissions |
Date: 2007-05-30 |
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Details: This is not a comment on the substance of Dr Alter's translation. I opened it today for comparative study; I own three other versions of The Five Books. To my dismay, I find no Parashat-Named Headings,none; merely Chapter Headings,and Bk Chapt.#s at the top of each page. I sought refuge in the index. There is no index! I have read many reviews and comments of this work and none, not one, mentioned this glaring omission. For a layman as myself I find this book too tedius to bother with,other than when I go to another version for the missing information. It is beyond my comprehension how this highly praised book by a masterful author could be published without the norms I have mentioned. |
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Review Summary: Very Helpful Commentary |
Date: 2007-01-10 |
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Details: I've been using this text as part of a Bible Study I conduct. The commentary is primarily a translator's. What I mean by that is that it's not mainly a theological commentary, but one which seeks to understand the Hebrew text and explain how the translator sees the text. I like that insofar as what I'm looking for is an attempt at an accurate translation rather than as someone promoting his own theological agenda. If you're looking for theological interpretations, then this commentary would be of limited interest. The primary goal is to render an accurate literary translation of the Hebrew and to offer some archeological/ancient cultural commentary. I can see this text useful regardless of whether it's used by Jews or Christians. |
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