Strong as death is love The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel : a translation with commentary

Robert Alter

Book - 2015

"An award-winning translation brings new immediacy to these beloved books of the Bible. Read them for the first time, again. These five late biblical books offer readers a range of pleasures not usually associated with the Bible. They are artful, entertaining literary works-innovative, even startling. Women often stand center stage. Song of Songs is a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God or covenant. It offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Queen Esther's shrewd triumph is a secular entertainment that mixes farce with sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in... Daniel, whose feverish night dreams envision the end of time. And the traditions of prophecy are recast in the tale of a fish that, on God's command, swallows Jonah and imprisons him in its dark wet innards for three days. Alter's translation restores the original power of these popular books"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : W. W. Norton & Company [2015]
©2015
Language
English
Main Author
Robert Alter (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xvi, 234 pages ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9780393243048
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • The Song of Songs
  • To the Reader
  • The Song of Songs
  • The Book of Ruth
  • To the Reader
  • The Book of Ruth
  • The Book of Esther
  • To the Reader
  • The Book of Esther
  • The Book of Jonah
  • To the Reader
  • The Book of Jonah
  • The Book of Daniel
  • To the Reader
  • The Book of Daniel
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Alter (The Art of Biblical Narrative) continues his project of Bible translation and commentary, turning his attention to a few later books of the Bible books (composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE) that reflect a variety of literary styles. These books include The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel. His translation is sensitive to the nuances in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, and also pleasing to the ear of the English-speaking reader. The translation is accompanied by commentary, explicating, among other things, poetic structure, metaphor, and imagery, and providing context that illuminates occasionally obscure meanings. Each book is preceded by an introduction, explaining its particular literary features, information about its traditional place in the Jewish and Christian canons, and tips for reading the work. Alter argues that The Song of Songs is a collection of secular love poetry, the book of Ruth a late bucolic idyll, and the book of Esther a "carnivalesque" romp; he presents Jonah as an enchanting-and also rigorously monotheistic-recasting of prophecy, and the book of Daniel as a theologically rigorous and challenging work. An accessible introduction for interested general readers, this book should also appeal to scholars. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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