Genesis: Translation and Commentary by R. B. Alter

Definitely not a commentary of the normal variety, this is the product of a brilliant literary critic’s “experiment in re-presenting the Bible–and, above all, biblical narrative prose in a language that conveys with some precision the semantic nuances and the lively orchestration of literary effects of the Hebrew and at the same time has stylistic and rhythmic integrity as literary English.” In other words, this is Alter’s attempt to reproduce the finer nuances of the Hebrew text of Genesis in contemporary English idiom. Following a 30-page critique of everything that’s “seriously wrong with all the familiar English translations, traditional and recent, of the Hebrew Bible” (on which he is at least partially correct), Alter briefly introduces Genesis and then embarks on his own lively and fluent translation, with footnotes that explain some of his translational choices. Those footnotes are the extent of the commentary. Alter’s work won’t substitute for more rigorous textual engagement of the explanatory sort, but it definitely opens up fresh possibilities when read with discernment.

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