In this brief book, award-winning biblical translator and acclaimed literary critic Robert Alter offers a personal and passionate account of what he learned about the art of Bible translation over the two decades he spent completing his own English version of the Hebrew Bible.
Alter鈥檚 literary training gave him the advantage of seeing that a translation of the Bible can convey the text鈥檚 meaning only by trying to capture the powerful and subtle literary style of the biblical Hebrew, something the modern English versions don鈥檛 do justice to. The Bible鈥檚 style, Alter writes, 鈥渋s not some sort of aesthetic embellishment of the 鈥榤essage鈥� of Scripture but the vital medium through which the biblical vision of God, human nature, history, politics, society, and moral value is conveyed.鈥� And, as the translators of the King James Version knew, the authority of the Bible is inseparable from its literary authority.
For these reasons, the Bible can be brought to life in English only by re-creating its literary virtuosity, and Alter discusses the principal aspects of style in the Hebrew Bible that any translator should try to reproduce: word choice, syntax, word play and sound play, rhythm, and dialogue. In the process, he provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to biblical style that also offers insights about the art of translation far beyond the Bible.
Robert Alter is professor of the Graduate School and emeritus professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, for which he received the National Jewish Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. His other awards include the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Contribution to American Letters, among other awards. He lives in Berkeley, California.
"Hugely entertaining and irreverent."鈥擜dam Gopnik, New Yorker
"In a series of short essays, [Alter] delves into the minutiae of word choice, syntax and rhythm that make up the substance of a translator鈥檚 work."鈥�New York Times Book Review
"In this slim work, Mr. Alter sets out the principles that govern his translation while also delivering his pointed commentary on almost all other modern versions."鈥擡ric Ormsby, Wall Street Journal
"Alter provides a refreshing look into the complex work of translating the Bible."鈥�Publishers Weekly
"Alter鈥檚 book is a short masterclass in how to appreciate biblical language. We may read through the veil of translation but it helps us glimpse the colour of the original."鈥擲imon Rocker, Jewish Chronicle
"An essential companion volume to [Alter鈥檚] own translations."鈥擩onathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal
"In The Art of Bible Translation, Alter provides an intriguing insight into the complexities he faced in producing, single-handed, his translation of the Hebrew Bible. It makes fascinating reading."鈥擭eville Teller, Jerusalem Post
鈥�The Art of Bible Translation is an extraordinary intellectual adventure. Like Robert Alter鈥檚 translation of the Hebrew Bible itself, this book is a triumph.鈥濃�擬ichael Wood, author of On Empson
鈥淭his deeply personal account of the pleasures and challenges of translating the Hebrew Bible into modern English is lively, engaging, and accessible. It will be especially illuminating to readers who have taken for granted that their beloved translations of the Bible are pure and direct vehicles for the unchanging word of God.鈥濃�擠avid Damrosch, author of What Is World Literature?
