In this radical approach to the Bible, an acclaimed Hebrew scholar and translator looks at the Old Testament with a fresh perspective.With a fundamental return to its narrative prose, Robert Alter translates this section of the Bible through the eyes of a literary critic. He considers the Bible as literary text, guiding readers to approach scripture in a profoundly thoughtful way, proving himself to be a timeless poet in his field.

From the recipient of the National Jewish Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, a "hugely entertaining and irreverent" (Adam Gopnik, New Yorker) account of the art of translating the Hebrew Bible into EnglishIn 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 vers...

A landmark event: the complete Hebrew Bible in the award-winning translation that delivers the stunning literary power of the original.A masterpiece of deep learning and fine sensibility, Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible, now complete, reanimates one of the formative works of our culture. Capturing its brilliantly compact poetry and finely wrought, purposeful prose, Alter renews the Old Testament as a source of literary power and spiritual inspiration...

From a renowned literary scholar, the definitive guide to the poetry of the Hebrew Bible"Intelligent, precise and exciting" (Peter Levi, The New York Times Book Review)Renowned literary expert Robert Alter's translation of the Hebrew Bible has electrified readers worldwide. In his classic The Art of Biblical Poetry, Alter radically expands the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human crea...

"A modern classic....Thrilling and constantly illuminating."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book WorldThrough 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 Awar...

A landmark event: the complete Hebrew Bible in the award-winning translation that delivers the stunning literary power of the original. A masterpiece of deep learning and fine sensibility, Robert Alter's translation of the Hebrew Bible, now complete, reanimates one of the formative works of our culture. Capturing its brilliantly compact poetry and finely wrought, purposeful prose, Alter renews the Old Testament as a source of literary power and spiritual inspiration. From the family fricti...

One of Newsweek’s Best Books of the Year and winner of the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement.A cornerstone of the scriptural canon, the Book of Psalms has been a source of solace and joy for countless readers over millennia. This timeless poetry is beautifully wrought by a scholar whose translation of the Five Books of Moses was hailed as a “godsend” by Seamus Heaney and a “masterpiece” by Robert Fagles. Alter’s The Book of Psalms captu...

How the King James Bible has influenced the style of the American novel from Melville to Cormac McCarthyThe simple yet grand language of the King James Bible has pervaded American culture from the beginning—and its powerful eloquence continues to be felt even today. In this book, acclaimed biblical translator and literary critic Robert Alter traces some of the fascinating ways that American novelists—from Melville, Hemingway, and Faulkner to Bellow, Marilynne Robin...

"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David i...

The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible is an examination of the Bible's use of dialogue, a feature of literary writing often seen in prose, drama, and verse. Perhaps best known for its use in novels, it reflects characters' temperaments, social and educational backgrounds, their psychology, and their relationships with their interlocutors—and its use is rarely acknowledged within the narratives of the Bible.Comparing a wide range of dialogue specimens in the Hebrew Bible w...

From celebrated translator of the Hebrew Bible Robert Alter, the “groundbreaking” (Los Angeles Times) book that explores the Bible as literature, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award.Renowned critic and translator Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Narrative has radically expanded our view of the Bible by recasting it as a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In this seminal work, Alter describe...

Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Updated with a new preface, myriad revisions, and passages f...