» Robert Alter's new Translation of the Pentateuch

I have profited from Alter's translation of Genesis for several years and had heard of but never was exposed to his translations of 1 and 2 Samuel. It is good to see that he has continued his work and now has the entire Pentateuch available. His rendering and commentary of Genesis so as to reflect the ambiguities and puns there makes an already powerful passage stunning, second only to Robert Sack's Lion and Ass, in my humble opinion (which was published in the journal Interpretation some time ago, see here for more and search for Sacks).

His footnotes prove to be enormously helpful too: for relating Genesis' stories to other ancient stories; for etymologies of words; for bringing some traditional Hebrew commentary to bear on his translation.

Here, from The Times, is Peter Ackroyd's review of his new translation. (Hat tip: Arts and Letters). A good excerpt:

It is in a sense The Book, the source and origin of all the narratives of the world. The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and their temptation by the serpent, is one of the shaping myths of the human imagination. The account of the creation of the world may have been called into question by the self-appointed prophets of more recent centuries, but who does not secretly still retain it as a possible and pertinent model of the universe? The myth is perpetual because it corresponds very deeply to some need or belief of humankind.