The Art of Bible Translation

by Robert Alter

Publisher:

Princeton University Press

, 2020

Overview

In this brief book, award-winning biblical translator Robert Alter offers a personal and passionate account of what he learned about the art of Bible translation during the two decades he spent completing his own English version of the Hebrew Bible. Showing why the Bible and its meaning can be brought to life in English only by re-creating the subtle and powerful literary style of the original text, Alter discusses the principal aspects of biblical Hebrew 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.

Key Features

• Offers a personal and passionate account of what he learned about the art of Bible translation
• Discusses the principal aspects of biblical Hebrew that any translator should try to reproduce
• Provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to biblical style that also offers insights about the art of translation far beyond the Bible

Praise for The Art of Bible Translation

Alter sets out the principles that govern his translation while also delivering his pointed commentary on almost all other modern versions. . . . This thrashing is long overdue and mightily refreshing.

—Eric Ormsby, Wall Street Journal

A short masterclass in how to appreciate biblical language.

—Simon Rocker, Jewish Chronicle

An essential companion volume to [Alter’s] own translations.

—Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal

Product Details

• Title: The Art of Bible Translation
• Author: Robert Alter
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Pages: 152
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:RTBBLTRNSLTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-30T20:46:17Z

About Robert Alter

Robert Alter is professor of the Graduate School and emeritus professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His many books include The Pleasures of Reading in an Ideological Age, Imagined Cities: Urban Experience and the Language of the Novel, and Pen of Iron: American Prose and the King James Bible (Princeton). He lives in Berkeley, California.