No version of the Bible is the last word, as this text for grammarians, seminarians, and savants demonstrates—simultaneously...
A poet and translator of classical literature tackles the Good Book to find concealed biblical meaning and nuance.
There are peculiarities, Ruden (Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time, 2010, etc.) discovered, with the King’s English versions of the Old and New Testaments, even if that King is James. Of course, other translations of Scripture have faults, too, but when one seeks to understand what they meant when they first entered the canon, King James is the standard for comparison. The author digs into the original classic Hebrew for the Old Testament and “common dialect” Koine Greek for the New. She compares the rhetorical conventions, grammar, style, and poetics of the Hebrew and Greek to the King James. As paired case studies in translation, she presents, among other passages, the story of David and Bathsheba and the Lord’s Prayer, the accounts of Genesis and the Virgin Birth, the Ten Commandments and the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the book of Jonah and Paul’s comments on circumcision. Ruden retranslates these passages primarily for accuracy. “Don’t close this book,” she writes, “and turn on a PBS documentary about ferrets: what I’m about to tell you is way more interesting.” She follows that with a grammar lesson on indicative and subjunctive moods in Hebrew verb forms. Terms for figures of speech abound, and appended at length are translations with transliterations of Hebrew and Greek with their linguistic peculiarities intact; it will surely be unhelpful to acolytes, while experts will ignore the linguistic detours. Ruden finds hidden meaning in the intricate arrangement of the ancient vocabularies, poetics, and lifestyles, and therein lies the fun. The book is often a master class in translation and Bible studies, though casual readers will decide if her “giant crowd” is more felicitous than “great multitude.”
No version of the Bible is the last word, as this text for grammarians, seminarians, and savants demonstrates—simultaneously didactic and entertaining, academic and easygoing.Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-307-90856-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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