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Summary: A major translation of the First Five Books of The Bible
Review: A glorious book that is magnificently printed. Mr. Fox's translation is pure poetry. The commentary is the best I have ever read. For the Bible student and layman this is a version of the first five books of Moses that should not be missed. Will undoubtly become a classic in Bible literature. The translation from the Hebrew is a joy to read and brings new insights to this the greatest of all books written.
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Summary: disgusting and scary that people actually believe this trash
Review: Anyone capable of rational thought should be thoroughly repelled by the messages found in these books. Thankfully, the truth about them is slowly coming around, thanks in large measure to the growing acceptance of evolutionary theory which unavoidably trashes the primitive notions of our origins found in Genesis.
Few things have inhibited human progress more than deity-based religions have, in particular Judeo-Christianity. These writings have perpetuated some of the most evil aspects of the human condition, most likely far beyond the point when they ordinarily wouldn't have been tolerated any longer. For example - "God" himself condones slavery repeatedly in these books. Look at Exodus 21. How would you like to have to choose (after serving your master as a slave for six years) between freedom without your wife and children (assuming your master has "given" you your wife) or a LIFETIME of slavery with them? The "lifetime" part clearly supercedes any notion of "endentured servitude" (itself no walk in the park and certainly not tolerated by today's standards) espoused by apologists. Most Christians and Jews are too brainwashed to even be able to comprehend the EVIL inherent in Exodus 21 perpetuated by their god. You won't read it in your old high school text book, but slave owners used the Bible to defend their revolting practices in pre-Civil War America. Do some research. Many other examples of evils condoned by "God" can be found.
Religious types will no doubt vote against my little review. They also most likely pick and choose which of "God's" commandments they will follow or even acknowledge like most Christians and Jews do. There's no other way to look at the Bible and believe it to be the divine word of "God," unless you are willing to believe that "God" is sadistically evil.
Christians and Jews, if they are honest, must reconcile themselves with something else: Do you believe in WITCHES? Are you willing to KILL witches as your god commanded in Exodus 22:18? If so, how will you identify them? It would be pretty ridiculous to believe the Bible is the divine word of "God" and not believe in witches. Of course, this little slice of superstitious hogwash is enough for any free thinker to conclude that the Bible is full of hooey and extremely detrimental to mankind to boot. It should also be noted that the only pertenant "context" anywhere near "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" is "Thou shalt not kill."
Check out the extensive rules prescribed by "God" in Deuteronomy about how to conduct animal sacrifices. Sure, it's understandable that primitive people in their particular time and place would do something so wasteful and barbaric, but who in their right mind could believe in a true and timeless god who would prescribe such behavior?
It is scandelously outrageous that anyone in our modern age could subscribe to these myths, these LIES. Our world will never improve until mankind exposes these writings for the lies that they are and moves on. Nothing good can come from something based on lies, certainly not true morality. I consider myself far more moral and good than anyone who could read the passages I've cited above and continue believing. Shame on President Bush for actually citing "Mt. Sinai" in his recent overly religious inauguration speech. The man obviously cannot comprehend the value of keeping church and state seperate as prescribed by the founding fathers (let alone the Constitution). Obviously, he holds the 10 commandements high while ignoring the less savoury ones from "God's" Mt. Sinai speech to Moses, all the while believing that "God" divinely inspired it all. This is stupid and unacceptable. It will tear our nation apart if we're not careful, dividing us between the rational and the blindly religious.
At least I can take comfort in knowing that, eventually, science and rational thought will prevail.
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Summary: The most faithful translation I've ever seen
Review: As a fellow author having also probed the layers of meaning within the Torah (ERIC WESTRA, A NEW BEGINNING, 2000: Buy it!), I must say that I am in awe. This book was an invaluable resource as I did research for my own book. Anyone with a scholarly interest in these first books of the bible should get a hold of Fox's book immediately. Thank you, Mr. Fox.
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Summary: A great read, enlightening
Review: As my Catholic faith has grown, my hunger for my religious roots has evolved also. This translation and commentary of the Torah is an extremely satisfying meal. This reference provided me many new insights to our salvation history. Each book and EACH chapter of each book begins with a excellent insightful commentary, plus the footnotes in the text are rich and answers just about all my questions. Looking forward many years of additional learning from this reference.
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Summary: Simply The Best Ever
Review: Everett Fox's translation of the Torah is plain and simple the finest translation from Hebrew I have ever seen. None of the other notable English translations, from the JPS Tanakh to the excellent Bloch translation of Song of Songs even comes close to the power and faithfulness of Fox's Five Books of Moses. He comes as close as is linguistically possible to capturing the rhythm, nuance, and grace of the Hebrew original as is possible in another langage. Furthermore, when he knows that pure translation will be insufficient to capture a play on words-- how many native English readers even know the Bible is full of plays on words?-- he provides transliterations of the relevant Hebrew phrases as well, so the device becomes apparent.
Some have complained that in forcing the English language to follow the patterns of a different grammatical system-- to say nothing of worldview-- he has twisted even poetic English beyond recognition. But not only is this text highly readable poetry, it reinforces with every word the nearly-always neglected fact that the Tanakh (the "Old Testament") was not written in English, or Latin, or Greek, and represents a vastly different set of literary (and religious) endeavors than the Christian scriptures. It forcefully gives the reader a much-needed reminder that this is not the book you think it is.
Most translations, in smoothing the text out into English prose and poetry, either sacrifice accuracy (e.g. the King James), or sacrifice the poetry (e.g. the JPS, which contains some of the least poetic poetry I can think of), resulting in an anemic set of verses bearing little resemblence to the wild, vibrant song of the Hebrew original. Fox's unique word-flow unpacks the dense Hebrew into a torrent of breathtaking imagery (e.g. "At the beginning of God's creating/of the heavens and the earth,/when the earth was wild and waste,/darkness over the face of Ocean,/rushing-spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters--"). He retains the proper transliterations of the Hebrew names, for an authentic-sounding "Yitzchak" instead of "Isaac," "Yaakov" instead of "Jacob," "Moshe and Aharon" instead of "Moses and Aaron." Perhaps most importantly, he refuses to translate the tetragrammaton, and so instead of "the LORD said this" or "the LORD said that," his text references YHWH (the w instead of the v I expect results from his basing his work on Rosenzweig, who of course used the w because it is pronounced v in German).
My one niggling complaint is his decision regarding the translation of emphatic doubling, so that repetitions like "mot yumat" are translated "he shall die, yes die." It certainly reflects a doubled verb form, and it is certainly different than the traditional, "shall surely die," but I am not wild about the sound of it. But that's a small thing amidst a sea of greatness.
The footnotes and commentary are also very useful, although more so, I think, if you are not a fluent Hebrew speaker familiar with the original text. Nonetheless, I am both, and I still found several highly valuable pieces of information that I did not know, and many more additional comments that presented the text in ways that I had not quite thought of before. One word of warning: if you are looking for a Torah with the traditional Jewish type of commentary (like Hertz or Hirsch or the Artscroll), this is not it. The commentary is not religious, but literary, linguistic, historical, and cultural. You should still get this translation, just be aware of what it is and is not.
Nobody who reads the Bible and speaks English should be without a copy of this. That goes double for anyone who speaks English but not Hebrew.
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Summary: Putting Life back in Biblical Stories
Review: Fox's great accomplishment is the earthiness -- texture, feel & atmosphere -- he puts back into the ancient Near East.
The negotiation scenes, for instance, when Avraham is trying to buy a burial site near Hebron are exactly like it is to barter today in a Middle Eastern souk [market place]. The people & places depicted in his translations are real -- not abstractions dehumanized by centuries of goodie-goodies, or whatever you want to call them. Outsanding, Everett!
-- Buggiesam
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Summary: The bible is great literature and this proves it!
Review: Fox's translation of the Hebrew brings forth the passion of this classic text. His notes and footnotes are illuminating. Truly divine!
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Summary: Definitive Translation
Review: How many people have actually read the bible? While many describe this text as the most important work of western civilization, too many people find it both impenetrable and poorly written. That is not the fault of the actual text; indeed the Hebrew poetry of the bible is among some of the best ever written. The problem lies instead in the translation. Myriad efforts at popular translations have been made, from putting the bible into common English to straight line-by-line English. While these methods render the text more easily read, they also cost it the poetic language and much of its drama.Everett Fox has solved these problems with a translation that is nothing short of masterful. The language is lucid, the prose poetic, and the story intact. Moreover, Fox is an honest translator, detailing his decisions and pointing out where multiple meaning exist. I have read literally dozens of translations of the bible. In my opinion, this is far and away the best. Fox's contribution to the text will surely be remember and appreciated both now and for decades to come.
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Summary: The Original Hebrew Springs to Life
Review: I am not a Hebrew Scholar; I do not even qualify as a Hebrew Student. Yet this Biblical translation infuses new life into the first five books of the Old Testament. The meter, the poetry, the nuisances lost in other English translations have been magically restored by Everett Fox. Mix in the insightful commentary that appears opposite the text and you have what is rapidly becoming the translation I reach for when I read or study passages from the Five Books of Moses.
Rating:
Summary: The Original Hebrew Springs to Life
Review: I am not a Hebrew Scholar; I do not even qualify as a Hebrew Student. Yet this Biblical translation infuses new life into the first five books of the Old Testament. The meter, the poetry, the nuisances lost in other English translations have been magically restored by Everett Fox. Mix in the insightful commentary that appears opposite the text and you have what is rapidly becoming the translation I reach for when I read or study passages from the Five Books of Moses.
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