Strong As Death Is Love

February 9, 2015
Alter (The Art of Biblical Narrative) continues his project of Bible translation and commentary, turning his attention to a few later books of the Bible books (composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE) that reflect a variety of literary styles. These books include The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel. His translation is sensitive to the nuances in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, and also pleasing to the ear of the English-speaking reader. The translation is accompanied by commentary, explicating, among other things, poetic structure, metaphor, and imagery, and providing context that illuminates occasionally obscure meanings. Each book is preceded by an introduction, explaining its particular literary features, information about its traditional place in the Jewish and Christian canons, and tips for reading the work. Alter argues that The Song of Songs is a collection of secular love poetry, the book of Ruth a late bucolic idyll, and the book of Esther a “carnivalesque” romp; he presents Jonah as an enchanting—and also rigorously monotheistic—recasting of prophecy, and the book of Daniel as a theologically rigorous and challenging work. An accessible introduction for interested general readers, this book should also appeal to scholars.