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Loading... The Great Poems of the Bible: A Reader's Companion with New Translations (1999)by James L. Kugel
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In The Great Poems of the Bible, James Kugel, acclaimed Harvard scholar and former poetry editor of Harpers Magazine, selects eighteen essential poems from the Hebrew Bible and offers his own original and articulate translations of these core pieces of religious literature. His eloquent renditions are paired with deeply informed discussions about the conditions surrounding each poem, including its history and whatÊthe best religious scholarship and literary criticism tell us about how the poem should be understood. Kugel explains traditions, clarifies often-misunderstood language, and offers readers wonderfully insightful explanations that are indispensable to understanding the poems and, ultimately, the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)892.4Literature Literature of other languages Middle Eastern languages Jewish, Israeli, and HebrewLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Incidentally, I found his discussion in the introduction about the process of translation especially useful as we in the Catholic Church prepare for our new translation of the Roman Missal. I wish our translators had read Kugel's reflections on why you don't translate word-for-word: "The translation sounds stilted and arcane, whereas the original sounds natural."
The introduction also includes a very good discussion of Hebrew poetry - its structure and its internal relationships. I found it both interesting and helpful.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading the Old Testament with an eye to catching the meanings that the original Hebrew writers and readers did. ( )