[MS: In a recent podcast, Alter responds to confusion over whether he mistranslates the "Bible as (merely) literature," like a modern novel or an epic poem, that is, a secular text without the Divine or God.
Can believers read Alter's translations and Notes and maintain their religious beliefs? As discussed in the recent podcast, Yes they can. and many believers find the Bible actually speaks more clearly in all ways with Alter's guide to its literary techniques and his translation.
Alter's work is a challenge. Listening to his own words in lectures and interviews makes it easier to follow. See:
There is an unfair and common misconception that Alter reduces the Bible to secular literature. Alter presents the Biblical text in its own terms.
He does not purport to replace the Bible's presentation of God or the Divine with anything, including of course, his own personal beliefs (whatever they may be, something never stated in his translations). See the discussion in many sheets in:
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What does Alter think about the Bible?
We do not know what Alter's personal opinions are about the Bible, nor Alter's religious identity, nor his religious beliefs. This is intentional.
Alter's work is about letting the Bible's text speak for itself, free of misinformed, bad translations and free of the appropriations by others over the eons, such as the gloss of King James bible or other agendas.
See Robert Alter And The Art of Biblical Disappointment, May 3, 2019, where the author, a PhD graduate student of Alter, got to know his teacher quite well. He wrote this about Alter's approach to Bible's text vs Alter's personal opinions:
"I have never asked Alter about the broader meanings of his work. In all the time I have studied with him — poring over Exodus, the Song of Songs, Yehudah Amichai, Dahlia Ravikovitch, and so on in three-hour-long seminars; answering his questions during my oral exams; mulling over his critiques of my dissertation chapters — it never came up." ...
The book reminds me intensely of his presence in class. It is packed with precise, judicious observations about a treasured text: that the Moabites who hearing no response from their king, speculate that he is on the toilet, are actually smelling his decomposing body; that when the Israelite assassin blasts his horn to rally his troops, the text uses the same word as it did to describe his earlier sword-thrust. And Alter is judiciously scathing about the literary incompetents who produce modern translations,...
....
That said, this book does not discuss the broader questions: the translation’s cultural significance, religion and literature in contemporary America, the Jewish question, and so on. It is, as an academic would say, “under-theorized” — an ungainly word Alter would never use and an accusation I think he would not mind. The word “art” in his title is the rough equivalent of the Greek techne — the trained ability to do delicate work skillfully, intended to craft a well-wrought urn rather than to elicit a revelation." [MS: Emphasis and formatting added]
Raphael Magarik https://forward.com/culture/423678/robert-alter-and-the-art-of-biblical-disappointment/
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[MS: copyright material; Edits and emphasis added.]
Interviewer: JJ Kimche - Researcher; Translator; Editor; Archivist; Educator; PhD Candidate at Harvard University:
"FAVOURITE PODCAST CONVERSATION – THE 'ALTER REBBE' Recently, on the PODCAST OF JEWISH IDEAS, I had the rare honour and privilege of an in-depth conversation with Professor Robert Alter.
For those who don't know, Robert Alter is a national treasure of the Jewish people. One of the greatest living authorities on Hebrew and Jewish writings, his works have enlightened scholars and laymen alike for over half a century.
In 2018, he finally published his magnum opus – an astonishing translation and commentary of the entire Hebrew Bible. The words usually trotted out on such occasions (‘genius’, ‘monumental’, ‘spectacular’) hardly do justice to Alter’s edition of the bible. When all is said and done, it may well stand as the greatest single achievement within the field of Jewish studies during the twenty-first century.
Above all, he was a WONDERFUL interlocutor – patient, convivial, heartwarming, intriguing, and intellectually dazzling.
I invite you all to listen to this wonderful dialogue. Although unlikely, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 😀
#translation #Jewish #bible #podcast #history #religion
https://lnkd.in/eA5mw-BQ"
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J.J. Kimche Interviewer: "In my experience, a literary reading of the Bible, especially when you compare literary elements from different books, it does give the sense of both and underlying unity of the Tanakh in certain ways but also a beauty add a depth and a richness that perhaps one wouldn’t have seen on first glance without the able guide of Alter, or any of those who read the Bible in your vain; ...
And, therefore, again, it seems to be conducive to religious faith -
in the sense that it deepens ones appreciation for the wisdom or brilliance of the Bible - which, when married to a theological basis of this as divine, or divinely inspired text - that advance this kind of worldview quite considerably.”
Alter: "Yes, I agree with that.”
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