Genesis and Exodus by Everett Fox

by Matthew Fox

One of the basic resource library books for the Into The Word Into The World program that is used weekly by group members for reading, study, and research.

Paperback

First published January 2, 1991

About the author

Timothy James "Matthew " Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Catholic Church, he became a member of the Episcopal Church following his expulsion from the order in 1993.
Fox has written 35 books that have been translated into 68 languages and have sold millions of copies and by the mid-1990s had attracted a "huge and diverse following"

Reviews

[Orest Mercator · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting concept (that he acknowledges was inspired by Rosenzweig and Buber). I think Fox's project of turning target language into donor language* is a fun novelty for someone interested in getting a sense for how Classical/Biblical Hebrew works. That said, I'm not sure how much use this translation has aside from that novelty. Certainly, Fox's notes are helpful and well done, but on the whole this book is by no means a "must have." At the end of the day, approximating Hebrew in English turns out to be not all that interesting. There are differences, sure, but not enough to give this translation as much redeeming value as one would hope.

*As Walter Benjamin put it: “Our translations, even the best ones, proceed from a mistaken premise. They want to turn Hindi, Greek, English into German instead of turning German into Hindi, Greek, English. Our translators have a far greater reverence for the usage of their own language than for the spirit of the foreign works… The basic error of the translator is that he preserves the state in which his own language happens to be instead of allowing his language to be powerfully affected by the foreign tongue.” (‘The Task of the Translator’)

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoughtful translation accompanied by notes which help to show the story's situation in contemporary traditions and the author's attention to the text.