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The Early Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings: The Schocken Bible, Volume II
The story of ancient Israel, from the arrival in Canaan to the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah and the Babylonian exile some six centuries later, here is the highly anticipated second volume in Everett Fox’s landmark translation of the Hebrew Bible.
The personalities who appear in the pages of The Early Prophets, and the political and moral dilemmas their stories illuminate, are part of the living consciousness of the Western world. From Joshua and the tumbling walls of Jericho to Samson and Delilah, the prophet Samuel and the tragic King Saul, David and Goliath, Bathsheba and Absalom, King Solomon’s temple, Elijah and the chariot of fire, Ahab and Jezebel—the stories of these men and women are deeply etched into Western culture because they beautifully encapsulate the human experience. The four books that comprise The Early Prophets look at tribal rivalries, dramatic changes in leadership, and the intrusions of neighboring empires through the prism of the divine-human relationship. Over the centuries, the faithful have read these narratives as demonstrations of the perils of disobeying God’s will, and time and again Jews in exile found that the stories spoke to their own situations of cultural assimilation, destruction, and the reformulation of identity. They have had an equally indelible impact on generations of Christians, who have seen in many of the narratives foreshadowings of the life and death of Jesus, as well as models for their own lives and the careers of their leaders.
But beyond its importance as a foundational religious document, The Early Prophets is a great work of literature, a powerful and distinctive narrative of the past that seeks meaning in the midst of national catastrophe. Accompanied by illuminating commentary, notes, and maps, Everett Fox’s masterly translation of the Hebrew original re-creates the echoes, allusions, alliterations, and wordplays that rhetorically underscore its meaning and are intrinsic to a timeless text meant to be both studied and read aloud.
The personalities who appear in the pages of The Early Prophets, and the political and moral dilemmas their stories illuminate, are part of the living consciousness of the Western world. From Joshua and the tumbling walls of Jericho to Samson and Delilah, the prophet Samuel and the tragic King Saul, David and Goliath, Bathsheba and Absalom, King Solomon’s temple, Elijah and the chariot of fire, Ahab and Jezebel—the stories of these men and women are deeply etched into Western culture because they beautifully encapsulate the human experience. The four books that comprise The Early Prophets look at tribal rivalries, dramatic changes in leadership, and the intrusions of neighboring empires through the prism of the divine-human relationship. Over the centuries, the faithful have read these narratives as demonstrations of the perils of disobeying God’s will, and time and again Jews in exile found that the stories spoke to their own situations of cultural assimilation, destruction, and the reformulation of identity. They have had an equally indelible impact on generations of Christians, who have seen in many of the narratives foreshadowings of the life and death of Jesus, as well as models for their own lives and the careers of their leaders.
But beyond its importance as a foundational religious document, The Early Prophets is a great work of literature, a powerful and distinctive narrative of the past that seeks meaning in the midst of national catastrophe. Accompanied by illuminating commentary, notes, and maps, Everett Fox’s masterly translation of the Hebrew original re-creates the echoes, allusions, alliterations, and wordplays that rhetorically underscore its meaning and are intrinsic to a timeless text meant to be both studied and read aloud.
- GenresReligionOld Testament
880 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2014
24 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Everett Fox
17 books14 followersEverett Fox is a scholar and translator of the Hebrew Bible, a graduate of Brandeis University. He is currently the Allen M. Glick Professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies and director of the program in Jewish Studies at Clark University.
Dr. Fox received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D from Brandeis University in 1968, 1972, and 1975, respectively. He has been at Clark since 1987. Dr. Fox serves as director of the program in Jewish Studies, and is also affiliated with the programs in Race and Ethnic Relations and Comparative Literature.
Dr. Fox's main scholarly focus is the rhetoric and internal coherence of the Hebrew Bible, and how they may be brought out in translation. In 1995, Everett published The Five Books of Moses, which tries to echo characteristics of the Hebrew text; in November of 1999, Give Us a King! Samuel, Saul, and David, a translation of the book of Samuel along similar lines, appeared. He is also interested in how the Bible has been transformed at each stage by generations of Israelites, Jews, and Christians. He teaches courses in which texts serve as windows to the attitudes and concerns of Jews through the ages.
Dr. Fox's activities in translation have led him to some unexpected places. He was a religious consultant on the animated film Prince of Egypt, and has been collaborating with an American-Israeli artist, Schwebel, who sets the David stories against the backdrop of 1980s Jerusalem.
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Dr. Fox received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D from Brandeis University in 1968, 1972, and 1975, respectively. He has been at Clark since 1987. Dr. Fox serves as director of the program in Jewish Studies, and is also affiliated with the programs in Race and Ethnic Relations and Comparative Literature.
Dr. Fox's main scholarly focus is the rhetoric and internal coherence of the Hebrew Bible, and how they may be brought out in translation. In 1995, Everett published The Five Books of Moses, which tries to echo characteristics of the Hebrew text; in November of 1999, Give Us a King! Samuel, Saul, and David, a translation of the book of Samuel along similar lines, appeared. He is also interested in how the Bible has been transformed at each stage by generations of Israelites, Jews, and Christians. He teaches courses in which texts serve as windows to the attitudes and concerns of Jews through the ages.
Dr. Fox's activities in translation have led him to some unexpected places. He was a religious consultant on the animated film Prince of Egypt, and has been collaborating with an American-Israeli artist, Schwebel, who sets the David stories against the backdrop of 1980s Jerusalem.
Read more
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 22, 2020
Volume I of the Schocken Bible, Everett Fox's translation of the Pentateuch, is one of my all-time favorite books. This one isn't far behind.
Two things make this series stand out: Fox's translation, which captures the rhythms and wordplay of books meant to be read aloud; and the commentaries, historical notes, and maps which help the lay reader understand and contextualize the text.
I wouldn't dream of reviewing Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. I would, however, encourage the interested reader to seek out copies of Fox's translations. They're clear, they're beautiful, and they're the finest contemporary translations of these foundational documents I've had the pleasure to read.
Recommended for: historians, theologians, and general readers of religious texts.
Two things make this series stand out: Fox's translation, which captures the rhythms and wordplay of books meant to be read aloud; and the commentaries, historical notes, and maps which help the lay reader understand and contextualize the text.
I wouldn't dream of reviewing Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. I would, however, encourage the interested reader to seek out copies of Fox's translations. They're clear, they're beautiful, and they're the finest contemporary translations of these foundational documents I've had the pleasure to read.
Recommended for: historians, theologians, and general readers of religious texts.
January 8, 2015
After encountering The Five Books of Moses The Schocken Bible Volume 1 by Everett Fox I looked forward to the next volume. Volume 2 finally appeared in 2014 and I was not disappointed. Patterned after the first, this one too, attempts to render the "reading aloud sense" of Hebrew into an English translation. As such it is concerned not only with the accuracy of meaning, but with phrasing and sounds, as far as it is possible to convey into English. For most of us who will never read and understand Hebrew, these works may be the next closest possibility of at least having an approximation of that.
This volume covers the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, the Samuels, and the Kings. These comprise the "Early Prophets" in the Tanakh, and most of the so-called "historical books" in the Christian ordering of the Bible. Dr. Fox provides theories on the composition of these books, the theological intents behind them, and theories on their editing and redcations to their final forms. As with the first volume, the translated text is provided, then textual notes, and commentaries. Each book and major sections of books are preceded by more general commentaries. Historical and cultural contexts are provided, and where appropriate, how the text interacts with what comes before and after.
Compared to typical English translations, what is found here is often raw and sometimes crude. There is what we might identify as "foul language" as might have been heard in Hebrew. There is scatalogical (bathroom) humor. There is explicit sexual innuendos and acts. It makes me wonder why we moderns have gone to such great lengths to "clean up" the Bible...
Perhaps one of the difficulties with reading this work is the transliteration of most of the proper names. Fortunately a rough pronunciation guide is provided at the beginning and there is an appendix chapter with a full pronunciation guide for most major names found in the work. It shows again how different the usual English translations are to what the Hebrew pronunciations ought to be.
Anyone working with the Old Testament ought to have this volume as well as its earlier one. Together they cover a large part of the Old Testament.
This volume covers the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, the Samuels, and the Kings. These comprise the "Early Prophets" in the Tanakh, and most of the so-called "historical books" in the Christian ordering of the Bible. Dr. Fox provides theories on the composition of these books, the theological intents behind them, and theories on their editing and redcations to their final forms. As with the first volume, the translated text is provided, then textual notes, and commentaries. Each book and major sections of books are preceded by more general commentaries. Historical and cultural contexts are provided, and where appropriate, how the text interacts with what comes before and after.
Compared to typical English translations, what is found here is often raw and sometimes crude. There is what we might identify as "foul language" as might have been heard in Hebrew. There is scatalogical (bathroom) humor. There is explicit sexual innuendos and acts. It makes me wonder why we moderns have gone to such great lengths to "clean up" the Bible...
Perhaps one of the difficulties with reading this work is the transliteration of most of the proper names. Fortunately a rough pronunciation guide is provided at the beginning and there is an appendix chapter with a full pronunciation guide for most major names found in the work. It shows again how different the usual English translations are to what the Hebrew pronunciations ought to be.
Anyone working with the Old Testament ought to have this volume as well as its earlier one. Together they cover a large part of the Old Testament.
November 11, 2022
This is a Hebraic translation of Joshua through 2 Kings, with commentary by the translator. I read this for the translation and didn't read the notes at all, so I cannot speak to them.
The translation was very interesting to me, as it attempts to capture and communicate the Hebrew style of the text for the English reader. This made the translation "new" in a sense that I find helpful.
One stylistic detraction is that the names too, are Hebraic, meaning some of them are difficult to equate with the names we're accustomed to in English translations, and most will trip you up. For example, Moses is Moshe, and Jacob is Yakov.
But this is a really useful translation that many will find edifying.
The translation was very interesting to me, as it attempts to capture and communicate the Hebrew style of the text for the English reader. This made the translation "new" in a sense that I find helpful.
One stylistic detraction is that the names too, are Hebraic, meaning some of them are difficult to equate with the names we're accustomed to in English translations, and most will trip you up. For example, Moses is Moshe, and Jacob is Yakov.
But this is a really useful translation that many will find edifying.
January 20, 2016
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...
Just a note that like Robert Alter's, the commentary makes these more interpretation than straight translation.
Just a note that like Robert Alter's, the commentary makes these more interpretation than straight translation.
June 12, 2019
There's a great deal of poetics, symbolism and repetition that most translations of the New Testament lack, and I look forward to comparing how this book captures them when put against Robert Alter's new translation.
4 stars but not 5, because this book would be better broken down into small bits. More than 1000 pages loaded with footnotes and commentary becomes tedious at times.
4 stars but not 5, because this book would be better broken down into small bits. More than 1000 pages loaded with footnotes and commentary becomes tedious at times.
March 27, 2021
This book is not a "cover to cover" kind of book. I did not read every page. It is a reference book that I find to be highly helpful in my study of the Bible.
April 9, 2022
Not a lot of new information. Commentary and notes are not very extensive so as to help with Historical Fiction. There are many other Commentaries that can rival and exceed this one.
November 4, 2024
Everett Fox continues to provide stunning translations and succinct guidance through the Former Prophet books, just as he started with the first volume, The Five Books of Moses. Excellent resource for Old Testament study.
October 5, 2016
This is an annotated translation of the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. The translation is deliberately word-for-word, following even, to some extent, the Hebrew syntax. It also does not use the standard English version of the biblical names. There are two types of annotations. The first is a series of introductions with brief commentary that are put before each book, and each chapter. These reflect the current academic consensus regarding the origin and composition of the books. The other type is a series of footnotes, mostly explaining the names, with occasional technical comments. Very useful for the serious student of the Bible.
March 22, 2025
Fascinating reading and further study.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews