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The English Bible, King James Version: The Old Testament
This is an alternative cover edition for ISBN-13 9780393927450/ISBN 0393927458.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, these long-awaited volumes bring together succinct introductions to each biblical book, detailed explanatory annotations, and a wealth of contextual and critical materials. Archaic words are explained, textual problems are lucidly discussed, and stylistic features of the original texts are highlighted.
Judicious and economical, the introductions and annotations to the Old Testament give readers without Hebrew an entry into complexities of biblical literature, reconstructing its original contexts, tracing its evolution, and pointing out productive strategies of reading. Incorporating the insights of modern biblical scholarship as well as centuries of precritical interpretation, they offer essential guidance to a labyrinthine world, while respecting the text 's integrity.
The historical and critical appendix comprises three distinct collections. A section on ancient Near Eastern backgrounds presents the myths, hymns, prayers, and legal codes that informed the creation of the Hebrew Bible. A historical anthology of biblical interpretation gathers for the first time in one volume generous selections from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, along with classics of secular commentary. It includes reflections on the Bible by philosophers from Hobbes to Ricoeur; a compendium of modern biblical scholarship, focusing on topics such as the oral and the written, the composition of the Pentateuch, and the historical movement from covenant to canon; and a provocative sampling of comparative and literary approaches. The crucial presence of the Old Testament within English literature is represented by paraphrases and parables in verse and prose, and a recapitulatory conclusion brings the diverse perspectives of this millennial survey to bear on two of the Bible 's most famous passages: the expulsion from the garden of Eden and the binding of Isaac. A final section devoted to the question of translation includes significant English versions from Wycliffe to the present. Time lines, chronologies, diagrams, and maps are included.
In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, these long-awaited volumes bring together succinct introductions to each biblical book, detailed explanatory annotations, and a wealth of contextual and critical materials. Archaic words are explained, textual problems are lucidly discussed, and stylistic features of the original texts are highlighted.
Judicious and economical, the introductions and annotations to the Old Testament give readers without Hebrew an entry into complexities of biblical literature, reconstructing its original contexts, tracing its evolution, and pointing out productive strategies of reading. Incorporating the insights of modern biblical scholarship as well as centuries of precritical interpretation, they offer essential guidance to a labyrinthine world, while respecting the text 's integrity.
The historical and critical appendix comprises three distinct collections. A section on ancient Near Eastern backgrounds presents the myths, hymns, prayers, and legal codes that informed the creation of the Hebrew Bible. A historical anthology of biblical interpretation gathers for the first time in one volume generous selections from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, along with classics of secular commentary. It includes reflections on the Bible by philosophers from Hobbes to Ricoeur; a compendium of modern biblical scholarship, focusing on topics such as the oral and the written, the composition of the Pentateuch, and the historical movement from covenant to canon; and a provocative sampling of comparative and literary approaches. The crucial presence of the Old Testament within English literature is represented by paraphrases and parables in verse and prose, and a recapitulatory conclusion brings the diverse perspectives of this millennial survey to bear on two of the Bible 's most famous passages: the expulsion from the garden of Eden and the binding of Isaac. A final section devoted to the question of translation includes significant English versions from Wycliffe to the present. Time lines, chronologies, diagrams, and maps are included.
2312 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
61 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 27, 2021
it is not, simply, the Bible. It is one of the best academic sources for reading the Bible with some interesting commentaries on the literary aspects of a significant translation of this book.
If you are an atheist, or you think you don't want to read the Bible itself without any critical studies, this book is likely to be appealing to you.
If you are an atheist, or you think you don't want to read the Bible itself without any critical studies, this book is likely to be appealing to you.
August 31, 2024
Sometimes, a book attains a special aura because it towers over so many other works of literature— both as masterpiece and chunker. Such an aura tends to repel the common reader who already has a few examples in mind—War and Peace, Moby Dick, Ulysses. These books are hefty, and loom somewhere in the future but are far too much of an undertaking to be dealt with now. We let them linger in the background, always entertaining loose plans of climbing these hills one day, but to pick them up now, as if on the spur of the moment, seems foolhardy, if not a little insane.
But sometimes, there comes along a book that drawfs even War and Peace, something so gigantic it gets relegated with the encyclopedic. Books like these are mythical shrines—and we expect to marvel at them, maybe even to feel reverence at seeing so many words gathered together in one place, but we by no means dream of flipping to the first page, and reading—let alone understanding—the entirety. Such an action, we think, would be like hopping on a bike and gingerly choosing to pedal from New York to California. Occasionally, (say once in a blue moon), we’ll hear of someone crazy enough to do a thing like that—to climb Everest or complete an Iron Man—but we are not gods, we’ll tell ourselves. No, no, the very best that we can hope for is to lug a work like this from our bookshelf, consult some or other reference provided in a normal book, and then to go on with our lives, unperturbed by anything so large or great that it seems impossible.
This Norton Critical Edition is one of those books. At roughly 2300 pages, it is too big to leave lounging around on a small shelf in the bedroom, and often, we find something like it turning away from us, hiding from plain sight like the literal leviathan that lives in its very pages. Should you brave the impropriety of holding it, perhaps you’ll understand why climbing Everest is such an attractive metaphor. Because this work is so enormous and heavy, to simply carry it around long enough to finish it must qualify as some sort of physical exercise.
But for the very very brave (or fatuous), you might see, you might even feel, the culminatory splendor granted to those who stand on its mountain. History, philosophy, myth, poetry, prophecy, drama—and more—are all whirled together in the ultimate kitchen sink novel. You’ll run the gamut of emotions, from joy to boredom, as you realize (with the help of Herbert Marks’ painstaking scholarship) how little after Genesis is wholly original. Like a gigantic fugue, material is repeatedly reimagined and transformed in a haggadic potion whose initial goal, perhaps, was to exact that very process on its reader: to imagine, to transform.
But sometimes, there comes along a book that drawfs even War and Peace, something so gigantic it gets relegated with the encyclopedic. Books like these are mythical shrines—and we expect to marvel at them, maybe even to feel reverence at seeing so many words gathered together in one place, but we by no means dream of flipping to the first page, and reading—let alone understanding—the entirety. Such an action, we think, would be like hopping on a bike and gingerly choosing to pedal from New York to California. Occasionally, (say once in a blue moon), we’ll hear of someone crazy enough to do a thing like that—to climb Everest or complete an Iron Man—but we are not gods, we’ll tell ourselves. No, no, the very best that we can hope for is to lug a work like this from our bookshelf, consult some or other reference provided in a normal book, and then to go on with our lives, unperturbed by anything so large or great that it seems impossible.
This Norton Critical Edition is one of those books. At roughly 2300 pages, it is too big to leave lounging around on a small shelf in the bedroom, and often, we find something like it turning away from us, hiding from plain sight like the literal leviathan that lives in its very pages. Should you brave the impropriety of holding it, perhaps you’ll understand why climbing Everest is such an attractive metaphor. Because this work is so enormous and heavy, to simply carry it around long enough to finish it must qualify as some sort of physical exercise.
But for the very very brave (or fatuous), you might see, you might even feel, the culminatory splendor granted to those who stand on its mountain. History, philosophy, myth, poetry, prophecy, drama—and more—are all whirled together in the ultimate kitchen sink novel. You’ll run the gamut of emotions, from joy to boredom, as you realize (with the help of Herbert Marks’ painstaking scholarship) how little after Genesis is wholly original. Like a gigantic fugue, material is repeatedly reimagined and transformed in a haggadic potion whose initial goal, perhaps, was to exact that very process on its reader: to imagine, to transform.
March 4, 2014
Incredible edition of this text. The annotations are excellently done and quite thorough. Only a few complaints translation-wise, but on the whole, this is probably the greatest edition of the Bible that's ever been published.
Read
February 12, 2022I have read the Old Testament.
Don't ask me about it.
Cause I don't remember.
XD
#acciónpoética
Mención especial a Sergio, mi compi de piso, por prestarme el libro.
- - -
Obviamente hay como ochocientas mil frases y dichos dignos de extraer de esta lectura.
Ngl que me en momentos de ida de olla máximo me colgaba la funda nórdica de los hombros y paseaba por la habitación leyendo el libro cual cura adoctrinando al pueblo (palabra de Dios). ✝️
Ngl 2.0 que a veces era un bodrio de mucho cuidado y, o me leía las anotaciones o me ponía una dramatized version en Youtube.
- - -
To sum up: human kind (mostly men) act indecently, they are punished, after certain time they are saved by Y, men are grateful till they start to act dickish and complain or are morons. We stan God giving humans hell, they deserve it.
Resumen máximo: hombres violando, quejándose y creando drama (no necesariamente en ese orden).
- - -
The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) ✅
The Histories (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel (1, 2), Kings (1, 2), Chronicles (1, 2), Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra, Nehemiah), Esther) ✅
Poetry and Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs❤️, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon or The Song of Songs🔥) ✅
The Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zachariah, Malachi) ✅
Proverbs 23:13-14: Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
(-> Spare the rod and spoil the child)
Ecclesiastes 3:20: All go unto once place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Don't ask me about it.
Cause I don't remember.
XD
#acciónpoética
Mención especial a Sergio, mi compi de piso, por prestarme el libro.
- - -
Obviamente hay como ochocientas mil frases y dichos dignos de extraer de esta lectura.
Ngl que me en momentos de ida de olla máximo me colgaba la funda nórdica de los hombros y paseaba por la habitación leyendo el libro cual cura adoctrinando al pueblo (palabra de Dios). ✝️
Ngl 2.0 que a veces era un bodrio de mucho cuidado y, o me leía las anotaciones o me ponía una dramatized version en Youtube.
- - -
To sum up: human kind (mostly men) act indecently, they are punished, after certain time they are saved by Y, men are grateful till they start to act dickish and complain or are morons. We stan God giving humans hell, they deserve it.
Resumen máximo: hombres violando, quejándose y creando drama (no necesariamente en ese orden).
- - -
The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) ✅
The Histories (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel (1, 2), Kings (1, 2), Chronicles (1, 2), Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra, Nehemiah), Esther) ✅
Poetry and Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs❤️, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon or The Song of Songs🔥) ✅
The Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zachariah, Malachi) ✅
Proverbs 23:13-14: Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
(-> Spare the rod and spoil the child)
Ecclesiastes 3:20: All go unto once place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
April 8, 2019
It is fitting that this Norton volume of the Old Testament took some four months to complete. It felt like a semester of intensive study, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating, occasionally requiring more of an effort than I could muster at that time. Indeed, the semester included breaks, and a bit of seeing other people.
But seriously, what a marvel this volume is. There are the primary texts, of course, together with copious annotations; there is the beautiful English idiom of the King James translation, so familiar and sometimes so strange, yet never less than poetic; then come the collections of Ancient Near Eastern myths and laws; surveys of centuries of Christian, Jewish and Islamic exegesis; and critical studies, and poetry, and fiction, and songs.
On to the sequel; I hear it’s a good one too.
But seriously, what a marvel this volume is. There are the primary texts, of course, together with copious annotations; there is the beautiful English idiom of the King James translation, so familiar and sometimes so strange, yet never less than poetic; then come the collections of Ancient Near Eastern myths and laws; surveys of centuries of Christian, Jewish and Islamic exegesis; and critical studies, and poetry, and fiction, and songs.
On to the sequel; I hear it’s a good one too.
October 26, 2024
Another long read! I read this out of order, which was oddly helpful, because it taught me I’ll definitely read the Bible in order next time around. I enjoyed reading the King James Version, and I found the editor’s notes and commentary absolutely invaluable. The last time I read the Bible, I found it every confusing and chaotic. Marks’s commentary helped me to see the structure of the individual books and the Old Testament as a whole. I feel like I have a much, much better grip on the text thanks to his help. This was a long and arduous reading experience, but, all the same, I’m very glad to have read the Old Testament in detail at least once.
December 5, 2020
Arguably the best of Hebrew literature and scholarly writings from a time period spanning a millennium: among other things, a monumental social achievement.
April 6, 2021
i have dreams at night about norton critical editions
April 10, 2022
Fantastic edition. The first time I’ve finished the Old Testament in entirety. Superb additional material.
KJV is a must for the poetic prose if nothing else.
KJV is a must for the poetic prose if nothing else.
August 22, 2021
5 stars for Herbert Mark's excellent commentary and contextual materials
Highlights: Genesis, Numbers, Parts of the History (esp. Judges and the David and Solomon cycles), Ruth, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, and Daniel
I have to especially comment on Job and Ecclesiastes for their incredible literary depth. Even if you don't read the whole OT, I highly recommend reading these two extended poems.
Now onto Milton and Dante for some fan fic
Highlights: Genesis, Numbers, Parts of the History (esp. Judges and the David and Solomon cycles), Ruth, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, and Daniel
I have to especially comment on Job and Ecclesiastes for their incredible literary depth. Even if you don't read the whole OT, I highly recommend reading these two extended poems.
Now onto Milton and Dante for some fan fic
January 23, 2013
A great edition for scholastic purposes. Wonderful notes with lots of etymology and background. The critical pieces accompanying it really open up the material and provide a solid theological foundation. This has been needed for quite some time -- hard to believe that a version like this didn't exist until last year.
October 19, 2024
An academic look into the bible, but with the King James version and it examines greatly the literary impact of the work while also incorporating scholarship consensus of it. I like this than the oxford annotated because the king james just have more prowess into it than the nrsv, but I will not hold back that nrsv is a bad translation; it just serves a different purpose and goal.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews