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The Book of Genesis: A Commentary
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528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 19, 2012
Daniel Klein's fine translation of Samuel David Luzatto's commentary to Genesis is philologically precise. The introduction is illuminating, his notes are well researched and untangle some of the more obscure comments and personalities cited therein. Klein also did something unique, as a translator, which is that he did not neglect Luzzatto's Italian translation of the Pentateuch, and translated the translation into English! This is especially helpful as often the Italian sheds light as much light on Luzzatto's understanding of the text as his Hebrew commentary does. In addition, in selected cases the translation does not agree with the comment and one can use it to make inferences about Luzzatto's progression of thought. Finally, the original was printed only twice, in 1871, and in 1965. The 1965 edition is badly censored, omitting the names of countless scholars whom Luzzatto scrupulously cited by name. Klein restored all these names accurately.
The author's translation of Exodus is nearly complete.
The author's translation of Exodus is nearly complete.
October 13, 2014
This book is a translation of an 1850s commentary on Genesis. Shadal is, in modern terms, a moderate Orthodox thinker: he treats the Torah as Divine, but interprets it with a rationalistic rather than mystical bent, and is willing to learn from sources other than the Talmud and medieval Jewish commentators.
This work is very heavily focused on Hebrew grammar, so large chunks of it are not that useful for the casual student. But when Luzzatto writes about broader themes, his insights are quite interesting. Here are a few examples of his views:
*In describing the Garden of Eden story, Shadal argues that the "knowledge of good and evil" that man acquires is both the source of many woes and on balance a good thing. Without this "knowledge" man would be less fully human- more innocent, but "like animals, or like infants".
*Gen. 8:21 writes that God savored Noah's sacrifice, while the later Prophets deemphasize sacrifices. Shadal reconciles these ideas by suggesting that "the Torah speaks the language of people who were on a far lower intellectual plane that that of the Israelites of the [time of the prophets]."
*Shadal believes that the Torah's anti-pagan agenda explains many of the Torah's difficult passages. For example, he writes that God makes the rainbow a sign to Noah (9:13) to refute the idea that the rainbow is a messenger of a deity, and that the Torah lists the ancestors of various nations to refute pagan claims that "their ancestors... were born of the gods."
*In interpreting the Torah's statement that Rebecca inquired of God about her troubled pregnancy (25:22), Shadal rejects some commentators' suggestions that she talked to male "experts", because the Torah uses a term that in other contexts means "prayer." Thus, he believes that Rebecca probably prayed to God and received God's word through a prophecy or dream.
Another distinctive feature of Shadal's commentary is that he does not limit himself to Jewish thinkers: he freely cites Christian commentators and even pagan historians. For example, he cites Roman historians' description of the destruction of Sodom. He even cites his own students- for example, one student's suggestion that Abraham expelled Ishmael from his house to stop arguments about the former's inheritance.
This work is very heavily focused on Hebrew grammar, so large chunks of it are not that useful for the casual student. But when Luzzatto writes about broader themes, his insights are quite interesting. Here are a few examples of his views:
*In describing the Garden of Eden story, Shadal argues that the "knowledge of good and evil" that man acquires is both the source of many woes and on balance a good thing. Without this "knowledge" man would be less fully human- more innocent, but "like animals, or like infants".
*Gen. 8:21 writes that God savored Noah's sacrifice, while the later Prophets deemphasize sacrifices. Shadal reconciles these ideas by suggesting that "the Torah speaks the language of people who were on a far lower intellectual plane that that of the Israelites of the [time of the prophets]."
*Shadal believes that the Torah's anti-pagan agenda explains many of the Torah's difficult passages. For example, he writes that God makes the rainbow a sign to Noah (9:13) to refute the idea that the rainbow is a messenger of a deity, and that the Torah lists the ancestors of various nations to refute pagan claims that "their ancestors... were born of the gods."
*In interpreting the Torah's statement that Rebecca inquired of God about her troubled pregnancy (25:22), Shadal rejects some commentators' suggestions that she talked to male "experts", because the Torah uses a term that in other contexts means "prayer." Thus, he believes that Rebecca probably prayed to God and received God's word through a prophecy or dream.
Another distinctive feature of Shadal's commentary is that he does not limit himself to Jewish thinkers: he freely cites Christian commentators and even pagan historians. For example, he cites Roman historians' description of the destruction of Sodom. He even cites his own students- for example, one student's suggestion that Abraham expelled Ishmael from his house to stop arguments about the former's inheritance.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews