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The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter

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The Art of Biblical Narrative

Robert Alter

Basic Books · Paperback · April 26, 2011

Reading lane: Old Testament Interpretation

From celebrated translator of the Hebrew Bible Robert Alter, the "groundbreaking" ( Los Angeles Times ) book that explores the Bible as literature, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award.

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Reading Closely

A literary lens on biblical storytelling, with enough density to reward slow reading.

Come here for

  • biblical narrative, read as literature
  • close, serious attention to style and structure

Expect

  • layered interpretation
  • something to return to in short or sustained sessions

Book Details

Authors
Robert Alter
Publisher
Basic Books
Published
April 26, 2011
Format
Paperback
Theme
Old Testament Interpretation · Old Testament Studies
Reading lane
Old Testament Interpretation

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • Religion in Literature

  • Old Testament Interpretation

  • Exegesis & Hermeneutics

  • Wisdom Literature (Bible)

About This Book

From celebrated translator of the Hebrew Bible Robert Alter, the "groundbreaking" ( Los Angeles Times ) book that explores the Bible as literature, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Renowned critic and translator Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative has radically expanded our view of the Bible by recasting it as a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In this seminal work, Alter describes how the Hebrew Bible's many authors used innovative liter...

Read full description

From celebrated translator of the Hebrew Bible Robert Alter, the "groundbreaking" ( Los Angeles Times ) book that explores the Bible as literature, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Renowned critic and translator Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative has radically expanded our view of the Bible by recasting it as a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In this seminal work, Alter describes how the Hebrew Bible's many authors used innovative literary styles and devices such as parallelism, contrastive dialogue, and narrative tempo to tell one of the most revolutionary stories of all time: the revelation of a single God. In so doing, Alter shows, these writers reshaped not only history, but also the art of storytelling itself.

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