Robert Alter is professor emeritus of Hebrew and Comparative literature, at the University of California, Berkeley. He is widely admired as a gifted translator of the Hebrew Scriptures into English. Before the pandemic, the clergy here preached short sermons at Solemn Evensong on Sundays during the academic year. Every other year, Genesis and Exodus are read in the seasons of Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. His 1996 commentary and translation of Genesis is one book where I read all of the footnotes. He’s been working on a translation of the Hebrew Bible for decades, I think it’s fair to say. Last year, he published, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary.[1] This week, our first readings at our daily Mass have been from the Book of Amos. As a footnote, the King James Version of the Bible has no greater fan than Professor Alter. But that’s a subject for another time.
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