From celebrated translator of the Hebrew Bible Robert Alter, the classic study of 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.
Robert Alter is Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime contributions to American letters, he lives in Berkeley, California.
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought
"A groundbreaking study that encourages us to look beneath the theological surface of the biblical text to glimpse its beating heart."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
"[An] admirable book....It is truly extraordinary that such familiar tales as those of Joseph and David should acquire so much detail and color, as if perfectly restored."—The New York Times
"The results of [Alter's] work give the Bible a fresh voice for a new generation of readers."—Christian Science Monitor
"This clearly written book should please anyone interested in the fundamentals of storytelling."—The Washington Post
