I was recently asked about my username.
Also recently, I took the liberty of purchasing the new and widely acclaimed Robert Alter translation of the "Five Books of Moses".
If you're at all interested, Alter's The Five Books of Moses is, in my opinion, well worth owning.
Also recently, I took the liberty of purchasing the new and widely acclaimed Robert Alter translation of the "Five Books of Moses".
for example:...
Judith Shulevitz - The New York Times
Alter's magisterial translation deserves to become the version in which many future generations encounter this strange and inexhaustible book.
It is a beautiful volume, and I thought some might appreciate it's translation and commentary on Deuteronomy 32:8-9Judith Shulevitz - The New York Times
Alter's magisterial translation deserves to become the version in which many future generations encounter this strange and inexhaustible book.
KJV
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the LORD'S portion [is] his people; Jacob [is] the lot of his inheritance.
Alter
When Elyon gave estates to nations,
when He split up the sons of man,
He set out the boundaries of peoples,
by the number of the sundry gods.
Yes, the Lord's portion is His people
Jacob the parcel of His estate
And the commentary:When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the LORD'S portion [is] his people; Jacob [is] the lot of his inheritance.
Alter
When Elyon gave estates to nations,
when He split up the sons of man,
He set out the boundaries of peoples,
by the number of the sundry gods.
Yes, the Lord's portion is His people
Jacob the parcel of His estate
Elyon (the High One) is the sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, who appears to have been assimilated into biblical monotheism as an epithet for the God of Israel (see the comment on Genesis 14:19-20). The use of this designation here probably reflects the antiquity of the poem.
The Masoretic Text here reads lemispar beney yisra'el, "by the number of the sons of Israel." It is hard to make much sense of that reading, though traditional exegetes try to do that by noting that Israel/Jacob had seventy male descendants when he went down to Egypt and that there are, at least proverbially, seventy nations. This translation adopts the reading of the text found at Qumran (which seems close to the Hebrew text used by the Septuagint translators): lemispar beney 'elohim. This phrase, which appears to reflect a very early stage in the evolution of biblical monotheism, caused later transmitters of the text theological discomfort and was probably deliberately changed in the interests of piety. In the older world-picture, registered in a variety of biblical texts, God is surrounded by a celestial entourage of divine beings or lesser deities, beney 'elim or benet 'elohim, who are nevertheless subordinate to the supreme God. The Song of Moses assumes that God, in allotting portions of the earth to the various peoples, also allowed each people its own lesser deity. Compare Moses's remark about the astral deities in Deuteronomy 4:19.
This information is available elsewhere (e.g., Tov, Cross), but it's wonderfully helpful to have it integrated into the commentary of a well-respected translation.The Masoretic Text here reads lemispar beney yisra'el, "by the number of the sons of Israel." It is hard to make much sense of that reading, though traditional exegetes try to do that by noting that Israel/Jacob had seventy male descendants when he went down to Egypt and that there are, at least proverbially, seventy nations. This translation adopts the reading of the text found at Qumran (which seems close to the Hebrew text used by the Septuagint translators): lemispar beney 'elohim. This phrase, which appears to reflect a very early stage in the evolution of biblical monotheism, caused later transmitters of the text theological discomfort and was probably deliberately changed in the interests of piety. In the older world-picture, registered in a variety of biblical texts, God is surrounded by a celestial entourage of divine beings or lesser deities, beney 'elim or benet 'elohim, who are nevertheless subordinate to the supreme God. The Song of Moses assumes that God, in allotting portions of the earth to the various peoples, also allowed each people its own lesser deity. Compare Moses's remark about the astral deities in Deuteronomy 4:19.
If you're at all interested, Alter's The Five Books of Moses is, in my opinion, well worth owning.