Genesis, A Royal Epic. Loren R. Fisher

In Gen 23:5, “sons of Heth” is translated “Hittites” in a context which suggests that the reference is to Hittite men. In fact, v. 10 contains a different term for “Hittite” that does not denote gender. In Gen 27:46, where the context makes it certain that the reference is to women, inconsistency is forced on the NRSV, which must translate the “daughters of Heth” not as “Hittites” but rather “Hittite women.” Let the text have its day.53

There is a lot of poetry in the book of Genesis. Where it was possible, this translation has given the reader a poem in English. In this poetry, I have sometimes added a word or repeated a word (in brackets)54 to make the lines balanced in English. In addition to the poetry, there is “high prose” in Genesis, which is set in meaningful and rhythmic cola. In other places, the text takes the form of a play. I hope that this emphasis on format will be helpful in reminding the reader that this is royal epic.

      After completing the first edition of this translation, two new translations have appeared. These are by Everett Fox and Robert Alter. Fox (The Five Books of Moses) has been interested in the Buber-Rosenzweig translation of the Hebrew Bible into German for many years. He says, “The Five Books of Moses is in many respects an offshoot of the Buber-Rosenzweig translation” (x). For Buber and Rosenzweig (and for Fox), it is important to remember that this was a book to be read aloud. I like the way Fox has given the text of this poetry and “high prose” in lines based on “spoken phrasing” (xv, and for Buber’s comments on this see Buber and Rosenzweig, Scripture and Tradition, 179). If this is the case, then I must say that Fox confuses me. He usually gives a proper name like “Perat” in its Hebrew pronunciation and then follows it with a translation (in this case “Perat/Euphrates”). This does not help me to return to the spokenness of the text (Buber and Rosensweig, 179). Fox’s translation is part of an edition of the Torah. He has translated what Genesis has become in a modern context. I have tried to translate a Royal Epic that had an important ancient context.

Robert Alter (in Genesis) has some of the same interests as Fox. He says, “the mesmerizing effect of these ancient stories will scarcely be conveyed if they are not rendered in cadenced English prose that at least in some ways corresponds to the powerful cadences of the Hebrew” (xxvi). The disappointing thing about Alter’s book is that his publisher has reduced his “cadenced English prose” down to blocks of prose.55 The cadence is buried. I consider this to be a major problem. (The publisher was also in a hurry. The headings in chapter 12 for the chapter and verses on each page all read 11 instead of 12; see 50–53.) The format takes away what Alter calls the “distinctive music” of biblical Hebrew (xxxix). Alter’s emphasis reflects his literary interests, but at times, these interests seem to hide other important issues and problems.

      Both of these translations are better than most translations of Genesis. Yet, neither translation makes any real headway on some of the most notorious problems (e.g., 4:8; 35:4; 37:7; or 37:36). The following examples illustrate some of the differences between all three translations:

      1:1

      Alter: “When God began to create heaven and earth . . .”

      Fisher: “When Elohim first began to form the heavens and the earth . . .”

      Fox: “At the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and the earth . . .”

      Alter has translated this as “the heavens and the earth” on page xix of his introduction. The fact that he has left out “the” in 1:1 is serious, because on page xx, part of his argument for keeping every “and” is that they are not inaudible elements in the Hebrew text. In v. 1, “the” is not an inaudible element, but it is left out. He can’t have it both ways.

      2:4b

      Alter: “On the day the Lord God made earth and heavens . . .”

      Fisher: “On another day when Yahweh-Elohim was about to make earth and heaven . . .”

      Fox: “At the time of YHWH, God’s making of earth and heaven . . .”

      I cannot understand Fox’s “At the time of YHWH . . .”

      28:20

      Alter: “. . .If the Lord God be with me . . .”

      Fisher: “If Elohim will be with me . . .”

      Fox: “If God will be with me . . .”

      It is difficult to understand Alter’s translation. There is no word for “Lord” in the Hebrew text. There is the verb “to be,” which looks something like Yahweh, and Alter does translate Yahweh as “Lord.” (The double name does not occur in this section of Genesis. Also see Alter’s note to 35:3.)

      35:7

      Alter: “. . . for there God was revealed to him . . .”

      Fisher: “. . . for there the gods were revealed to him . . .”

      Fox: “. . . For there had the power-of-God been revealed to him . . .”

      Fox understands that there is a problem because of the plural form of the verb, but he does not really deal with the problem.

      48:16

      Alter: “. . . let my name be called in them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac . . .”

      Fisher: “. . . My name and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, shall be called forth by them.”

      Fox: “. . . May my name continue to be called through them and the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzhak!”

      I do not know what Alter’s translation means. Fox’s translation is better, but it is still lacking. My translation assumes a ritual context (see above). The names of the fathers are called forth, or in other words, the fathers are summoned during a ritual for the dead. It was in this context that the stories of the fathers were told, stories that were later incorporated into the Book of Genesis. This is a very important point to consider.

      Chart One

      Section Headings in the Final Form of Genesis

      1. These are the stories of the heavens and the earth since their formation (Gen 2:4a).

      2. This is the document of the stories of Adam (Gen 5:1a).

      3. These are the stories of Noah (Gen 6:9a).

      4. These are the stories of the sons of Noah (10:1a).

      5. These are the stories of Shem (11:10a).

      6. These are the stories of Terah (11:27a).*

      7. These are the stories of Ishmael (25:12a).

      8. These are the stories of Isaac (25:19a).*

      9. These are the stories of Esau (36:1).

      10. These are the stories of Jacob (37:2a).*

      *Major cycles of the fathers (see Chart Two for details).

      Chart Two

      The Three Major Cycles of the Fathers plus Fragments

      6. These are the stories of Terah (Gen 11:27—25:11).

      (Stories about Abraham)

      Missing: These are the stories of Abraham.

      (Stories about Isaac—the material in Genesis 24 and 26 could be from this missing cycle.)

      8. These are the stories of Isaac (Gen 25:19—35:29).

      (Stories about Jacob)

      10. These are the stories of Jacob (Gen 37:2—50:26).

      (Stories about Joseph)

      Plus: These are the stories of Judah (Genesis 38).

      (Stories about Perez—Genesis 38 is just the beginning of this