Why is Israel’s attack on Iran called ‘Rising Lion’ — and what does the Bible have to do with it?
The Bible speaks of a people that 'rises like a lion,' but does it refer to religious observance or military might?
Robert Alter
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Culture Robert Alter Is Truly a Translator of Biblical Proportions
Literary scholar Robert Alter has spent the past three decades shedding new light on one of Western civilization’s oldest and best-known texts. In his 1981 work “The Art of Biblical Narrative” and subsequent writings, Alter has argued that the Hebrew bible is threaded through with a previously unrecognized set of sophisticated literary techniques that unify…
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News An Alter-ed Perspective on the Bible
As this year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, a new English translation might seem a bit late to the game. After all, the KJV is justly celebrated for its eloquence, and the shelves are packed with more recent translations, such as that of the Jewish Publication Society, that…
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Books 30 Days, 30 Texts: The Torah
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Cheryl Weiner writes about the Torah. Every week,…
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The Schmooze Out and About: David Grossman in Frankfurt, Idan Raichel at the Opera
David Grossman has won the German Book Trade Peace Prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Isaac Bashevis Singer comes to Carbondale, Illinois. As the music consultant for The Israeli Opera, Idan Raichel has chosen Vieux Farka Touré to open the new season on November 26. Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize in…
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The Schmooze This Week in Forward Arts and Culture
Benjamin Ivry retrospects to the work of surrealist painter Felix Nussbaum. Philologos unpacks the reference to Cordoba in “Cordoba House.” Joel Schalit sends a letter from Berlin about living in “Eurabia.” Jerome A. Chanes reads Robert Alter’s reading of the King James Bible. Forward Editor Jane Eisner reviews Sharon Pomerantz’s debut novel “Rich Boy,” a…
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Books Chabon and Alter: Is it Esprit d’escalier or Trepverter?
Robert Alter discussed “tough Jews” with Michael Chabon on March 18 as part of the Berkeley Seminars in Modern Jewish Culture Lecture, but there seemed to be a gap in the Jewishness. Alter, the Berkeley professor and great critic of Jewish writing, interviewed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chabon and asked about the author’s exuberant style, the…
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Life The Genesis of the Tablet
Blogging about a new illustrated version of Genesis from graphic artist extraordinaire Robert Crumb, Sara Ivry of the online magazine Tablet displays some confusion about her own publication’s genesis. Ivry writes: Crumb relied on Robert Alter’s 2004 translated Five Books of Moses, but tweaked Alter’s prose to make it more colloquial. Alter’s translations have been…
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