Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: A New Translation with Introductions, Commentary, and Notes, The

Anglican Theological Review, Fall 1997 by Wiggins, Steve A

The Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: A New Translation with Introductions, Commentary, and Notes. By Everett Fox. The Schocken Bible, vol. 1. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. xxxii 1024 pp. $50.00 (cloth).

Fox's impressive volume is the result of years of study and translation work. Following the footsteps of Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig (Die funf Bicher der Weisung, Heidelberg, 1976), Fox attempts to echo Hebrew style while translating the Hebrew Bible into a modern language. In his own words, the translation must be done "with careful attention to rhythm and sound. The translation therefore tries to mimic the particular rhetoric of the Hebrew whenever possible, preserving such devices as repetition, allusion, alliteration, and wordplay" (p. ix). The result is an unusual, yet compelling rendering of a familiar text.

Although presented from a Jewish perspective, Christians with an interest in the Bible should pay close attention to this book. The research behind it reflects both Christian and Jewish scholarship and where translations differ with explicitly Christian tradition concerning the text, Fox generally provides notes to explain his translation decision.

Brief outlines of each of the five biblical books are presented. The commentary, although not extensive, is insightful. The Jewish tradition concerning the texts, which is sometimes less than accessible to Christian readers, is clearly demonstrated and readily available. Having the commentary on facing pages can be distracting for a straightforward reading of the book, but if taken a pericope at a time, this layout is functional.

The element, however, which requires the most comment is the translation itself. As I stress to my students, every translation is an interpretation. What Fox accomplishes is the raising of the interpretation to a conscious level. With a specific goal in mind, to make a Hebrew-sounding English translation, Fox ably approaches the text. This necessarily leads to some awkwardness since one finds familiar names in unfamiliar guise: "Hawa" for "Eve," "Moshe" for "Moses," and "coffer of Testimony" for "ark of the covenant." Despite Fox's inclusion of a pronunciation guide, some Hebrew study is almost necessary to pronounce the names correctly. The haunting question of how the Hebrew was originally pronounced may cloud the enjoyment of some students of the language, but Fox has raised the issue to the attention of the reader: our more familiar versions are also attempts to understand an ancient text.

Beyond these unconventional methods, however, the translation provides connections obviously intended in the Hebrew but masked in the normal English translations. Thus in Numbers 11 a connection is made between the "rushing-spirit" given to the elders who assist Moses (w. 17, 25) and the "rush-of-wind" (v. 31) which brought the quails into the camp.

Fox's work thus has some of the drawbacks associated with an individual (as opposed to a committee) translation, but the value of having a rendering of the Hebrew which is as literal as possible outweighs the shortcomings. This is a translation that should be consulted by serious students of the Scriptures, especially those unfamiliar with Hebrew. Those who can read the original language will find in it a challenging companion to the many English translations available.

STEVE A. WIGGINS

Nashotah House

Nashotah, Wisconsin