Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories

It would be no exaggeration to say that Stephen Mitchell is the preeminent translator of our age. His "Tao Te Ching" has been called "definitive for our time", his "The Gospel According to Jesus" "a masterpiece of immense power and permanence", and his "The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke" "the most beautiful group of poetic translations this century has produced." His translation of "The Book of Job" has been recognized as the greatest since the King James Version.

Now Mitchell has turned his attention to the book of Genesis, one of the most important books in human history. This new translation is published simultaneously with the first telecast of the ten-part Bill Moyers PBS series on Genesis in which panels of noted scholars and writers, including Stephen Mitchell, Karen Armstrong, John Barth, Mary Gordon, Oscar Hijuelos, Charles Johnson, and Elaine Pagels, discuss what the classic stories of Genesis can mean for us today.

In "Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories", Mitchell embodies in English the simplicity, dignity, and powerful earthiness of the original Hebrew. He also gives the text a stunning new clarity by separating into their sources stories that were combined by scribes centuries after they were written and omitting all verses that are recognized as scribal additions. This immeasurably strengthens the original stories; it is like removing coat after coat of lacquer that has obscured the vibrant colors of a masterpiece. The scribal additions are fully translated in an appendix and extensive textual notes, In his introductory essay, Mitchell puts the historical Genesis in context and explains its importance as a central story of the human spirit.

"Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories" is an extraordinarily beautiful book that is readable in a way that no other Genesis has ever been. It will shed new light on your understanding of this seminal work of sacred scripture.