Alter's rare combination of fluent translation and insightful commentary makes this the perfect edition of Genesis for anyone drawn to this formative work in our culture. With a translation that attends to the usages, rhythms, and narrative patterns of biblical Hebrew and a commentary which deepens readers' understanding of Genesis without being intrusive, this book is ""the" Genesis for our generation and beyond" (Robert Fagles).

In Robert Alter's brilliant translation, these stories cohere in a powerful narrative of the tortuous relations between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, eldest and younger brothers, God and his chosen people, the people of Israel and their neighbors. Alter's translation honors the meanings and literary strategies of the ancient Hebrew and conveys them in fluent English prose. It recovers a Genesis with the continuity of theme and motif of a wholly conceived and fully realized book. His insightful, fully informed commentary illuminates the book in all its dimensions.