Overview

The most common English translations of the Bible often sound like a single, somewhat archaic voice. In fact, the Bible is made up of many separate books composed by multiple writers in a wide range of styles and perspectives. It is, as Michael Carasik demonstrates, not a remote text reserved for churches and synagogues but rather a human document full of history, poetry, politics, theology, and spirituality. Using historic, linguistic, anthropological, and theological sources, Carasik helps us distinguish between the Jewish Bible's voices-the mythic, the historical, the prophetic, the theological, and the legal. By articulating the differences among these voices, he shows us not just their messages and meanings but also what mattered to the authors. In these contrasts we encounter the Bible anew as a living work whose many voices tell us about the world out of which the Bible grew-and the world that it created. Listen to the author's podcast.

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Reviews

"""An engaging presentation of the most current scholarship about the Jewish Bible. Carasik's description of the numerous voices, which speak in its pages, illumines their teachings, illustrates their origin, and clarifies their relationships with each other and the world from which they emerged."" - Frederick E. Greenspahn, Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of Judaic Studies, Florida Atlantic University."

An engaging presentation of the most current scholarship about the Jewish Bible. Carasik's description of the numerous voices, which speak in its pages, illumines their teachings, illustrates their origin, and clarifies their relationships with each other and the world from which they emerged. --Frederick E. Greenspahn, Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of Judaic Studies, Florida Atlantic University.--Frederick E. Greenspahn (09/20/2013)

[Carasik's] prose is easy to read and he has no political or theological agenda other than to help readers appreciate the richness and depth of the biblical material. The Bible's Many Voices would be perfect for an adult education class or a multi-month discussion at a book club, although anyone interested in the Bible might want to add this work to their shelves. -Rabbi Rachel Esserman, The Reporter -- Rabbi Rachel Esserman The Reporter A good addition to any nonfiction collection that includes Bible study. -Association of Jewish Libraries -- Arthur G. Quinn Association of Jewish Libraries Carasik leads us gently through the texts... The Bible gains a new vibrancy as we encounter more complexity and nuance. -Rabbi Louis A. Rieser, Congregational Libraries Today -- Rabbi Louis A. Rieser Congregational Libraries Today An engaging presentation of the most current scholarship about the Jewish Bible. Carasik's description of the numerous voices, which speak in its pages, illumines their teachings, illustrates their origin, and clarifies their relationships with each other and the world from which they emerged. -Frederick E. Greenspahn, Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of Judaic Studies, Florida Atlantic University. -- Frederick E. Greenspahn

Author Information

Michael Carasik is the compiler and translator of the Rubin JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot Commentators' Bible series and the author of Theologies of the Mind in Biblical Israel.

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