The Book of J

This translation of the elements of the Book that are from the J tradition, complete in a startling simple prose, was very enlightening and useful. As compared to the Richard Freedman book "Who Wrote the Bible?" this book gives you the elements Rosenberg considers from the original tradition isolated and available for clear reading. If we can trust this scholarship this is a great source for those that would not have the expertise to recognize the text within a text themselves. People like me. The introduction by Harold Bloom is excellent.

Harold Bloom's 'The Book of J' caused quite a stir when it first was published. The book contains both introductory essays on authorship, a discussion of the theory of different texts being used to make up the books of the Bible (the Documentary Hypothesis), some historical context, and translation notes.The bulk of the book consists of David Rosenberg's new translation of the J text, that text having been separated and isolated from the other source texts of the Torah (first five books of the Bible).The concluding section contains essays by Bloom on different characters and themes in the text, as well as some modern theoretical analysis of the text, isolated as it is in this volume from the greater mass of material in the Bible. There is a brief appendix by Rosenberg with notes specifically geared toward translation issues and difficulties, as well as source materials.First, for a little background: since the 1800's, much of Biblical textual scholarship and analysis has subscribed to the theory that most books were not first written as integrated wholes, but rather, consist of a library of amalgamated texts, largely put together by a person who goes by the title Redactor, or R, for short. This was (in terms of Hebrew Bible timelines) a relatively late occurrence. Prior to this, there were various sources, including the J (J for Jehovah, or Yahweh, which is what God is called in these texts), but also E (Elohist, which is what God is called in these texts), P (Priestly, which largely comprises Leviticus), and D (Deuteronomist). The separation of these strands is controversial, and will probably never cease to be. But with literary and linguistic analysis, certain traits can be discerned of each of the particular strands.The most controversial conclusion which Bloom advances in this volume is that J is a woman, who lived in the courtly community of King David, and that her stories are not only a retelling of the ancient stories which would have been known commonly, but is also a satire and indictment of courtly life as she finds it. 'J was no theologian, and rather deliberately not a historian.... There is always another side of J: uncanny, tricky, sublime, ironic, a visionary of incommensurates, and so the direct ancestor of Kafka, and of any writer, Jewish or Gentile, condemned to work in Kafka's mode.'Bloom's assertion that J is a woman consists of several 'telling' ideas, not least of which that the J text seems to have no heroes, only heroines. 'Sarai and Rachel are wholly admirable, and Tamar, in proportion to the narrative space she occupies, is very much the most vivid portrait in J. But Abram, Jacob, and Moses receive a remarkably mixed treatment from J.'Also, on the basis of sensitivity to subject and social vision, Bloom argues for a female J. Of course, women in positions of authority (as any courtly author or historian would have to be) were very rare in ancient Middle Eastern culture, but not unheard of; of course, literacy rates for

There are many reasons to by this book, but two come to mind most clearly...First, the brilliant modern translations of portions of the story of David from 2 Samuel, and several of the most beautiful Psalms. Second, the tale of the remarkable relationship between "S", the writer behind much of 2 Samuel, and "J", the writer of the Pentateuch. (The first five books of the bible - the books of the law.) According to Rosenberg, J, the brilliant woman writer and poet of Solomon's court, most likely acted as mentor and mother-figure to the young male prodigy S. Many of the Psalms and stories of David seem to reverberate with this close relationship.As well, Rosenberg studies the indigenous or "Shamanistic" nature of S's relationship with the land, as reflected in his poetry, which provides new insight into the intense yearning for Israel experienced by Jews through the ages.I highly recommend this book both for its scholarship and its artistic qualities. Anyone with any interest in David, the Jewish experience, Biblical studies, or poetry in general, will find this book a delight.

What a revelation! It's hard to read a novel or poem again in the same way after the illuminations in The Book of David. I suppose this must be infuriating to some who want things to stay just as they are, but I was glad to see that the Publishers Weekly review had an intelligent response: (Oct.13, 1997) "In this imaginative and provocative work...Rosenberg's interest is in evoking the characters who inhabit the biblical narratives, and his translations and transformations of the text are powerful and moving...It tells David's story in a way that reveals the characters of David, Rosenberg and "S"." What Publishers Weekly leaves out is that this will not only change the way a reader thinks about the Bible but also how we view contemporary writers as well. I always thought there was an element of creative fiction and poetry in the Bible, yet now I can see just how it was transformed by great writers.

Recent Comments for The Book of David "The Biblical David taught us what it is to be, as David Rosenberg puts it, 'a poet and thinker, a warrior and peacemaker, a leader and innovator.' We think we know David, but Mr. Rosenberg teaches us how to see this great figure with fresh eyes. No readers ideas of religion, politics or literature will go unchanged--or unimproved--by Mr. Rosenberg's profound, yet always lively work of scholarship and art. He has written a soulful, heartfelt, important book." --James Carroll "Rosenberg not only dusts off the traditional image of David, he restores to us one of the great visionaries of all time. The Book of David is one of those unexpected, exhilerating books that forces you to rethink the nature of the human condition, and that awakens a strange, rare sense of spiritual reality." --Jay Parini "Like his translation of The Book of J, Rosenberg's version of this biblical text is striking for its music, imagery, and human compassion. In an intriguing commentary, King David emerges clearly as a poet, and as the herald of a court of writers that blossomed under Solomon. Here Rosenberg unveils a portrait of the artist whose vision has no boundaries." --Grace Schulman "David Rosenberg has used his intelligent, poetic, and most genre-bending mind to reimagine King David, the turbulent world into which he was born, and to reassess the writers and religious figures who later appropriated his life. The Book of David provides us with first-rate intellectual excitement." --Barbara Probst Solomon