A monumental new translation of the Hebrew Bible by renowned scholar Robert Alter places the art of translation front and center. And translation, by which one renders a text not just readable but understandable, is indeed an art, not merely a task for assistants relegated to the sidelines.

Alter’s work, which has painstakingly reexamined the original Hebrew texts, translating and explaining them for English-speaking audiences, is a perfect example of the importance of language. Alter does not simply pay attention to words, but also meaning, poetry, history, syntax, and the symbolism evident in the original version.