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Few volumes reflect understandings as varied as that of the Book of Esther. Embraced by many but disliked by others, it has constantly engaged its readers in new dialogue. On each reading, one is again drawn to the issues it confronts: family dynamics intergroup relations celebration armed resistance heroism sexual politics the nature of historical truth and much more. This commentary is framed by the equally fascinating story of the book's changing interpretations.
"Benjamin Segal's translation and literary commentary is arrestingly new. Its most striking innovations include the tracing of change within the book, an exploration of the character of the main speaker, an appreciation of the literary structure, and a sensitivity to the varied voices of the main speaker in this retrospective narrative." -- Back cover
This is a commentary and guide to reading the Book of Psalms as literature. After an introduction, each psalm is interpreted in light of biblical scholarship, ancient and modern, with an emphasis on the poetic presentation. The commentary elucidates the spiritual quests, insights, and struggles of generations of men and women confronting their world and their place in that world, with no subject, be it faith or non-belief, good or evil, hope or despair, God or man, the individual or the society, the nation or the nations, left unexplored. Sophisticated poets who knew how to speak to both their peers and the masses, the psalmists used words creatively to allow their readers to search their ow...
The Book of Ruth is one of the most appealing to modern biblical interpreters, touching as it does on so many subjects of current concern: the emergence of female equality, the significance of legal evolvement, the acceptance of the outsider, to name a few. Benjamin Segal, author of earlier biblical commentaries (on the Song of Songs, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes,) here undertakes the difficult and controversial task of deciphering the original literary import of this exciting engaging book. Following a verse- by- verse commentary, this volume offers a new overview of the Book of Ruth, framed as: a series of revolutionary changes described via a once-upon-a-time ideal:, a former time when all se...
Examines the concept of the Jews as a separate people. This book looks at the role of Jews and Judaism in the modern world and the overall concept of being Jewish in a non-Jewish world.
A love poem as old as the Bible, as contemporary as today... One love poem the Bible's Song of Songs continues to be read and to inspire after thousands of years. Using the best of biblical scholarship and sharp literary analysis, Benjamin Segal's new translation and commentary reveal a picture of ideal love so appealing that it became for centuries the monotheistic model of human-divine attachment. Here one also finds a rare ancient effort to capture the female voice. Segal's literary analysis captures the pulsating rhythm of the poem, and allows the reader to confront its ever-contemporary and challenging view of love.
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Discusses the attachment of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Also included is a section about Zionism and the Conservative Movement.