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Great Poems of the Bible: A Reader's Companion with New Translations » (Reprint)

Book cover image of Great Poems of the Bible: A Reader's Companion with New Translations by James L. Kugel

Authors: James L. Kugel
ISBN-13: 9781416589020, ISBN-10: 1416589023
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Date Published: October 2008
Edition: Reprint

Author Biography: James L. Kugel

James L. Kugel is Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University, and a regular visiting Professor of Biblical Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is the author of a number of books of biblical scholarship, including How to Read the Bible (2007), for which he won the National Jewish Book Award for best book, The Great Poems of the Bible (1999), and The Bible As It Was (1997). In 2001, Kugel was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Prize in Religion. He lives in Jerusalem, Israel, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Book Synopsis

Biblical scholar James Kugel offers a magnificent exploration of eighteen of the most beautiful and important poems of the Old Testament.

Commentary

"Kugel has produced both beautiful translations of beloved passages from the Hebrew Bible and inspired essays on 'the spiritual reality' those passages evoke."

	Introduction
1.	Psalm 104 "This is where birds make their nest"	26
	A Place in the System	30
2.	Psalm 42 "My soul longs for You"	44
	The Double Agent	46
3.	Psalm 29 "Listen! The Lord"	54
	The Death of Baal	55
4.	Amos 4:4-5:24 "Let justice roll down like waters"	75
	A Prophet in Israel	79
5.	2 Samuel 1:19-27 "How the mighty have fallen!"	98
	David's Lament	100
6.	Job 28 "There is mine for silver"	105
	Where Wisdom is Found	107
7.	Judges 5 Deborah's Song	129
	Tough Women	133
8.	Psalm 51 David's Confession	147
	A Pure Heart	149
9.	The One-Line Poem (chosen from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes)	159
	Solomon's Riddles	160
10.	Isaiah 11:1-9 "The wolf will dwell with the lamb"	181
	An Ideal Time	183
11.	Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd"	192
	"And Obscure as That Heaven of the Jews"	193
12.	Jeremiah 12:1-6 "You always win, O Lord"	211
	Why Do The Wicked Prosper?	213
13.	Psalm 137 "By the rivers of Babylon"	220
	The Fall of Jerusalem	221
14.	Psalm 119 A Psalm of Devotion	239
	To Know God	251
15.	The Song of Songs Selections	271
	Sea of Love	276
16.	Micah 7:8-20 "Who is like You?"	279
	God's Character	280
17.	Isaiah 60 "Arise, shine!"	288
	The Match	292
18.	Ecclesiastes 12 "Remember your Creator"	305
	For Everyone, a Season	307
	Dates of Important Figures and Events	324
	Notes on Translations	326
	Brief Bibliography	341
	Scriptural Index	346