Genesis, A Royal Epic. Loren R. Fisher

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      Genesis, A Royal Epic

      Introduction, Translation, and Notes

      Second Edition

      Loren R. Fisher

2008.Cascade_logo.pdf

      GENESIS, A ROYAL EPIC

      Introduction, Translation, and Notes / Second Edition

      Copyright © 2011 Loren R. Fisher. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf & Stock, 199 W. 8th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401.

      Cascade Books

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

       www.WipfandStock.com

      

      isbn 13: 978-1-61097-301-4

      Cataloging-in-Publication data:

      Fisher, Loren R.

      Genesis, a royal epic : introduction, translation, and notes / Loren R. Fisher.

      Second Edition.

      xvi + 252 p. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

      isbn 13: 978-1-61097-301-4

      Note: First Edition 2001.

      1. Bible. O.T. Genesis—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. O.T. Genesis. English. I. Title.

      bs1233 f57 2011

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      For

      Cyrus H. Gordon

      Acknowledgments

      This translation is dedicated to Cyrus H. Gordon, my teacher and my friend. I have never known another person like him. His classes were always exciting, and his store of knowledge was always there to help the discussion. He is a real pioneer in Mediterranean studies. Loren Eiseley explained Charles Darwin’s importance to biological history in a way that also explains Gordon’s importance to Mediterranean studies. Eiseley said:

      Gordon’s comprehensive view of the Mediterranean World and his synthesis has created a new and an enlightened way of approaching our search for the foundations of our culture. It is a privilege to have worked with Cyrus H. Gordon.

      Stan Rummel, who studied with me at Claremont and took over the Ras Shamra Parallels project when I left Claremont, has assisted me during the preparation of this translation. I want to thank him for his help. We have worked on many of the problems of Genesis during regular meetings that were scheduled for that purpose. He has put a lot of time into this project, and this work is much better because of his help.

      I also thank the members of the Hebrew Bible Seminar of the Westar Institute (the late Robert W. Funk, director) for their comments and help on translation problems. From 1987 to 1991, we met twice a year. At each meeting, Genesis and its complexities took more than their share of the time.

      I extend many thanks to Dr. K. C. Hanson, Editor-in-Chief at Wipf and Stock Publishers, for his help with this second edition. His editorial work was important as usual, and his scholarly intuition and assistance has been priceless. As always, I thank my wife, Jane Sheldon, for her editorial help.

      I want to thank my son, Prof. Daniel C. Fisher—who is Claude W. Hibbard Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan and Curator of Paleontology at the University of Michigan Museum—for all of his encouragement and help, especially with Appendix II, and my conversations with Judith P. Fisher concerning the cover have been extremely rewarding. I want to thank Betty Lou Whaley for the original front cover concept. The embossed background on the cover of the first edition is an image of a gastropod mollusc (Murex trunculus), one of the snails used by the Phoenicians to produce a precious purple dye. It was used to dye garments for the royalty. I have used it as a symbol for this very precious Royal Epic. The following terms are interesting in that they refer to both the Phoenicians and their purple dye:

      Mycenaean Greek, Po-ni-ke

      Ugaritic, Pwn and Pwt

      Hebrew, Pûnî

      Greek, Phoinix and Phoinikes

      Latin, Punicus

      Preface to the Second Edition

      There are not many changes in this second edition. The format and structure of the translation has been changed, and it is now divided into four parts:

      Part I 1:1—11:26

      Part II 11:27—25:18

      Part III 25:19—37:1

      Part IV 37:2—50:26.

      Part IV has been reset to represent the prose, as opposed to epic line, structure of that section. Furthermore, the bibliography has now all been gathered to the end, and an Index of Ancient Documents has been provided to track the references in the Introduction, notes, and appendices.

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