Biblical translation: the seed, or the offspring?
The Five Books of Moses. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even remember the word “philology,” much less pronounce it, in that context. Instead, I babbled about “seed,” progeny and semen until someone silenced me by refilling my glass. Alter’s rendition of the Pentateuch is impressive enough — James Wood calls it “a monument of scholarship” — that I thought I’d excerpt . . .