--- product_id: 35747678 title: "Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary" price: "VT8212" currency: VUV in_stock: false reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/35747678-strong-as-death-is-love-the-song-of-songs-ruth store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary **Price:** VT8212 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary - **How much does it cost?** VT8212 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/35747678-strong-as-death-is-love-the-song-of-songs-ruth) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary [Alter, Robert] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary Review: Just what were those biblical authors thinking? Alter has clues... - The five stars are for Robert Alter's wonderful footnotes; I can't exactly give a rating to the Bible.....Since childhood I loved these stories in the carefully redacted Disney versions that I was taught. Reading the originals, even as a now cynical adult, I still find them quite shocking. What were they thinking? After averting genocide against the Hebrews, beautiful wise Queen Esther not only gets revenge on her enemy Haman, she has all ten of his sons, all gleefully listed by their exotic names, impaled on stakes. Time to party. Then the text explains that after they killed off the entire Haman clan, the Hebrews were too ethical to loot the family's goods....is that supposed to be noble or is it some kind of ancient humor? (Like the country western song: I shot the sheriff, but I didn't kill his deputy...) Robert Alter carefully explains that none of this is at all historical. The Persian empire was famously tolerant of different religions, the threatened genocide would not have been possible, and neither was the revenge. The biblical authors just needed a story to justify a little carnival celebration at the Purim time of year since other biblical texts didn't already provide a pretext for partying. That's a relief. Alter is quite comfortable with the expansive eroticism of the Song of Songs, and provides a wonderful gloss. His take on Ruth is interesting: The only book in the Old Testament where all the characters are well-intentioned, and the most radical book in the Old Testament for its approval of intermarriage, and even with a happy ending, and no one gets impaled on a stake. Of course the poetry of Ruth and Naomi is genuinely noble, my favorite still. But it probably did not sit well with traditionalists who opposed what Alter antiseptically calls "exogamy." Like other scholars, Alter places late works Jonah and Daniel as transitional between the ancient world of the Old Testament and the world of New Testament Christianity. Jonah anticipates a monotheistic god that should work for all ethnic groups, also anticipates the idea of eternal life, not a commonly accepted notion in the older books, and Daniel comes up with an eternal kingdom and resurrection from the dead. All handy concepts for the Christian era. Alter carefully and succinctly identifies the wild mythological characters in Daniel's visions with the corresponding historical names, like Alexander the Great and Antiochus. Just enough information so the curious can go to Google and get some traction. He really gets the role of footnotes as guideposts. He clues you into each genre as the reader encounters them: what is vaguely historical, what is wish fulfillment, what is fairy tale, what is folk lore. For those with an interest, there are quick references to the previous scholarship, without getting too technical. I still find the Old Testament shocking, but with Alter's guide, I can better appreciate "what they were thinking," and see it as a remarkable human document, a letter washed up in a bottle from the distant human past. Review: Beautiful and Insightful - Alter's translation is beautifully written and enjoyable to read. His commentary adds a deeper understanding to the text including the nuances of various translations, culture of the initial audience, and literary structure of each book. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #176,260 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #191 in Old Testament Commentaries #487 in Old Testament Bible Study (Books) #2,386 in Christian Bibles (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (103) | | Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches | | Edition | Reprint | | ISBN-10 | 0393352250 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0393352252 | | Item Weight | 7.4 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 256 pages | | Publication date | February 8, 2016 | | Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company | ## Images ![Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/6172y6tGA8L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Just what were those biblical authors thinking? Alter has clues... *by E***N on October 6, 2017* The five stars are for Robert Alter's wonderful footnotes; I can't exactly give a rating to the Bible.....Since childhood I loved these stories in the carefully redacted Disney versions that I was taught. Reading the originals, even as a now cynical adult, I still find them quite shocking. What were they thinking? After averting genocide against the Hebrews, beautiful wise Queen Esther not only gets revenge on her enemy Haman, she has all ten of his sons, all gleefully listed by their exotic names, impaled on stakes. Time to party. Then the text explains that after they killed off the entire Haman clan, the Hebrews were too ethical to loot the family's goods....is that supposed to be noble or is it some kind of ancient humor? (Like the country western song: I shot the sheriff, but I didn't kill his deputy...) Robert Alter carefully explains that none of this is at all historical. The Persian empire was famously tolerant of different religions, the threatened genocide would not have been possible, and neither was the revenge. The biblical authors just needed a story to justify a little carnival celebration at the Purim time of year since other biblical texts didn't already provide a pretext for partying. That's a relief. Alter is quite comfortable with the expansive eroticism of the Song of Songs, and provides a wonderful gloss. His take on Ruth is interesting: The only book in the Old Testament where all the characters are well-intentioned, and the most radical book in the Old Testament for its approval of intermarriage, and even with a happy ending, and no one gets impaled on a stake. Of course the poetry of Ruth and Naomi is genuinely noble, my favorite still. But it probably did not sit well with traditionalists who opposed what Alter antiseptically calls "exogamy." Like other scholars, Alter places late works Jonah and Daniel as transitional between the ancient world of the Old Testament and the world of New Testament Christianity. Jonah anticipates a monotheistic god that should work for all ethnic groups, also anticipates the idea of eternal life, not a commonly accepted notion in the older books, and Daniel comes up with an eternal kingdom and resurrection from the dead. All handy concepts for the Christian era. Alter carefully and succinctly identifies the wild mythological characters in Daniel's visions with the corresponding historical names, like Alexander the Great and Antiochus. Just enough information so the curious can go to Google and get some traction. He really gets the role of footnotes as guideposts. He clues you into each genre as the reader encounters them: what is vaguely historical, what is wish fulfillment, what is fairy tale, what is folk lore. For those with an interest, there are quick references to the previous scholarship, without getting too technical. I still find the Old Testament shocking, but with Alter's guide, I can better appreciate "what they were thinking," and see it as a remarkable human document, a letter washed up in a bottle from the distant human past. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful and Insightful *by E***N on December 26, 2022* Alter's translation is beautifully written and enjoyable to read. His commentary adds a deeper understanding to the text including the nuances of various translations, culture of the initial audience, and literary structure of each book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ excellent commentary *by S***B on April 9, 2024* Robert Alter provides excellent commentary to the English translation. He expertly explains the use of Hebrew poetry and language developments. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/35747678-strong-as-death-is-love-the-song-of-songs-ruth](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/35747678-strong-as-death-is-love-the-song-of-songs-ruth) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-13*