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Poems: On Being Human

This is a collection of poems dating from the 1976 to 2011. In 1976 I resigned my position as Professor of Hebrew Bible at the School of Theology at Claremont and Professor of Semitic Languages and Literature at the Claremont Graduate University at Claremont CA. I was concerned about world food problems, and I wanted to save a ranch. Also I felt the need to take time to smell the roses. After leaving the academic scene I moved to a ranch in Round Valley, CA. These poems point to some important moments from 1976 to 2011 in my life. Also my response to those events and some thoughts about my work are summarized in these poems. For me it was important to work on the land, and as a human, to relate to the other animals in our world. We are all a part of nature.

Genesis, A Royal Epic, second edition

The book of Genesis is a true classic in the canon of Western Civilization. The art and literature of our culture are infused with its thought and images. At the university or in adult education, a class on Genesis is always a lively experience. In American life and culture, an author such as Mark Twain was continually fascinated with religious concepts raised for him by Genesis. As we enter the twenty-first century, we are fortunate, because we now know more about the Mediterranean world, its languages, and its thought that provided the cultural background for this book. In my new translation of Genesis, the reader can enjoy these ancient stories as they were originally enjoyed. In our older translations, the stories are so covered with traditional patina that they cannot be understood. Here these gems have been cleaned, and they sparkle with the insight and purpose of a great royal epic.

Praise for Genesis, A Royal Epic

"Loren Fisher applies what is perhaps the single most valuable method of biblical interpretation to the book of Genesis, the principle of 'multiple voices.' Instead of forcing agreement between clearly distinct units and genres, he allows the differences to speak, and then brings them together to function as a royal epic of leadership and nationhood."
-Baruch A. Levine
Skirball Professor Emeritus of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
New York University

"Loren Fisher has produced an elegant and eminently readable translation of the book of Genesis, with helpful literary and comparative notes throughout. The author does an exceptionally fine job of situating Genesis within the world of ancient Near Eastern literature. Both the casual reader and the advanced scholar of the Bible will gain many insights from this well-conceived project."
-Gary Rendsburg
Department of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University

The Jerusalem Trilogy

This fall Wipf and Stock will publish second editions of The Jerusalem Academy and The Minority Report. These are the first two novels of a trilogy. In November the third novel will be published, Living without Justice.

In Living without Justice Naam tells his story about scribal life in Jerusalem, Tyre, and Shechem during the last part of King David's reign, the reign of King Solomon, and the first part of Jeroboam's reign in the north. This novel stands alone, even though it is the third novel in a trilogy that allows the reader to view the Works and Days of the scribes of Israel. Naam's work at The Jerusalem Academy continues the work of his parents, Jonathan and Keziah. He also works with all things Egyptian. He loves Egyptian stories and believes that a scribal academy must study the literature of its neighbors for the purpose of expanding scribal horizons. He realizes that Israel's neighbors have much to give to Israel - a late arrival on the scene of history. Naam tries to remain neutral in the face of the ever-changing policies of David and Solomon, but for Naam, neutrality is not an option. Naam's stand results in suffering and living without justice. However, Naam and his family are able to help the powerless and enjoy their friends; their life together is a meaningful adventure.

Tales from Ancient Egypt

 

• The Story of Sinuhe: A Wander on the Earth
• The Enchanted Prince
• The Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor
• The Journey of Wen-Amon
• A Dialogue between a Man and His Ba

Of Tales from Ancient Egypt, Baruch Levine wrote,

The ancient Egyptians were masters of the prose story, from short story to novelette. These stories are windows into history, to be sure, and a such informative of the biblical world. They are, at the same, works of wisdom, magnificent examples of the literary art. They are 'telling' in every sense of the word. Loren Fisher has brought the best of them together in an engaging and insightful form, enabling us to read these very old stories as it they were recounting the recent past.

The Many Voices of Job

After working on the separate voices in the book of Job during the past few years, it was necessary to bring them together in this book. They are brought under one cover not for some kind of false harmony, but rather to show the long and vigorous struggle in Israel to understand suffering, justice and the nature of God. From these traditions it is obvious that this struggle was ancient and ongoing in Israel's experience, and it is alive today. Questions concerning the date of the book of Job become moot in light of this living tradition. The rebel Job was and remains a person with a minority view; it is a view that is valuable and can be helpful for our future.

Here are two quotations from the back cover:

"In this compelling work, Fisher brings a fresh understanding to the book of Job by highlighting the four main sections of the book that have truly different perspectives: the folktale, the poetic dialogue, the poem on wisdom, and Elihu's speeches. . . . Anyone interested in a fresh translation and a vibrant analysis of Job will want to read this volume." - The Cascade Books

And the theologian John B. Cobb, Jr. adds: "Many writers seek a single unifying thesis in the book of Job. Fisher uncompromisingly insists that it is not a coherent book. By taking it apart he exposes the contrasting views of God and justice. In particular he frees the angry Job to utter his powerful and unqualified attack on the orthodoxy of his day and of ours."

The Many Voices of Job can be ordered from Wipf and Stock Publishers or by email at orders@wipfandstock.com or by calling 541-344-1528. It will soon be available from Amazon.com.

Revised Edition of The Rebel Job

The invigorating discussion of The Rebel Job at the 2007 Job Conference at The Center for Process Studies made it clear that this book needed to be revised. In this new edition, I have changed my translation of the text of Job 3-26 in a few places and added to the notes. Appendices I and II address some of the questions raised by the participants of the conference. The response to the first edition was helpful, and I was motivated to make this revised edition even more meaningful.

This revised edition is now available from Booksurge and from Amazon in both soft cover and Kindle book formats.

Kirkus Discoveries' Review of The Rebel Job

A historian of the ancient Mediterranean world exhumes a controversial poem from the story of Job to help reconcile God's existence with global calamity.

A retired professor emboldened with age and stirred to action by recent natural disasters, Fisher translated and wrote this work to underscore the importance of dealing with suffering without resorting to fantasy. Because suffer Job did. Recall that the pious man had it all - seven sons, three daughters, a loving wife and his health, not to mention tens of thousands of livestock. Egged on by Satan, who questioned Job's piety, God took it all away. Framed by Job's debate with three God-fearing friends, The Rebel Job finds Job in the nadir of his despair, ranting against his very birth, the injustice of his situation and the notion of a just God. This is the second of what Fisher refers to as the two books of Job - Job I and Job II. Embraced by orthodox religious leaders and conservative politicians, the author argues, Job I advances the idea of a just God who rewards good and punishes evil. The latter rages against the concept of divine justice. Unlike the Old Testament Book of Job, this poem does not conclude with God overcompensating Job for his losses and granting him a 140-year lifespan. On the contrary, Fisher's Job ends on a suitably agnostic note with the protagonist asking, "Who can know the thunder of his might?" The author points out that while we may not fully understand the nature of God, we must love and help the powerless. Thankfully, Fisher pads the 30-page poem with relevant philosophical references - to Nietzsche's death of God concept, 20th-century works of Joseph Roth and Archibald MacLeish and a keen anecdote of how famous Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel decried God's incapacity to stop Nazi death camps. It's these keen references that make the book much more relevant and contemporary than it would have been on its own.

A short, obscure poem very relevant to the chaotic 21st century.

Download Kirkus Discoveries' review of The Rebel Job in PDF format.

Convocation on Job

In 2007 the Center for Process Studies held a conference on the Book of Job at the Claremont School of Theology. Professor John Cobb, Jr. invited four presenters to discuss my books on Job (Who Hears the Cries of the Innocent? The Minority Report, and The Rebel Job) with panelists and an intelligent audience. This was an exciting meeting, and the rebel Job was allowed to speak again. Duane Smith gave some excellent reports on this meeting in his blog.