Tonight I was wrestling again with how to best present the material in my next book. This book on Targum Ruth will be similar to my earlier work on Targum Lamentations. My doctoral thesis was a verse-by-verse commentary and the book was an analysis of the work as a whole, with reference back to the thesis. In this book I will incorporate all of the material into a single volume. So, below are two possible outlines. Which do you as a scholar, researcher, or interested reader find more convenient and/or logical? Or perhaps another form?
Option I
- Introduction
- Commentary (verse-by-verse)
- Analysis (big-picture overview of Tg Ruth)
- Translation
- Text
- Conclusion
Option II
- Introduction
- Analysis
- Annotated Translation (akin to the Aramaic Bible volumes, but with more critical notes)
- Text
- Conclusion
Option III?
3 thoughts on “Advice Needed: Tg Ruth Book Outline”
I am an interested reader, and I feel Option I is what I would like to read. I think separate translation and commentary will do more justice to the commentary than an annotated translation, even if only from a typographical point of view.
Dear Chris,
I too would vote for option 1. I’d also suggest putting the translation and the text before the commentary. After all, that’s what the commentary is trying to explicate.
Cheers!
Paul