This new English rendition of the Book of Genesis, the first volume in a new translation of the Pentateuch by Everett Fox, presents a unique approach to the art of biblical translation.

Unlike idiomatic or simply literal translations, this English rendition of Genesis seeks to restore the spoken character of the Hebrew Bible. Fox's translation departs from the standard usage of most biblical translators whose goal is to render the meaning of the text in clear, idiomatic English for contemporary readers. What is lost in these translations is the repetition of the key words and word-stems that form the echoes, allusions, and powerful inner structures of sound that the text uses to develop its central themes.

Based on principles developed by Buber and Rosenzweig when they translated the Hebrew Bible into German, In the Beginning reproduces in English the unique literary forms, linguistic features and, wherever possible, the rhythm of the original Hebrew. Verses are printed in cola or "breath units" resembling free verse, so that they can be read aloud with the oral force inherent in the text itself. Fox's commentary alerts the reader to the ways the language of the text underscores its dominant motifs.

The Bible, Buber and Rosenzweig perceived, communicates not only through semantics but also through sound, as speech transmits sense through tone of voice. In the Beginning brings the English speaking reader one step closer to the Hebrew Bible as it was meant to be heard as an oral document continually addressing its listeners.