There are several reason why I don’t give 5 stars for The Book of Genesis by James D. Tabor1. Footnote on the wrong word. In Genesis 2:2, the book located footnote on the wrong word. According to Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch, the verse is as follows: “And Elohim finished on the sixth day (MT: seventh day) His work that He did, and He ceased on the seventh day from all His work that He did”. However, the book has footnote #30 at the word “He ceased on the seventh day”, which implies that according to the book, LXX and SP state that the verse is as follows “And Elohim finished on the seventh day His work that He did, and He ceased on the sixth day from all his work that He did”. Even if you don’t read Septuagint and/or Samaritan Pentateuch, you will immediately realize that the footnote doesn’t make any sense.2. It is written in this book that “this translation allows readers to experience the original Hebrew and the rich resonance of alliteration, pun, word play, and idiom that are so essential to the meaning of the Bible itself” (p.1). I don’t speak Hebrew, and I only know one verse that fit in the criteria above (alliteration, pun, word play). I'm talking about Genesis 27:36 (“Is it because he called his name Jacob and he took me by the heel this two times? My firstborn right he took, and look! – now he has taken my blessing”). In Hebrew, the word “my firstborn right” (bekhorati) has the exact same letters as “my blessing” (birkhati), but the order of the letters is slightly different. I thought that this book conveys all alliteration, pun, word play, etc; but it turned out that the book fails to convey them in Gen 27:36.3. The book states that the name of Deity is written in all CAPS. However, the name of El Elyon in Genesis 14 is NOT written in CAPS.4. The book allows the reader to know whether a key word is singular or plural, which is excellent, by the way. For example, Gen 4:10 “The voice of the blood (plural) of your brother cries out (plural) toward Me from the soil “. However, I prefer that the blood in the verse above is stated in plural form, that is “the bloods”. I know, blood is always singular in English, but I think we need to emphasis that the bloods of Abel are really in plural form. I prefer the translation of Bereshit Midrash Rabbah as follows: “R. Judan said: It is not written, ‘Thy brother’s blood’ (dam – singular), but ‘Thy brother’s bloods’ (deme – plural): i.e. his blood and the blood of his descendants. CF the translation of Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5: “The bloods of your brother cry out”. In my opinion, the bloods should be written in plural form (i.e. with "s") to emphasis that this is not just the blood of one man, but the bloods of many men (Abel’s descendants).