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Summary: Let the Tanakh Speak for Itself
Review: Regarding the act of translation, the great Greek scholar and translator Robert Fagles has written: "It begins with attraction, then a kind of attack, and it ends, if you are lucky, with a strong impersonation of your author." (See Fagle's Foreward to his masterful translation of "The Oresteia" of Aeschylus). For those of us amateur and striving souls who yearn to read the Tanakh in the original tongue, a "strong impersonation" of the Word of God is never enough.Having learned to savor Greek in Harvard's beautifully bound and highly servicable Loeb Classical Library editions, I am ecstatic to find a parallel Hebrew/English Tanakh to serve as my temporary crutch as I study the Hebrew. I say temporary, because I am anxious to pursue my lifetime studies of the Bible in the original Hebrew, as fast as I am able. (At that point I intend to abandon this lovely little crutch and rely solely thereafter on the definitive "Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.") This edition is not only well bound and a joy to hold, but the Hebrew font is large and easily read. I am also pleased to see the poetical lines formatted as such -- much of the Bible text is, after all, a glorious Song. I say, do not be satisfied with a "strong impersonation", but let the Tanakh speak for itself.
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Summary: In the beginning...
Review: The Tanakh, an edition of the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, put out by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), now has a dual-language edition (Hebrew and English), which is incredibly useful for scripture study. The word Tanakh consists of the first letters of the words denoting the three sections of the text: the Torah (the Law), consisting of the first five books; the Nevi'im (the Prophets), which includes major and minor prophets, as well as some of the history books; and the Kethuvim (the Writings), which consists of poetry, wisdom literature, stories and eschatological literature, and some further history books. The Tanakh is not simply a new translation of the Christian Old Testament. Indeed, most Christian readers would be surprised at the differences inherent in the Tanakh. For one thing, the ordering of the books in the Tanakh is different from the order in the Christian Old Testament. The intent behind the differing order demonstrates one of the key differences in focus of Judaism and Christianity. The ordering of the Old Testament, with the minor prophets, and their call to repentance and future deliverance of the people of Israel by God, is anticipatory of the Messianic age, and hence provide a 'run-up' to the New Testament. Obviously, Judaism does not have the same focus toward Jesus. Thus, the conclusion of the Tanakh leads to the return from exile, the restoration of the people of Israel to the land of promise, and the return of the worship of God to the appointed place, the Temple. Also, the chapter/verse division is somewhat different. This can be seen in side-by-side comparison with other English Bible translations, but also becomes apparent in comparison with other Jewish editions. 'English translations usually list thirty-nine books of the Bible. Meanwhile, Hebrew Bibles classically have presented twenty-four books -- counting the following groups as one book each: the two part of Samuel; the two parts of Kings; the Twelve ('Minor') Prophets; Ezra and Nehemiah; and the two parts of Chronicles. Some aspects of our book design presume the thirty-nine-book division: the tables, book openings, and chapter numbers. But we ended only the conventional twenty-four books with a closing prayer and with the sum total of verses.' The Tanakh was originally translated and published in three sections, corresponding to the three divisions of the text. Begun in 1955, The Torah was completed in 1962; then there was a wait until The Nevi'im was released in 1978, and The Kethuvim in 1982. This edition of the Tanakh is the compilation of these efforts by JPS, with revisions, especially of the 1962 Torah translation. This edition, while incorporating the Hebrew text, is not meant for ritual practice. The intended readership of this volume is the scholar or the general reader; it is not set up for liturgical use -- as the preface states: 'It meets only the traditional rabbinic standards (halakhah) for formatting a study Bible, which are less stringent than those for ritual texts.' The introduction is quite frank about the difficulties that arise in working with ancient manuscripts. In a section entitled The Unbroken Chain of Uncertainty, the editors address the problem of which documentation and corrective (the masorah, which gives rise to the name masoretic text, meaning, authoritative and 'marked') is used, given the variances that arise in ancient manuscripts with fairly equal claim of authority. Drawing on the MCW (Michigan-Claremont-Westminster) electronic BHS (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia), JPS has a text nearly identical with the Leningrad Codex (a 1000-year old volume of the text, the oldest nearly complete volume known). In using this documentation, JPS editors have also done the following in making the text accessible and authoritative: - added chapter and verse numbers, all of which were added much later - redivided the Psalms to 150 (the Codex has divisions into 149) - inserted markings to show codex paragraphing as well as possible scribal errors - filling in cross-references The editors point out some of the omissions: 'Like the medieval scribes, we culled most of our nearly six hundred notes from the larger body of masoretic lore (roughly two hundred thousand notes!); we do not pretend to have been exhaustive.' These notes deal with textual anomalies, and are written in such a manner than a glossary helps decipher them. This is a rewarding volume for anyone who seeks to tap into the power of the original language side-by-side with a unique and powerful translation of the Hebrew scriptures.
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Summary: Essential - it fills a profound need
Review: There are a number of excellent Hebrew-English editions of the Torah but until now I had been unable to find a suitable and concise Hebrew-English edition of the entire Tanakh. This new JPS edition is excellent. The others I have seen either use archaic translation (the old Jerusalem Bible) or are colored by the particular ideologies of their translators and sponsors (the Stone Edition Tanach, which is quite beautiful but whose value as a study bible is limited by its nonliteral translations -- see especially the Shir HaShirim --and because it includes only commentary from a traditional viewpoint). Unfortunately, there's no room for new commentary or annotations (other than technical translation notes, plus the traditional Masoretic notes), but you probably can't expect that in a single volume edition. At some point it would be nice to see, maybe, a 3-volume edition that leaves some room for commentaries from a variety of viewpoints, but for now the 1-volume edition is essential. It will make a good family bible or a convenient resource for study. Also recommended for alternate viewpoints: Plaut, Torah A Modern Commentary and The Haftarah Commentary; The Stone Edition Chumash and Tanach; Everett Fox, The 5 Books of Moses; Ellen Frankel, The 5 Books of Miriam
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Summary: Great for understanding the Jewish perspective. . . .
Review: This is by far one of the largest and most neatly bounded books I have ever owned. Simply stated, the page layout is very spacious with the Hebrew text on the right-hand side and the new JPS translation on the left. For those familar with Hebrew, this edition of the Tanakh also contains the vowel points which helps in the correct pronunciation of the Hebrew words. Also, each verse is indicated, not only in the English text, but also in the Hebrew as well, directly across the page! This makes it easier to pinpoint key words and phrases and to compare with other translations. It sure is nice to have an authoritative translation of the Jewish scriptures without any Christian influence (I have nothing against Christians, because I'm also a believer). For those of you who enjoyed this edition, I would also recomend another: THE STONE EDITION OF THE TANACH by Artscroll publications. The Stone Edition contains both the Hebrew text on the right-hand page and the English on the left all marked with Haftarahs, which also includes a brief commentary section by the Rabbi's of the middle ages! All in all, this is a valuable contribution! Thumbs up!!!
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Summary: Anyone who wants to understand the bible better own this
Review: Whether you are a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim or none of the above, if you want to understand the bible then you must buy this book. You can read the scriptures in English, or, look at the Hebrew. If you have any doubts about the translation that the JPS came up with in this edition - the Hebrew is right there and you can make up your own mind. It's as simple as that. This is also why this book is good for people who know varying levels of Hebrew. If you don't know a lot, you've got the English right there. If you do know a lot, you've got the Hebrew right there. What a wonderful book to own!
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Summary: wonderful
Review: wonderful. sometimes I miss my king james which has a nice index so I can find things I need to find. For instance I was looking up the story of Sampson yesterday and had to read half of Judges to find it. But alas maybe thats better it gets you back to the scripture.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: wonderful. sometimes I miss my king james which has a nice index so I can find things I need to find. For instance I was looking up the story of Sampson yesterday and had to read half of Judges to find it. But alas maybe thats better it gets you back to the scripture.
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