JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh [Imitation Leather]

Inc. Jewish Publication Society (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

The JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH features the oldest-known complete Hebrew version of the Holy Scriptures, side by side with JPS’s renowned English translation. Its well-designed format allows for ease of reading and features clear type, an engaging and efficient two-column format that enables readers to move quickly from one language to another, and an organization that contemporary readers will find familiar.

The Hebrew text of this TANAKH is based on the famed Leningrad Codex, the Masoretic text traceable to Aaron Ben Moses ben-Asher, ca. 930 CE Ben-Asher researched all available texts to compile an authoritative Bible manuscript. In 1010 CE his work was revised by Samuel ben Jacob, a scribe in Egypt. Lost for centuries, the manuscript was eventually discovered in the mid-nineteenth century and became known as the Leningrad Codex. This edition adapts the latest BHS edition of the Leningrad text by correcting errors and providing modern paragraphing.

The English text in this TANAKH is a slightly updated version of the acclaimed 1985 JPS translation. Wherever possible, the results of modern study of the languages and culture of the ancient Near East have been brought to bear on the biblical text, which allows for an English style reflective of the biblical spirit and language rather than of the era of the translation.

This edition also includes an informative preface that discusses the history of Bible translation, focusing on the latest JPS English translation of the Holy Scriptures. It is the result of a 30-year interdenominational collaboration of eminent Jewish Bible scholars. Readers are sure to appreciate one of the most intensive projects in the history of The Jewish Publication Society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Virtually every rabbi and library will want this volume.”—Associated Press

(Associated Press )

From the Publisher

The JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh is available in a number of editions; paperback and hardcover, full-size and pocket editions, and in various cover colors and materials.

Product Details

• Imitation Leather: 2038 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827606974
• ISBN-13: 978-0827606975
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Jewish Texts > Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
  • #59 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very readible translation, Hebrew and trop, May 16, 2005

By 

David E. Levine (Peekskill , NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (Imitation Leather)

The JPS edition of the Tanakh has been in print since 1985 at which time this modern English translation replaced JPS's "Shakespearean" style translation. This translation has been well respected and stand's with the translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan of blessed memory, and the Artscroll translation known as the "Stone Edition." Originally, the JPS edition was published only in English but, they later added editions in Hebrew/English. What I like about this edition is that it is very usable if you wish to recite the trop (cantillations for chanting). This edition is large enough that the trop is easily visible. Often, a full Bible (Tanakh) or a Bible including just the Torah and Haftorah (Chumash) is compacted into a size that makes these trop symbols illegible. In using this edition, I am able to read the English in a comprehensible translation and also study the Hebrew using the trop. I can use it to recite a haftorah (but note, you have to find out of the full text the passages, which include the haftorah, since the haftorahs are not delineated as such).

I already have several other Tanakhs, including the hardcover English only edition of the JPS Tanakh. However, while I was away from home, I was reading a book on theology which required both a Jewish Bible and a Christian Bible for cross referencing. Wanting the Jewish Bible to be a translation done under Jewish auspices, rather than a Christian "Old Testament," I treated myself to this edition. As in the English only version, the text is footnoted with commentary. The footnotes are often cryptic, sometimes clarifying obscure or alternate meanings in the translation. However, I did not buy it for the commentary, but rather for a lucid translation from Jewish sources rather than a translation based on the Greek Septuagent (such as the Kings James Version).

Aestehetically, this edition looks like a Bible!! It has the biblical soft, bendible leatherlike cover and it has a rich, brown color. Therefore it looks great on the bookshelf, it is a good study aid if you wish to read the Tanakh in English, and it is an equally good study aid to read the Tanakh in Hebrew along with the trop. Although I bought it for the translation, I use the Hebrew text when I am studying parshot or haftorot. Because this is a very solid work, both in its substance, and in its physical presentation, this Tanakh serves as a wonderful gift for a bar/bat mitzvah or for anyone else who deserves a nice present. I also recommend the Living Torah by Kaplan (which only includes the haftorahs, not the entire Prophets and Writings) as well as the Stone Edition by Artscroll. All three are wonderful study aids and, I have used all three over the years. If commentary is your primary interest, I might lean slightly towards Artscroll or, the venerable Hertz Chumash. If you are interested more in the text than in commentary, all of these versions are supurb.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars poor binding, September 21, 2006

By 

V. Lowe (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (Imitation Leather)

the downfall to this version is the binding. The first day I flipped through the book pages started falling out.

67 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nicely printed Hebrew text in a rotten binding., June 24, 2005

By 

tepi "tepi" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (Imitation Leather)

Since others have described the contents of the JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (ISBN: 0827606974) I will just say a few words about the incredibly poor binding of this book. Although the book is well-printed on excellent paper, it is being misleadingly touted as "leather bound." In fact, it is cased in PAPER-covered boards, comes with a cheap and nasty glued spine, and seems to have been designed to self-destruct after minimal use.

For a more durable bilingual Tanakh, and one with a much more interesting English translation, readers might take a look at the Artscroll Stone Edition Tanach (ISBN: 0899062695) which is also available at Amazon and is the edition I now wish that I had bought.

Too many publishers today are putting cheap glued paperbacks between cardboard covers, pretending that they are real books, and selling them at inflated prices. Hence the single star.