Customer Reviews

Tanach: The Torah, Prophets, Writings -- The Twenty-Four Books of the Bible, Newly Translated and Annotated (The ArtScroll Series)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Recently I've been revisiting my Jewish heritage. I have quite a few bibles, of different translations, since I like to compare versions. I suddenly realized that I had English, Latin, Greek, and even Aramaic available, but that I had no Hebrew bible. Anyone rambling about the web quickly discovers that The Stone Edition (so called because Irving I. Stone was its patron) commands much respect for it's Hebrew and English versions as well as a wealth of supporting material.

I am not well equipped to evaluate the Hebrew text but I found the English translation endlessly fascinating. For example, Bereishis (Genesis) opens "In the beginning of God's creating the heavens and the earth -- when the earth was astonishingly empty...." Suddenly we are in the mind of narrator who feels quite different than the other voices that have been given to the Bible. It is a voice that is just a bit more like people than oratory or rhetoric. It was a difference I quickly came to like.

I also found the commentary that runs with the text very useful often resolving questions and keeping the focus on the intent of the text. The Parashas are clearly marked in the Torah, as are the Haftaras elsewhere. The books are each provided with a short introduction that provides insight into the background and context of the writing. An overview of the Tanach is provided as well as the requisite blessings and guides to pronunciation. We are also given extensive tables for everything from Torah readings, to timelines, biblical genealogy to the construction of the Tabernacle.

This is actually the richest and most informative bible I own, and is already providing me much to think about. While it is of most value to someone who is practicing Judaism, I thing it would repay the investment of many people who have an interest in the bible as spiritual history and inspiration. For the academic student, it is required reading. I chose to acquire the leather bound edition, for it's durability. To be honest, though, the lower priced editions available here are every bit as good in quality. There is no material missing from them so they actually represent an tremendous bargain.

Not only are the Torah, Prophets and Writings fully translated in modern English, the Hebrew with the cantellations for chanting (trop) are legibly included. Therefore, if you take the time to search out where the haftorahs begin and end, you may use the Stone edition as a chumash. In fact, Artscroll publishes a Chumash but why not get every word of the Bible rather than just those parts of the Prophets which are included among the Haftorahs? The best feature of a good Bible is the use of commentaries which illuminate the text. Artscroll, as in all their publications, includes excellent commentaries. The comments are from a fundamentalist Orthodox viewpoint and are very illuminating. I also recommend the JPS Tanakh which is also a faithful translation of the original Hebrew but which may contain a slightly different viewpoint in the comments. However, the Stone edition, with the full Hebrew text including trop, all in one volume, is the best Bible published anywhere.

I actually have the student sized edition of the same title.Anyhow this one is a more regular sized edition, whereas the student one is smaller, for a more 'personal fit' or perhaps for ease of comfort when carrying it around on trips or whatever.

This version of Tanach is extraordinary! I really like this one. The original Hebrew is on the right side of the two pages (when you open the book) and the Artscroll translation is on the left. There are footnotes and commentary on the bottom parts of the pages to help the reader understand and study the Bible in more depth. Also there are several appendixes/appendices at the end of the book, as well as introductions to each book or section of the Bible that also aid in studying the Bible.

Also, this Artscroll translation is really excellent. For e.g., in Genesis 22 the Akeidah, or the binding of Isaac, the testing of Abraham, Hashem says, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love..." which actually is more correct because the Hebrew specifies that Hashem gives Abraham a choice, out of love for him, "please" and not "Take your son..." as in the more traditional English renderings in other versions.

I also recommend you purchase the Living Torah by Aryeh Kaplan, the Five Books of Moses by Everett Fox, and the Torah Anthology (a multi volume set which is very expensive but very worth the cost).

The Stone Edition Tanach includes the Hebrew text of the twenty four books of the Jewish Bible, Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi'im (Prophets) and Kethuvim (Writings), an English translation, brief commentary, timelines, charts, diagrams and maps, and relevant synagogue notes and readings.
The Hebrew text is clearly pointed and easy to read. On the opposite page is the English translation. The translation is accurate, modern, clear and mellifluous.
Beneath the Hebrew and English text is a very brief commentary drawn from important Jewish sources. Some reviewers seem very impressed by this commentary. While I have no problems with the commentary, it does not seem intended as the focus of this Tanakh. If you are looking for extensive traditional Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh in English from Artscroll, try the multi-volume Artscroll Tanach Series. There are also many, many other very good English translations of classical commentaries and anthologies of commentaries available. I also strongly recommend the Stone Edition Chumash, which includes a wonderful, anthologised commentary on the Torah (Pentateuch).
The exception here is the Song of Songs. Artscroll here "translate" the book according to Rashi's allegorical commentary, and beneath this, in the commentary section, provide a literal, phrase-by-phrase translation of the Hebrew. This is very original and excellently done.
Throughout the translation, with the exceptions of Ecclessiastes and Lamentations, it seems, marginal notes introduce, summarise and set the context. A nice introduction also prefaces each book, summarising some of its themes.
If you need a Tanakh, with an English translation, this edition is beautiful and clear.

This book is for anyone interested in studying Tanach, regardless of your prior knowledge in Jewish studies. It is in Hebrew and English. The commentaries make the pages come alive. In the back there is a number of charts and maps to help explain the book to a further extent. This is a great book by Artscroll.

All that has been said by the other reviewers is true; this is indeed a very beautiful volume and a true bargain at the price.

The type face is wonderfully easy to read, the binding nicely embossed and expensive looking and feeling, the comments enlightening, and the charts in the back an unexpected benefit.

This is indeed an Orthodox version of the Tanach, and some Reform Jews may want to consider that the comments and charts will naturally take that position instead of the Reform position.

Unless the slight differences in theological positions are a consideration in such a purchase, there is no question that the Stone Tanach should be your first choice in a personal or a gift Tanach.

This gorgeous volume is sadly lacking the rabbinical commentary for which reason I purchased it in the first place. Needless to say, I will be continuing my search for good commentary (Jewish rabbinical commentary) on the Bible. I was also shocked to find gold gilt-edging on the top and not the side and bottom pages; but I guess it is supposed to be this way? If you are just wanting a beautiful Jewish Bible, this one is that- beautiful. If you are looking for an accurate translation, you would do much better with a different translation. If you are looking for in-depth commentary, I must discourage you from this particular version since the commentary is very, very limited.

I personally own this item, and since I learn it in the original, I can tell you that this is a good translation that is in keeping with the Oral Law. Since there would be many questions on the literal translation of the text without exlanation, we learn it with the commentaries, which were written during the time of the Rishonim, or the 1000-1500's. Several of the commentaries are incorporated into the translation, while a few are also at the bottom in a comprehensive and easy to read manner. This book is also typeset very well, with the Hebrew corrresponding to the English on the reverse side, a difficult task since Hebrew is a more concise language. Another thing that drew me to this translation was the beautiful language into which it was translated. It shows the poetry of the original, which can never be reproduced since God himself wrote it and since every language has its own nuances that sound beautiful for itself and cannot be translated. I highly recommend this book, and feel it is a vital component of every English speaking Jew's, religous or non-religous,library, and an intersting read for the non-Jew. since it offers the Orthodox perspective.

Do not be fooled by the concise commentary or seemingly "dynamic equivalent translation". This is a serious reference piece that should propagate any person's shelf, be they Jewish or non-Jewish. The translation breathes new life into Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures), and is derived mostly from Rashi's (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitchaki - 11th Century Biblical Commentator) commentaries on Tanakh. The Hebrew text itself is the Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot, which has its origins in the Leningrad B19 Text). This is a distinctly Jewish text, and as such follows Jewish readings. The fact that the Hebrew is presented alongside (fully punctuated and 'tropped'), with parallel references means that a word can be paralleled easily with the Hebrew. For example: in Gen 1.2, the rhyming couplet tohu v'bohu is rendered by Rashi as "astonishingly empty", a simple reference to a Lexicon or Dictionary indicates what bohu and tohu mean literally. One therefore gets the best of three worlds - an excellent 'true to the text' translation (that is not 'dynamic', but 'formally' equivalent), within the translation, Jewish interpretation of the text, - how it has been traditionally understood, and a concise but very useful commentary.

Due its size and compactness however, the authors were probably unable to provide Rashi's valuable commentary alongside. For this reason, one should keep this as a reference...the Chumash (Torah) published by Artscroll under the same patron "Stone" deserves to be on the shelf...currently Artscroll is publishing the rest of the Tanakh series in a similar manner to the already popular Torah, and have completed Joshua/Judges and Samuel (Yehoshua/Shoftim and Shmuel) under the patron "Rubin". In addition to this Artscroll as a 'tanakh series' whic provides more of an English based commentary, overview and translation of the Tanakh.

In order to really maximise benefit from this Tanakh one should have at least a basic understanding of Hebrew. However, English Speakers will find the text extremely interesting and helpful in understanding the text.

Christian apologists and Missionaries however, will probably scorn this translation, possibly in favour of the outdated King James Version. It must be pointed out here that this the Artscroll is a Jewish text, and will support a Jewish Orthodox outlook and will thus be unsupportive to missionary practices. The reader must always refer back to the Hebrew to support a position where it is provided for in the Artscroll. In fact it is a work of Scholarship, and is a work of Scholarly inquiry...almost all modern translations (specifically the NEB, NRSV, TEV, NJB etc.) that are not particularly Jewish reflects scholarship that only now has come to light in non-Jewish scholarship, that has been reflected in Jewish scholarship centuries before.

As noted above, this Artscroll Stone Tanakh is well worth the buy. In fact, No home should be without it, and in its student size edition, makes an excellent Travel Sefer (Travel Book).

Shalom ! I purchased the Stone Edition Student size Tanach because it is a bit smaller and easier to carry than the full size edition. I own the full size Stone also. The print in the student size is very readable. It features the same sturdy construction as the full size edition . These are very , very durable items. If you find that after some time the binding is seperating from the pages (as happened to a friend of mine ),all you have to do is use some elmer's glue and let it set over night and it is good as new ! This problem could occur mainly due to the weight of the Tanach as this is a heavy item ( the student edition is much lighter ).
The Hebrew font is awesome ! The English side is beautifully done as well.
I own the JPS Tanakh also , although I prefer the Stone's English translation over JPS. The thing with translations is that you automatically pick up some of the translators bias when you read it. THE BEST THING TO DO IS .........LEARN TO READ THE HEBREW FOR YOURSELF ! The translation is from an Orthodox Jewish perspective. THIS IS NOT A CHRISTIAN VERSION OF THE " OLD TESTAMENT ". This a Jewish work and it has a flavor all it's own . IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A FRESH PERSPECTIVE .....THIS IS A MUST ! This edition has several nicely done and informative graphs and charts in the back ...a pleasant bonus ! If I had to pick just one Tanach to have , this would be it .
If you are just beginning to learn Hebrew , GET A HEBREW LEXICON. Davidson's Hebrew and Chaldean lexicon is a good one to own as well as Jeff Benner's Ancient Hebrew lexicon of the Bible.Benner's lexicon is something to purchase after you have some hebrew under your belt as there are no vowels in this lexicon. TRUST NO ONES TRANSLATION ....LEARN TO READ HEBREW FOR YOURSELF !
I also own the JPS Hebrew/English Tanach . The font is beautiful as well. The neat thing about the JPS is that it has the Hebrew and the English translation on the same page, whereas the Stone has Hebrew on the right page and the English Translation on the left. It is really what you prefer that matters here.

Shalom .....and get to your Hebrew !

1/09/07