Customer Reviews

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The Tanakh, an edition of the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, put out by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), 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.

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 first thing that strikes the reader more familiar with a Bible a la King James Version, is the the ordering of the books.

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.

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 is a reader's edition, not a scholar's edition. It is not heavily annotated, but there are markings and notes where translation difficulties and issues arose, for the attentive to pursue. The translators relied upon Hebrew editions, Aramaic targums, the Septuagint (a Greek translation), and were informed by subsequent translations, both Christian and Jewish. However, this edition has a translation and scholarly integrity all its own. The translations are careful in accuracy and beautiful in poetry, prose, and literary merit.

Minor differences include the shifting of some chapter and verse demarcations. Contrary to popular belief, the original text was not broken into chapters and verses. This division is neither ancient nor Jewish, but rather a medieval Christian copyist convention. Admittedly, it is almost inconceivable to have a Bible without chapters and verses, but the reader should be aware that these are not integral and infallible. There are instances where this edition combines and re-lines the divisions to make more sense; for instance, the verses of Genesis 7.24 and 8.1 have been joined to make a more fluid and consistent narrative.

I was honoured to have a Jewish friend read from this JPS edition a passage from I Samuel during my ordination. Her reading was magnificent. I think that it is very important in Biblical studies to utilise this text (among others) whenever doing research into the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament to gain a greater understanding of a text that is shared between different communities.

I bought the Tanakh solely because it was the version required for an Old Testament class at a Christian Seminary I attend. I didn't know what to expect initially, because I had never heard of it before.

I must say I really enjoy the translation. It is the first time since the translation of the LXX that a large group of Jewish scholars have come together to translate the Jewish sacred texts. It was nice to read a Bible that was free of Christian influence, even though I am a Christian in faith. The translation is based on the traditional Masoretic text, but it uses the LXX and the Dead Sea scrolls when the Masoretic text is obscure. There are also scriptural readings for various feasts and holy days.

Overall, I find the translation readable and scholarly. As a Christian, I always have more "Christianized" versions around too, such as the RSV, REB, and NRSV, but it is important to have other scholarly translational perspectives as well. I do wish there would have been maps and some commentary included in the hardcover...perhaps in a future edition.

As a side note, the paperback version has a few typos in the text that the hardback lacks.

The Tanakh is a thoroughly researched and readable volume. It was refreshing to read the bible stories I grew up with in an accurate translation for adults, rather than as a pre-digested group of children's stories. Moreover, it was wonderful to read a first generation translation from the original Hebrew, rather than a rewrite of an old English translation. Additionally, one of the many benefits is that JPS chose to include, not only its own translation, but footnotes that refer to the translations of others, allowing the reader to identify and understand the differences. Its prose is modern and clear. This is a translation that will last long into the 21st century.

I just finished reading Tanakh cover to cover.
As a Muslim reader of the Jewish Scriptures I feel enriched in a unique way. The Muslim Holy Book, the Qur'an, refers extensively and repeatedly to the Covenant God made with the Children of Israel. And even though I had read and heard about this for as long as I can remember, I think I have gained a much deeper insight and understanding than ever before, a perspective I am not sure I could have availed of elsewhere. Oh yes, I had read (actually *tried* to read) other translations of the Old Testament prior to reading Tanakh. This lucid translation helped me achieve what six years of Jesuit schooling and a decade old interest in comparative religion could not!
It may be difficult to believe, but reading Tanakh will actually help me understand some fine points in the Qur'an even better. I would recommend it to all Muslims, particularly those living in the West, and perhaps to all people, as an essential part of one's education in life.
Thanks to grandma for letting me borrow her copy, and thanks to our friends at Temple Beth Shalom for the bautiful gift. Just a note to Al Herary - Al, I am buying my own copy! :-)
--Suhail Farooqui

This translation is in a class by itself. It is written in very clear, modern language, but it is not faithful to the Hebrew text! I know Hebrew, and sometimes I compare a part of the Bible that I know in Hebrew to the JPS translation, and it's like I'm reading a whole new text! Also, often, JPS takes the liberty of shuffling words from one verse to another "for greater clarity". These instances are pointed out in the footnotes (which are the best part of the book). My personal favorite is the ArtScroll translation of the Bible as it appears in their Stone edition of the Bible. The ArtScroll translation is extremely faithful, and in readable, clear, modern English.

I never could get into the King James Bible. Too wordy, too preachy talky, too much Shakespearean muddle. Others find it a beautiful text, but in the beauty of the old English a lot of plot gets lost. There are other more modern translations but oft-times they are based upon this King James and the original mistranslations are preserved. After taking a class I fell in love with this book because it has all the things that I found wanting in other Bibles---wit, style, easy to read, and a wicked sense of humor. I have taken to judging Bibles by whether or not 1 Samual 5:12 admits that God gave the Philistines hemmerhoids as Divine Justice instead of "tumors" as most translations like to say. Also from a Jewish perspective, this book is perfect since it is not written as if it is a prologue to that Jesus material but a complete book in and of itself. Now taking a class in Biblical Hebrew I know that there is a lot of mistakes in this book as well. I also know that every individual book of the Bible (especially Torah) has better translations on the market, but this book is the best all around translation. Every book achieves a level of decency that would make people actually want to read the bible for reasons other than religious. When I read this book I was entertained which is something Bibles usually don't do for me. Also it is one of the main reasons why I've decided to convert to Judaism, but even if you are Christian and staying that way or if you are curious about what the Bible really says, this is a great resource

If you're a beginner, this is a good book to have as your first translation of the Jewish Scriptures. It's written in a fairly easy-to-read and fluid language. There are some footnotes to point out alternate readings and obvious comparisons but nothing to overwhelm. A very good feature of this edition is its use of paragraphing and white space - this is the best example I've seen of the Bible's text being broken up into logical, readable units to enhance understanding. The poetry sections are made up to look like poems in the layout. All of this greatly enhances one's first approach to the Bible.

If you're a religious Jew, this is not an ideal translation. Whilst saying that it's in the spirit of the Saadiah Gaon, it tends to steer away from a traditional Jewish approach. There is no substitutions of passages which may suggest God's corporeality unlike the translations which follow the trend of Onkelos. Things are often translated literally as opposed to the oral tradition, eg. Elohim rendered as "God" and not "judges" in passages like Ex 21:6 (judges being given as an alternate reading). The footnotes that try to fix the "mistakes" in the text will be found annoying. Overall, not in the spirit of the Sages.

If you're a Christian, this will introduce you to a Jewish perspective on the Bible (although from the last paragraph it is debatable as to how accurate that perspective is). The originality of the translation (vs say the King James) may also be interesting. If looking for verses which Christians consider as referring to Jesus, do not expect them to be rendered in the same way as in a Christian Bible!

Overall, edition may be either good or bad depending on what you want from it.

Picture a handsome leather-bound volume with a column of attractively-set Hebrew text on the right side of each page and a superb English translation in very readable typeset on the left side. This is what you get in the two leather-bound versions of the 1999 Hebrew-English Bible published by the Jewish Publication Society. I own the large version for reading at home and a handly but vision-challenging small version for the road. I travel a lot and it goes with me on many of those trips.

If you want a less elegantly bound paperback version, you can have that too. In terms of its size, it's midway between the two leather-bound Bibles I've mentioned. Size does matter, as it is eminently more readable for most eyes than the small handbook version.

When the JPS set out to prepare this edition of the Tanakh, it assembled a cast of Jewish luminaries in biblical studies. They chose to go for pretty full disclosure with regards to the many translation difficulties that the Hebrew Bible throws at its readers. Ample footnotes draw the readers attention to these.

A well-written preface tells the story of the traditional text ('Massoretic' or 'Masoretic Text').

This reviewer is a biblical scholar, though not a Jewish one. As such, I'm well aware of the problems created by traditional and biblical literary in the Jewish community today. This version of the Tanakh should make a welcome contribution to resolution of that ailment. Meanwhile, non-Jewish readers like me will read gratefully over the shoulders of the Jewish Publication Society's intended readership.

I own several copies of the "New" JPS translation (it has been around for a few decades now). I own the original three volume edition, the full-size and the pocket size with and without Hebrew text. And despite the fact that I have a few other bibles (including the Judaica Press edition of various books and the entire Soncino Bible) this is the one that I refer to the most.

The translation is readable and accurate although not in the literal sense. When they stray from the literal meaning, it is included in a footnote, as good scholarship requires.

The Hebrew-English addition has the original text facing the translation, which is sometimes helpful if you want to improve your vocabulary, but only beware, the translations is not always word for word.

. . .this excellent new translation is a tremendous resource.

As most persons are aware, the Jewish Scriptures form part of the Canon of the Christian Scriptures as well. However, the experience that many Christians have had with the Hebrew Bible has been minimal at best, typically involving only the most familiar Bible stories. Reading the Hebrew Bible from a Jewish perspective has been difficult for most Christians, except those with training in the Hebrew language.

This new translation of the Hebrew Scriptures provides, in clear and readable English, wonderful insights into both ancient and modern understandings from perspectives unfamiliar to many Christians. (I found the footnotes particularly helpful).

This is a volume which is a "must-have" for any Christian member of the clergy, regardless of denomination. It will be money well-spent.