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.
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