The New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh

[Humble_Disciple]

I am reading the Old Testament from beginning to end for the first time, using the New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh:

Regarded throughout the English-speaking world as the standard English translation of the Holy Scriptures, the JPS TANAKH has been acclaimed by scholars, rabbis, lay leaders, Jews, and Christians alike. The JPS TANAKH is an entirely original translation of the Holy Scriptures into contemporary English, based on the Masoretic (the traditional Hebrew) text. It is the culmination of three decades of collaboration by academic scholars and rabbis, representing the three largest branches of organized Judaism in the United States. Not since the third century b.c.e., when 72 elders of the tribes of Israel created the Greek translation of Scriptures known as the Septuagint has such a broad-based committee of Jewish scholars produced a major Bible translation.

In executing this monumental task, the translators made use of the entire range of biblical interpretation, ancient and modern, Jewish and non-Jewish. They drew upon the latest findings in linguistics and archaeology, as well as the work of early rabbinic and medieval commentators, grammarians, and philologians. The resulting text is a triumph of literary style and biblical scholarship, unsurpassed in accuracy and clarity.
Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by Anonymous

Unlike their 1917 translation, the new JPS Tanakh was entirely original and not based on any previous Christian translation. It's both relatively easy to read and accurate to the traditional Masoretic text. The Hebrew Bible is coming alive to me in a way I never imagined.

The word Tanakh is derived from the traditional threefold division of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah (law), Nevi'im (prophets), and Kethuvim (writings). In Luke 24:44, Jesus refers to this threefold division of the Hebrew canon.

 

[Humble_Disciple]

I am almost at the end of Judges, and I still have over a thousand pages to read of the Tanakh.

 

[Humble_Disciple]

I am now at the Book of Isaiah. While the local Chabad rabbi recommended to me the Artscroll translation, which is more expensive, the local Conservative rabbi recommended the NJPS Tanakh. Orthodox rabbis seem to recommend the Artscroll translation more often, though Orthodox rabbis and scholars participated in the NJPS translation.

A significant difference between the Hebrew Tanakh and Christian translations is that the Books of Chronicles are included at the very end, in order to summarize the story of the Hebrew Bible. In Christian versions, people often skip over the Books of Chronicles, thinking that it's just a repeat of the Books of Kings.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

check out Adler

 

[jamiec]

I am reading the Old Testament from beginning to end for the first time, using the New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh:



Unlike their 1917 translation, the new JPS Tanakh was entirely original and not based on any previous Christian translation. It's both relatively easy to read and accurate to the traditional Masoretic text. The Hebrew Bible is coming alive to me in a way I never imagined.

The word Tanakh is derived from the traditional threefold division of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah (law), Nevi'im (prophets), and Kethuvim (writings). In Luke 24:44, Jesus refers to this threefold division of the Hebrew canon.

I like it because it is entirely Jewish.