Book Reviewed: The Jewish Bible: Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures -- The New JPS Translation

Hebrew Bible: A translation in the spirit and beliefs of Rabbinic Judaism

The Hebrew Bible was written in three different ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Although a modern version of each of these languages is spoken today, most modern readers would have difficulty with the ancient versions of biblical texts. Ancient Hebrew was spoken by Jews, and the language of Old Testament. Isaiah 19:18 calls it “the language of Canaan,” while other verses label it “Judean” and “language of the Jews” (2 Kings 18:26; Isaiah 36:11, 13; 2 Chronicles 32:18; Nehemiah 13:24). Ancient Aramaic originated in northern Syria was widely used during the Assyrian rule. A few passages in the Old Testament were written in Aramaic (Genesis 31:47; Ezra 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11). It was very popular in the ancient Israel and was commonly spoken in Jesus’ time.

In this book, a translation of the Hebrew Bible is rendered truthful to the beliefs and spirit of the ancient Jews expressed in Torah, first five books of the Bible. They are the books of the Law given to Moses. The other major sections are the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Kethuvim (Writings). A brief history may be relevant in understanding the translations of this book. The traditional name given to the authoritative Hebrew text is the Masoretic Text. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made for the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria around 3rd century B.C. Alexandria had a large Jewish population whose primary language was Greek. A legend contained in the Letter of Aristeas claimed that Ptolemy Philadelphus commissioned a translation to be made into Greek by six men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, sent by the high priest in Jerusalem. These 72 scholars purportedly came up with identical translations. Scholars generally discount the legend, but the name "Septuagint" -- from the Latin word for seventy (LXX) became the traditional name for this translation.

The Christian Church was speaking mainly in Greek, adopted the Septuagint as its "official" version of the Old Testament. Afterwards it was abandoned by Jews. The Dead Sea Scrolls, 20th century’s greatest archaeological find is the rediscovery of 230 texts of biblical books, which have begun to change details in the Scriptures. For example, In 1 Samuel 17:4, it says Goliath stood “six cubits and a span,” meaning a towering nine feet plus. But Dead Sea scroll read as saying ’”four cubits and a span,” a mere six and a half feet. Consider Psalm 145, an acrostic where each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This chapter was always a head-scratcher because the verse for one letter is missing in the standard Hebrew text.

Eugene Ulrich, professor of Hebrew at the University of Notre Dame and chief editor of the Dead Sea biblical materials suggests that in ancient times, two or more contrasting editions of biblical books existed side by side and were all regarded as Scriptures. Back then the Old Testament was far different and concludes that there were multiple editions for the following books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms and Song of Solomon. In Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalm 33 directly follows Psalm 31, skipping number 32. Did the scribes who wrote those manuscripts believe 32 was not God’s Word? It appears that Psalm 33 naturally follows Psalm 31. In fact the authors of this book consider the Hebrew meaning of Psalm 32 is uncertain and originated from the writings of Maskil, adherents of a Jewish tribe called the Haskalah movement.

The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism. However, to understand the Hebrew Bible’s text the scholars also use Greek and Syrian translations, quotations from rabbinic manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch and others such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are older texts and often contradict themselves. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books with their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah. Between 200 B.C. and 70 A.D. rabbis began establishing the standard Masoretic Text as the basis for all Old Testaments.

The Talmud holds that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by Joshua. The Mishnah proclaims the divine origin of the Torah and an essential tenet of Judaism. However modern scholarly consensus is that the Torah has multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries.

The translations of the verses of Torah given in the book are helpful in understanding Exodus, the story of God's revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, who leads them out of Egypt (Exodus 1–18) to Mount Sinai. Jews accept the covenant with God. Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant (Exodus 19–24) to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed (Exodus 32–34). Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction (Exodus 25–31; 35–40). Numbers play an important role in Judaic ritual practices and are believed to be the means for understanding the divine. The priestly blessing or the Aaronic blessing which includes a rabbinic tradition of raising hands (blessing is given from a raised rostrum), and the Hebrew prayer recited by Kohanim, the Hebrew Priests. According to Torah, they are descendants of Aaron the first High Priest, older brother of Moses and have been divinely chosen by God to work in the Tabernacle and assist the Israelites in blessings, ministering, sacrifices and atoning for their sins to God, for all eternity.

The text of Kethuvim (Writings section of Tanakh) frequently presented the translators with extraordinary difficulties for conveying in with the fullness of Hebrew, because of its ambiguities, overtones, and richness. It is the goal of authors of this book to transmit something of directness, and unique Jewish expressions of piety essential to sublimity of the sacred scriptures. Recommended to readers interested in Judaism, Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament.