JPS TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures blue : The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text: Amazon.ca: Inc. Jewish Publication Society: Books

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“Turns Holy Writ into fresh, understandable, contemporary language. A landmark of Jewish religious scholarship.”—Time

(Time Magazine )

Book Description

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.

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29 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Scholarly Acheivement, April 23 2004

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bookscdsdvdsandcoolstuff "bookscdsdvdsandcool... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JPS TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (blue): The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Hardcover)

I once heard it said that reading the bible in translation is like "kissing through a veil." I am sure that Jews with various backgrounds will be disputing the merits of this translation as vigorously as Christians of different backgrounds dispute NT translations. Being a religious scholar must be a thankless job, especially if you are dealing with scripture translation.

That being said, this is an excellent and scholarly achievement. As a Christian, I have all the major scholarly English language translations of the scriptures available. (I am speaking of the ones that include the NT... the NRSV, RSV, NAB, KJV, NKJV etc.) The translations of the Hebrew scriptures in some of these editions are lacking. The psalms in the new NAB for example are terrible in places.

Thus far I have given Genesis and the Psalms a careful reading in the JPS. I have not been disappointed. The more reliable and scholarly translations I have for comparison the better. Plus, Oxford just published the Jewish Study Bible that uses the JPS translations, and also includes commentary from top Jewish theologians. This is really an asset. I get an excellent translation from the original Hebrew but I also get commentary from a Jewish perspective. This aids my understanding. Jesus was a faithful Jew, and working to both understand and appreciate Judaism seems essential to me.

Some prior reviews by Christians bash the JPS translations as being "de-christianized." Hogwash. These translations are excellent, scholarly, and truly helpful. Any Christian clergyman or scholar ought to have them at his or her disposal. Ideally, Christians would be more like Jews and learn Hebrew, and some Greek in addition, and have copies of the original sources at their disposal. However it is not a perfect world.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A very readable translation, April 21 2004

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Dr R M. Siegfried (Garden City, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: JPS TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (blue): The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Hardcover)

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.

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4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent beginning..., April 20 2004

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J. Kelley "dahozho" (Mid-Atlantic coast) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: JPS TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (blue): The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Hardcover)

for those of us still coming up to speed on biblical Hebrew. I do enjoy this translation which is very readable and accessible, although (like any translation) there are some passages others prefer to read from another translation. Its a very good volume for those beginning to study Torah. This edition's only drawback is that its size is a bit awkward for travel.

I would also recommend the JPS Hebrew-English pocket TANAKH-- the same JPS translation, the Hebrew print is suprisingly readable, and it makes an excellent travel companion.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I want to learn and understand
I know that this might sound ridiculous. But i went to hebrew school and i was bat mitvahed when i was 19 , to prove to my mom i could do it. Well I lost my mom dec. Read more

Published on April 6 2004 by eileen klein

3.0 out of 5 stars great content/small print: caveat for the middle-aged :o)
I was very much looking forward to the arrival of my new Tanakh, but ran into a major problem. The print on version ISBN: 0827603665 is *INCREDIBLY* small. Read more

Published on Jan 21 2004