TORAH TEXTS
English-Language Torah
Translations
An English-language translation of the Torah, issued under Jewish auspices, is the minimal text for the beginning Torah scholar. In some cases the translation is the entire Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and sometimes just the Torah, the Five Books of Moses.
Translations by the Jewish
Publication Society
The two most commonly found English translations of the Tanakh have been prepared under the auspices of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS). Bluethread refers to those translations as the "Old JPS" and the "New JPS."
The Old JPS translation was issued in 1917, and made
extensive use of Christian English versions ranging from the
King James (1611) to the Revised Version (1885). Two
examples of publications that use the Old JPS translation
are:
- The Holy Scriptures
(JPS), several editions from 1917 until the 1970s.
- The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, ed. J. H. Hertz, also known as the "Hertz Chumash."
The New JPS is a totally new translation, the first part of which was published in 1962 and completed with some revisions in 1985. Because this is the most recent complete scholarly translation, it is the one Bluethread recommends for initial purchase by the amateur Torah scholar. A one-volume, English-only edition is available as Tanakh - The Holy Scriptures (JPS, 1985).
Other English
Translations
- Fox, Everett, The Five Books of Moses . An echo of the style of the original Hebrew, more eloquent and more literal than, and using less modern idiom than, the New JPS and other translations. Includes notes and comments.
Hebrew-English
New JPS Translation
The New JPS is also used in two annotated Hebrew-English
editions.
- The JPS Torah
Commentary.
- Plaut, W. Gunther, The Torah, a modern commentary.
A serious choice lies before you. For about $35.00, you can purchase the hardcover edition of the English-only New JPS translation of the Tanakh.
For a few dollars more, you get the same translation of the Torah (minus the latest revisions) plus the Hebrew, plus Rabbi Plaut's notes and discussions. This may seem like a good deal -- and it is. Whether or not you agree with Plaut's liberal perspective, it is a brilliant work. Plaut's "Gleanings" from traditional commentaries and midrash are a wonderful introduction for those who have not experienced those riches before.
The five volume JPS Torah Commentary has extensive notes and discussions from four world-class scholars who are more traditional than Plaut: Nahum Sarna, Baruch Levine, Jacob Milgrom and Jeffrey Tigay, but the entire set costs over $200.00.
Bluethread makes constant use of both the Plaut and the JPS set. We purchased the one-volume English-only JPS, but we never use it for Torah, only for the rest of Tanakh.
Other Translations
The Hebrew (Masoretic) text can also be found in
one-volume Hebrew-English editions, using other
translations. Most include brief commentaries. Examples
include:
- The Holy Scriptures
(also known as The Jerusalem Bible) (Koren, 1992). The
translation is primarily that of M. Friedlander, 1881.
Bluethread mentions it because it is a convenient
one-volume text in English and Hebrew, of the entire
Hebrew Bible. No comments or notes.
- The Torah, Haftaros and Five Megillos, ed.
Scherman.
- The Torah, Soncino
Press.
- The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, ed. Hertz. Brooklyn, N.Y., Soncino Pr., 1956.
Hebrew-Only Editions
Scholarly study today, and all editions in Hebrew and English mentioned in Bluethread, start with the Hebrew text of the Bible as finalized by the Masoretes over 1,000 years ago. (For more information about the Masoretes, see the books mentioned later on this page, or consult an appropriate Judaic or Bible reference book. The titles listed below under "Textual Criticism" describe the differences among the various presentations of the Masoretic text.)
The authoritative edition of the Masoretic Hebrew Scriptures is: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). BHS includes extensive footnotes of variants in the many editions or versions of the text, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, and Vulgate. Editions prior to 1984 lack extensive Dead Sea Scroll material and are not recommended. If one's budget requires and eyes permit, a reduced-size version, at less cost, is published by Hendrickson.
Other Hebrew-only editions, some with traditional commentaries in Hebrew, are available at many Judaica stores. All will use the Masoretic text.
Amateur Torah scholars who have a good Hebrew-English edition of the Torah or the Tanakh can defer acquisition of BHS until its lack becomes apparent.
BHS' greatest use is to present alternative or additional
language not adopted by the Masoretes. As an example,
Genesis 4:8 is a verse from the story of the murder of
Abel by his brother Cain. The Masoretic text is:
|
|
Cain said to his brother Abel ... and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. |
Notice that we don't know what Cain said to his brother;
the words are missing. The Septuagint, the Vulgate,
and other texts have:
|
|
Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out into the field," and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. |
It is part of the fun and responsibility of those who want to get closer to the text to understand how translators came up with such a deviation from the Masoretic.
Modern Scholarship and the
Hebrew Bible
For discussions of how a text created close to three thousand years ago has come down to us, the following books review how modern scholarship understands the sources, creation and transmission of the Hebrew Bible. See also Bluethread's drosh, Who Wrote the Torah?.
Overviews
Blenkinsop, Joseph. The Pentateuch; an introduction to the first five books of the Bible. The Anchor Bible introduction to the findings of critical Bible scholarship.
Friedman, Richard Elliott. Who wrote the Bible? A popular presentation by a noted authority.
Textual criticism
Tov, Emanuel. Textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. A scholar's introduction to the many sources of the Hebrew Bible and the process of comparing and evaluating them.
Wuerthwein, Ernst. The text of the Old Testament. Clear presentation of the origins, scope, etc. of each of the source texts and of principal current sources for textual research.
5/16/98
© Rosemarie E. Falanga, Cy H. Silver