Adele Berlin

Originally published in 2004, the Second Edition of The Jewish Study Bible (2014) by Marc Zvi Brettle a revised version. I bought this 2,300 pages volume recently to enrich my collection of Bible translations, commentaries and Study bibles. As reference, the Jewish Publication Society translation of the Hebrew Tanakh (among Christians known as First or Old Testament) is used, the latest link in the chain of Jewish Bible Translations. It was made directly from the traditional Hebrew text into the idiom of modern English, searching for the meaning of words and phrases. That contrasts the close, literal method of Bible translation applied in the Greek Septuagint, and Targums, which were foundational and influential for translations like the Latin Vulgate (4th Century CE), and English King James Version (1611). The latter was used as source for e.g. Revised Version (1881-1885), and the American Standard Version (1901, revised in 1952).
This treasury for lay readers has the full Tanakh: Torah, Nevi’im, and Kethuvim, Law, Prophets, and Writings, with introductions to each book, footnotes and comments along the running text. True to Jewish tradition 42 essays are included on a plethora of themes categorized in Jewish interpretation of the Bible, Biblical ideas and institutions, and the Bible in Jewish life. Backgrounds for reading the Bible include history, geography, biblical languages, but also textual criticism, canonization of the Bible, and development of the Masoretic Bible. Only one essay is dedicated to the use of the Tanakh in de New Testament and one on use and exegesis in the Qur'an and Muslim Tradition.
It's important to understand that the notes, commentaries and essays reflect a Jewish point of view. It certainly can help Christian readers to re-think their - often exclusive - own interpretation. On the other hand this volume will not invite readers of the Tanakh to (re-)read the Jewish authors of New Testament gospels, letters and revelations.… (més)