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Ok, so my new covenant will obviously be that of MARI, seeing as how it must be the best thing out there, there is no question. However, for my Tanakh, I think the easiest thing for a typical American English-speaking Nazarene believer would be the New JPS Tankakh, seeing as how there is no old testament that can currently compare to the eventual glory of MARI and the textual and historical information and Hebraic mindset it provides. My only fear with the JPS is that it is designed to be anti-Messiah, so certain verses that SHOULD read in one way are crafted subtly to exclude Y'shua. Anyway, So....

New JPS+ MARI =pretty much the complete word of Elohim and very beneficial for Bible study/reading.

What would you guys say?
Shlama Akhi Rungold,

I'd purchase THIS ONE instead:


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Koren-Jerusalem-Bible-Scriptures-Prophets/dp/9653010557/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222625353&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Koren-Jerusalem-B ... 353&sr=1-1</a><!-- m -->
Whys that Albion? By the way, I still havent forgotten about that link you provided which leads to a book on Amazon about the true God being manifested in all cultures/peoples on Earth, so thanks for that. Whats so special about Koren though?
So you like the Jewish versions too <!-- s:biggrin: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif" alt=":biggrin:" title="Big Grin" /><!-- s:biggrin: --> , yip although their translations are polemical with the Messianic prophecies (keep the CJB or ISR handy for those passages), here's every Jewish version of the full Tanakh I've ever heard of (highlighted in red are my personal recommendations):

A Translation of the Old Testament, Published with the Hebrew Text (1851) - Abraham Benisch:
Haven't found it anywhere on the net, most probably out of print. You can read about Benisch here: Jewish Encyclopedia - Abraham Benisch.

The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures (1853-1857) Isaac Leeser:
Very similar to the 1917 JPS Tanakh, in fact Leeser was one of the founders of the Jewish Publication Society. You can read his translation online here: Look Higher!

The Jewish Family Bible (1881) - Michael Friedl??nder:
Also seems to be out of print, so far haven't found it online anywhere.

JPS Tankah (1917): There's a Sacred Name version done by the Karaites available here, there's also an online version which uses "HaShem" instead of "Lord" here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hareidi.org/bible/">http://www.hareidi.org/bible/</a><!-- m -->.

The Jewish Bible for Family Reading (1956) - Joseph Gaer:
Download the entire pdf scan here: The Digital Christian Library.

Koren Jerusalem Bible (1962) - Harold Fisch:
This is akhan Albion's recommendation. I've never read it, what I do know about it is that it's published in Jerusalem, Israel and is apparently of excellent quality, highly respected and widely used. It contains the Hebrew text, while the English translation is very ellegant, accurate and it restores the Hebrew names of the Tanakh characters, this one is on my "must buy someday" list. Publisher's website: Koren Publishing.

Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi (1963):
An Orthodox Jewish translation, also endorsed by Chassidic Jews and generally very popular with Conservative and Reform Jews too. I often read this one and find it very literal and accurate, I prefer it to both the old and new JPS, the fact it combines Rashi's commentary makes it all the more useful. Here's the link:
Chabad Library

Revised/New JPS Tanakh (1985):
I have this one with my BibleWorks program. I do like it alot, but as I've said before it's more liberal than the older JPS version, it's the version of choice for Reform Jews. I would like to get hold of the Jewish Study Bible someday though.

The Living Torah (1981) - Aryeh Kaplan & The Living Nach (1996) - Yaakov Elman:
The Living Torah is an Orthodox translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. Although both the translation & commentary is superb it does have Kabbalistic leanings. Online link: The Living Torah. Kaplan died before he could complete his translation of the Tanakh so others like Yaakov Elman decided to pick from where he left off. I haven't found much on The Living Nach, except that it's published in 3 volumes: The Early Prophets (Yaakov Elman), The Latter Prophets (Yaakov Elman) & The Sacred Writings (Moshe Schapiro, M.H. Mykoff, and Gavriel Rubin).

ArtScroll Tanach Series (1976-1993?) & Stone Edition of the Tanach (1996) - Mesorah Publications:
This is the giant of Jewish versions, the version of choice for Orthodox Jews, and one of the best selling among all Jews, where this publisher is concerned you are spoiled for choice. The rabbinical commentaries are so exhaustive that Mesorah first released their ArtScroll Tanach as 24 volume set. If you seriously want to study the Tanakh like an Orthodox Jew would, then the ArtScroll Tanach Series is an absolute must have. For the translation itself and a more concise commentary, you can go for the single volume, Stone Edition of the Tanach. There's also the new series Rubin Edition of the Prophets, but I don't know if it's much different to the former series.

And for the Khumashim/Torah only, there's a lot of these, but here are the best known ones:

The Living Torah (1981) - Aryeh Kaplan: Orthodox translation, available online here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp">http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp</a><!-- m -->

Stone Edition of the Chumash (1993) - ArtScroll/Messorah Publications: Orthodox translation, two versions available - Ashkenaz & Sephard, not available online but you can purchase it here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.artscroll.com/stonechumash.html">http://www.artscroll.com/stonechumash.html</a><!-- m -->

The Five Books of Moses (1995) - Everett Fox: not available online, publisher's website: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/schocken/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780805211191">http://www.randomhouse.com/schocken/cat ... 0805211191</a><!-- m -->

The Five Books of Moses (2004) - Robert Alter: not available online, you can get it from Amazon: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Books-Moses-Translation-Commentary/dp/0393019551/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b">http://www.amazon.com/Five-Books-Moses- ... y_b_text_b</a><!-- m -->

Gutnick Edition of the Chumash (2006) - Chaim Miller: a Chasidic translation, also not available online, publisher's website here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kolmenachem.com/">http://www.kolmenachem.com/</a><!-- m -->

Metsudah Linear Chumash with Rashi (?) - Metsudah: Ashkenazi Orthodox translation, available online here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tachash.org/chumash/pardate.html">http://www.tachash.org/chumash/pardate.html</a><!-- m -->
Read the nine reader's revirews at Amazon, and then if you have more questions, I'll TRY to answer them, OK?:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Bible-Harold-Fisch/dp/0873069994/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222628921&sr=1-14">http://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Bible-H ... 21&sr=1-14</a><!-- m -->

(Two of these reviewer's are confused Roman Catholics, thinking that this Bible is their "Jerusalem Bible".
It's been re-named NOW to 'The Koren Jerusalem Bible', to avoid this confusion in the furure!)

Shlama, Albion







rungold315 Wrote:Whys that Albion? By the way, I still havent forgotten about that link you provided which leads to a book on Amazon about the true God being manifested in all cultures/peoples on Earth, so thanks for that. Whats so special about Koren though?
Thanks to Christina for all your efforts of making that post, the things you do for this forum are amazing. Thanks to Albion too, but I think maybe Im straining at a gnat. There is not ONE Tankah out there that is flawless,so Ive pretty much given up trying to find it. I just want an OT thats accurate and simple to read, thats IT. Out of all the listings you gave Christina, the one you recommend I also found to be incredibly easy to read, although its annoying reading "Lord" instead of YHWH and I didnt see any commentary. It seems no Jewish organization wants to use the true name of the Creator.

How is the New JPS (my original Tankah in mind) too reform, though? Its either between the NJPS or the Complete Tanakh with Raschi?
Shalom rungold,

Well the problem for me is that I haven't personally read most of them, I live outside the US and because most of them are in hardcopy I can't get hold of them. The only ones I've seen so far are the JPS, NJPS, Judaica Press, Jewish Bible for Family Reading. And out of those 4 the JPT is my favourite. I would love to see the Koren & ArtScroll versions, ArtScroll seems to be the most popular one among Jews.

I like the NJPS a lot, and I often use it, but when I want a more literal reading I use Judaica Press. But yes the JPS is much more conservative than the NJPS.

rungold315 Wrote:Out of all the listings you gave Christina, the one you recommend I also found to be incredibly easy to read, although its annoying reading "Lord" instead of YHWH and I didnt see any commentary.

Which one are you referring to, Judaica Press? It does have a commentary, if you look carefully on the site you will see "show Rashi commentary", eg: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/8165/showrashi/true/jewish/Chapter-1.htm">http://www.chabad.org/library/article_c ... pter-1.htm</a><!-- m -->. The Living Torah also has commentary at the bottom of the page.

As for "Lord" vs. "YHWH", Everett Fox's The Five Books of Moses uses YHWH.

rungold315 Wrote:It seems no Jewish organization wants to use the true name of the Creator.

For most Jews yes, though the Karaites have no problem using YHWH. I know that ArtScroll uses "HaShem" (The Name), Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan says in his commentary for The Living Torah:

YHVH
This is the Tetragrammaton which may not be pronounced under any circumstances (cf. Sanhedrin 90a; Philo, De Vida Moses 3:519, 529). If this section is read out loud, this name should be read as 'Lord' (cf. Septuagint). This name denotes God's utter transcendence (Kuzari 2:2; Moreh Nevukhim 1:61). This name also denotes the creative power that constantly sustains the universe. God is telling Moses that not only is the initial purpose of creation now being fulfilled, but also the process that will insure its continual existence.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=3#C1029">http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?A ... ER=3#C1029</a><!-- m -->

Now you know.
So Albion, would you say the Koren Bible is anti-Messiah? Such as purposely altering Messiah-foreshadowing verses to cover up Yeshua?