New Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh
bilingual
Hebrew–English edition of the New JPS translationThe New Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh, first published in complete form in 1985, is a modern Jewish 'written from scratch'Jewish Publication Society of America.[2]
This translation emerged from the collaborative efforts of an
idiomatic rendering of the original scriptural languages.[2]
History
The New Jewish Publication Society translation of the
Tanakh
Translation. Originally known by the abbreviation “NJV” (New Jewish Version), it is now styled as “NJPS.”
The translation follows the
Masoretic text scrupulously, taking a conservative approach regarding conjectural emendations: It avoids them completely for the Torah, but mentions them occasionally in footnotes for Nevi'im and Ketuvim
. Attested variants from other ancient versions are also mentioned in footnotes, even for the Torah, in places where the editors thought they might shed light on difficult passages in the Masoretic text.
The order of the books is as found in published
Hebrew text, which occasionally differs from English Bibles. In the Psalms
, for instance, the titles are often counted as the first verse, causing a difference of one in verse numbering for these Psalms with respect to other English Bibles.
The editor in chief of the Torah was
H. L. Ginsberg. Associated with them were three rabbis: Max Arzt, Bernard Jacob Bamberger, and Harry Freedman, representing the Conservative, Reform, and Orthodox branches of organized Jewish religious life. Solomon Grayzel
, editor of the Jewish Publication Society, served as secretary of the committee. The Torah appeared in 1962, with a second edition in 1967.
The Five Megilloth (Five Scrolls) and Jonah appeared in 1969, the Book of Isaiah in 1973 and the Book of Jeremiah in 1974. Revised versions of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah appeared in Nevi'im (1978), edited by Professor Ginsberg assisted by Professor Orlinsky.
A separate committee was set up in 1966 to translate
Megilloth, appeared in the complete Ketuvim in 1982. The 1985 edition listed the Ketuvim translation team as also including Saul Leeman, Chaim Potok, Martin Rozenberg, and David Shapiro
.
Since 2017, the bilingual Hebrew-English edition of the JPS Tanakh (1985 translation) has been digitalized and is available online for free on the website Sefaria.[3]
Revisions
- The first one-volume edition of the NJPS translation of the entire Hebrew Bible was published in 1985 under the title Tanakh. It incorporates a thorough revision of the translation's sections previously issued individually.
- A third edition of The Torah (the first section of the NJPS Tanakh) was published in 1992.
- A bilingual Hebrew-English edition of the full Masoretic Hebrew text as found in the Leningrad Codex.
- The recent series of JPS Bible commentaries all use the NJPS translation.
- The ISBN 0-19-529754-7
- The Contemporary Torah: A Gender-Sensitive Adaptation of the JPS Translation,imagery.
Adoption by Jewish denominations
The NJPS is the basis of the translation used in the official Torah commentaries of both
Conservative Torah commentaries, so the NJPS is effectively the primary translation for all forms of English-speaking Judaism outside of Orthodox Judaism
. Orthodox Jews use a wider variety of translations, but many use the NJPS as well.
- The Torah: A Modern Commentary, the Humash published by the Reform Movementin 1974–1980, with a one-volume edition in 1981, includes the NJPS translation.
- A revised edition of this work was issued in 2005, which includes a version of the NJPS translation for the books of Deuteronomy, newly adapted for gender accuracy. (The translations of Genesis, and the prophetic books in this edition, come from a different source.)
- "Humash published by the Conservative Movementin 2001, incorporates the NJPS translation (with minor modifications).
All of these
Jewish denominations use their respective Torah commentaries non-exclusively. Within their synagogue libraries, and in use in their adult education classes, one also may find a wide variety of other Torah commentaries, including many from Orthodox
Jewish authors and editors.
Usage
- The JPS Torah Translation and excerpts from Prophets is used in The Torah: A Modern Commentary, the Commentary of the Reform Movement.
- The JPS Torah Translation, excerpts from Prophets, and an edited version of its 5-volume Torah and 1-volume Haftorah Commentaries are used in the Etz Hayim, the Commentary of the Conservative Movement.
- The JPS TANAKH Translation is used in the Oxford University Press Jewish Study Bible.
- The JPS TANAKH has been selected as the official Bible for the International Bible Contest.
- The JPS TANAKH has been selected as the official Jewish version to be used in its “Bible as Literature” curriculum for American public schoolsas well as its Jewish Bible website.
- The JPS TANAKH was selected by Quality Paperback Book Clubfor its “Old Testament” edition in its 5-volume Sacred Writings Series.
References
- ^ Chaim Potok (October 3, 1982). "The Bible's Inspired Art". The New York Times.
Song of Songs ... was entirely profane .. could not have been written by Solomon
- ^ a b c Sarna, Jonathan (27 January 2013). "The Jewish Translation That Rewrote the Bible". The Forward. New York. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "JPS Bible Translation Enters Digital Era with Sefaria". Jewish Publication Society. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ^ https://jps.org/the-jps-tanakh-gender-sensitive-edition/
External links
- Tanakh (Hebrew-English), online full text of the bilingual JPS Tanakh (1985) on Sefaria