The Koren Tanakh: The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings

 

Last month we took a look at The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel: Samuel and before that Exodus, both published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem, who kindly sent me copies of those exquisitely produced, tabletop editions to review. This time, however, we have the entire first edition of The Koren Tanakh – a well-researched translation of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.

 

Beginning back to front, the opening pages provide this clarifying statement:

 

“The Torah is eternal.

Humanity is ephemeral and dynamic.”

 

As God’s people on earth, our transient lives interact with God and one another while we await the Messiah. Meanwhile, we look to the Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) to become better acquainted with our rich heritage and better understand God’s will for all peoples. But why do we need a new Hebrew-English translation?

 

The opening text explains:

 

“The Torah is the cornerstone of the world, of our People, and it forms the baseline of the Tanakh, the holy writings of God and His prophets. The changing nature of human society demands a fresh Tanakh translation which speaks to each and every one of us while remaining rooted in the eternal essence of the Torah. The Tanakh is a living script, the screenplay of the history of humanity from Creation to the present.”

 

God’s Word is living, and while spiritual truths do not change, our understanding does.

 

The contents and layout of this edition will help. For starters, we might begin by familiarizing ourselves with the timelines, charts, and maps placed in the front and back matter of the book to aid our study. Then, depending on the present time of year, we might proceed with the “Torah Readings For Special Days,” such as Numbers 28:1-15, p. 389 for Rosh Hodesh. Or the “Blessings Before and After Reading the Torah.”

 

As we continue into the actual scriptures, the index tabs on the outer edge of this thick volume enable us to flip from book to book or section to section. Unless, however, we can read Hebrew, we won’t necessarily know what we’ll find! Although my own language studies are sadly lacking, I suspect that rabbis, pastors, students, and biblical scholars will be delighted to see the contemporary English translation on the right side of each page aligned with the Hebrew text on the left.

 

With the name of each book presented in both the English and Hebrew version, we begin with “Bereshit/Genesis,” which translates the opening text of the Torah as:

 

“When God began creating heaven and earth, the earth was void and desolate, there was darkness on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved over the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. God saw the light: it was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ There was evening, and there was morning – one day.”

 

Midway in the Nevi’im/ Prophets, we find Yeshaya/ Isaiah with these opening verses from Chapter 55:

 

“You who are thirsty, all, come to water; you who have no silver, come, take food and eat; come and take food without silver, wine and milk without cost, for why should you weigh out your silver for no bread, your labor bringing you no fullness? Listen – listen to Me: let goodness nourish you, and let your souls delight in plenty. Turn your ear to Me and come; listen, that your souls may live; let Me forge an everlasting covenant with you, like David’s faithful promises, for I make him a witness to the nations, a leader, a ruler of nations; for you shall call out, call, to a people you know not, and a people who know you not will come running out to you for the sake of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your glory.             Seek out the Lord while He is to be found; call to Him – now, when He is close.”

 

The more we read God’s Word, the more apt we are to feel that closeness. Regardless of our feelings, though, we know God is with us because the Bible consistently says so! Therefore, no matter the circumstances, we, as Psalm 100 exhorts us, can choose to “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise… for the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is forever, His faithfulness for all generations.”

 

©2021, Mary Sayler, poet-writer, reviewer, and life-long student of God’s Word

 

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The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel: Samuel

 

This fresh English translation of Samuel has the beauty of a coffee table book with slick, thick quality paper and ample illustrations of historical and archaeological significance.

Published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem, who kindly sent me a copy to review, the book of Samuel in The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel is a new translation into English, accompanied by its original Jewish text. As part of a series with a consistent Orthodox worldview, the book’s photographs and illustrative artwork help us to visualize the times, place, and culture within which the book of Samuel occurred.

You’ll find more information on this unique series in the prior post on the book of Exodus. However, some things bear repeating. For example, the book opens in the opposite direction of most books produced in English. Also important to know, the “Introduction to the Series” defines the word “Tanakh” as “…an acronym composed of the Hebrew letters t n k h, referring to the fundamental collections of writing on which Judaism is based: Torah (the five books of Moses), Nevi’im (the Prophets), and Ketuvim (the Writings).”

Often called the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament by Christians and others, the Tanakh contains God-inspired texts written over many, many hundreds of years, yet it’s never antiquated! It continues to influence literature all over the world and provides a deeper understanding of the roots of Judaism and Christianity. Therefore, this book and, indeed, the whole series still under development, give us relevant biblical backgrounds and perspectives in informative sidebars, illustrations, and articles.

In this edition of Samuel, for example, an article on “Royal apologetics” introduces us to a “…genre consisting of texts that attempt to justify the rule of a sovereign in cases in which there is some question about the order of succession. The conceptual ideal of the ancient world – as it still is in most contemporary monarchies – was to have the oldest son of a king follow him on the throne. However, in many instances this general rule was breached, whether because of palace intrigue, usurpation, or infighting among the sons of one father or one or more of the mothers. The royal apology, usual written at the instigation of the ruler was meant to justify his irregular assumption of rule.” Such conditions occurred more than once in the book of Samuel.

Many of us know this one book as two volumes (First and Second Samuel), but the biblical stories and progression of the Hebrew people into the Jewish nation remain the same and continue to inform our understanding of the Bible.

Remember, for example, how young Samuel spent a night in the temple? “This narrative can be understood better within the context of the ancient Near East where, in a process called incubation, people who wanted to receive a divine message would spend a night in the temple area.”

Also in this edition, the pages “The Philistines” discuss origins of these “…neighbors and enemies of the Israelites and Judahites throughout most of the Iron Age – the era parallel to the period of the Judges and the First Temple (ca. 1200-586 BCE).”

And it’s no wonder they didn’t get along! As the text says: “The Philistines had a unique diet and culture of food preparation. For example, most Philistine sites indicate a preference for pig and dog meat….”

Also, “Current research suggests a more complex picture. Archaeological remains of the early Philistines indicate that their origins are diverse, from various areas in the Aegean, Cyprus, southern Anatolia, and even the Balkans.” Thus, “…migrants and local populations mixed, creating a hybrid material culture” with diverse gods and religious practices.

The many interesting articles throughout the book cover a variety of topics in these categories:

Archaeology
Near East
Language
Flora and Fauna
Egyptology
Mishkan – “Helps readers visualize what the Tabernacle might have looked like….”
Geography
Halakha – “Links modern Jewish law to the text that is the basis for contemporary Jewish ritual or practice. For example, II Samuel 22:51 appears in the Grace after Meals.”

A glossary defines other important words; an index helps locate specific pages on A-to-Z topics; and source credits are amply acknowledged. The page “Correspondence between Names” provides clarity too. For example, the Tanakh uses the name “Moshe,” conventionally translated as “Moses” and “Shlomo” instead of “Solomon.” The original spellings in the Hebrew language are also included.

There’s much more to see, say, and enjoy in this edition of Samuel, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to know more about “The Making of the Monarchy” and the grounding of the Jewish nation.

 

© 2021, Reviewed by Mary Harwell Sayler, who welcomes review copies of new translations, revisions, and editions of the Bible.

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Jesus' Bible: A Concise History of Hebrew Scriptures

This concise history of the Hebrew Bible by Christopher Dost shows the development of the Old Testament in the biblical texts Jesus and the Apostles would have known. 

As the Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York and author of related books, Dr. Dost documented a wide range of resources to give us this slim paperback, chocked with information.

For some, the Jesus’Bible might challenge thinking or even offer more information than wanted! Despite the scholarly nature of the book, however, the author writes in an accessible style that keeps the text from being as dry as an old scroll.

As Dr. Dost quickly points out in the introduction, “There was no Bible in Jesus’ day. The Torah and the Prophets – the first two sections of what would become the Hebrew Bible – were essentially canonized (i.e., accepted as authoritative), but they were still textually fluid. The third section, however, the Writings, was not fixed.”

Another aspect of fluidity arose because of the Hebrew manner of writing words in consonants only with no vowels included.  Dr. Dost gives examples of this, but if we look at the same situation in English, that might help to clarify problems that arise in translation. 

For instance, take the English words “mite,” mate,” “mote,” or “moot” and remove the vowels, as Hebrew scribes would do, and you’d have “mt.” As you can see, each of those words has an entirely different meaning to be determined only by the context in which the word is found. 

In addition, the connotations and denotations of a word can change over time. For example, a “mite” in Jesus’ day brings to mind the widow with a single coin left to her name, while in our era, the word might mean we need to put protective covers on our pillows and mattresses to keep out dust mites!

Besides the fact that a living language does not remain static, there’s the regional dialect to consider. In Virginia, for instance, “a run” doesn’t mean a 5K race but a brook, a creek, or, as some parts of the country say, a crick, which, for me, means an achy neck.

Similarly, “The Hebrew Bible was penned over the course of the first millennium BCE in what is known today as the Middle East. Many of the biblical tests were written in Israel and Judah (roughly modern-day Israel and Palestine), while others were written in Babylonia (southeastern Iraq) and in Egypt.” The author also goes on to say, “…we cannot overstate how significantly foreign domination impacted the growth, development, and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.”

Along those lines, we learn “…that the oldest extant (i.e., still in existence) Christian Bible was not limited to the modern Protestant Canon. In fact, when we examine a list of the New Testament’s quotations and allusions to sacred Jewish texts, we see that the writers of the New Testament have a much bigger ‘Bible’ than do twenty-first century Protestant Christians….”

 We’re talking now about the “apocryphal” books (a misnomer, as they’ve never been hidden), which are part of the Greek scriptures (aka Septuagint.) As Dr. Dost explains:

“Because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic, one might expect early Christianity to have revered the ‘original’ much as the Reformers did, but such was not the case. The Septuagint was for all intents and purposes the Bible for many Jews in antiquity. And since early Christianity was really no more than a movement within first-century Palestinian Judaism, it should be no surprise that the Septuagint was immensely important for the writers of the New Testament. In fact, those who regard Paul as the author of 2 Timothy must conclude that ‘all scripture,’ which the letter’s author regards as ‘inspired and profitable,’ includes both the Hebrew and the Greek, since Paul quotes extensively from the Septuagint in his writings.”

If these well-researched thoughts seem at all upsetting, lovers of the Protestant version of the Bible might be glad to know that the beloved King James Version originally contained more books than it does now.  In addition, publishers of the accurate and evangelically oriented English Standard Version of the Bible typically omit the apocryphal books in both reader and study editions, but the ESV translation of the Apocrypha is available as a separate volume, well worth reading – not only for the wisdom to be found but for the historical accounts of events that occurred between the Old and New Testaments.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019, poet-author and Bible reviewer

To order, click this link

Jesus' Bible: A Concise History of Hebrew Scriptures, paperback

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Which books go in which Bible?

Christians from all denominations often ask me which Bible is which and why, and I’ve been explaining away – incorrectly! Well, not totally wrongly, but I was under the forgetful impression that any Bible “with Apocrypha” is the same as a “Catholic edition” – not!

With apologies to all, I’ll try to set things straight, confusing though it may be, but important too, so please bear with me.

As I’ve also mentioned over the years (and, yea! – gotten right) – the order of the books in a Bible “with Apocrypha” differ from a “Catholic edition” most noticeably by placement.

Each edition approved for Roman Catholic readers has the “extra books” woven into the “Old Testament” according to category. For example, Tobit and I and II Maccabees go with historical books whereas The Book of Sirach (one of my favorites) wisely goes with Wisdom Books and Baruch goes with the Prophets. However, Bibles labeled “with Apocrypha” typically place the extra books between the Testaments or after Revelation.

That can be confusing if you enjoy interdenominational Bible study groups, as I do, but otherwise, it’s no big deal. Right? Well, at least not until you come to some extra “extra books” with no clue what to do, which is what happened recently to me.

Reading my new copy of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) with Apocrypha, I ran across books I did not recall ever reading in my Catholic Study Bible or Revised English Bible with Apocrypha or The New Jerusalem Bible. Just to be sure, I double-checked the lists and saw that some of the books “with Apocrypha” are not part of the deuterocanonical books of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church does not consider books labeled “apocryphal” as such since “Apocrypha” means hidden, which those books clearly are not. Rather the Roman Church deemed the “extra books” to be “deuterocanonical” or outside the canon established by Jewish scholars who canonized the Hebrew Scriptures sometime after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D.

When Protestants left the Catholic Church, the Jewish Bible went, too, as the “Old Testament.” In the ecumenical environment we now have, however, most Christians want to see all the books inspired by the Holy Spirit. But, surprise! Most new editions of the Bible “with Apocrypha” have books the Catholic Church never included.

Let me quickly add:

The New Testament (NT) is the same for every Christian.

The NT books are the same; the order is the same, and only the footnotes might differ.

Before I leave you hanging in confusion and despair of knowing, here’s a list of deuterocanonical (aka apocryphal books) included in Bibles approved by the Roman Catholic Church:

Tobit
Judith
Additions to the Book of Esther
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus aka the Wisdom of Jesus aka Sirach
Baruch
The Letter of Jeremiah
The Additions to the Book of Daniel – Prayer of Azariah (aka Abednego)
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
1 and 2 Maccabees

In addition to those “extra books” in the “Old Testament” (OT) of a Catholic Bible, the Greek and Slavonic Bibles include all books above plus:

1 Esdras
Prayer of Manasseh
Psalm 151
3 Maccabees

Finally, Slavonic Bibles include:

2 and 3 Esdras
4 Maccabees

To recap: “with Apocrypha” Bibles include all the “extra books” just listed, which, together, equal the length of the entire New Testament. Therefore, having done my extra reading, I think I’ll focus on the NT, OT books of Wisdom, and the Prophets to see what’s coming next!

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler reserves all rights to correct her mistakes and be corrected, so if I still got it wrong, feel free to tell me – nicely, of course :)