The JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH features the oldest-known complete Hebrew version of the Holy Scriptures, side by side with JPS’s renowned English translation. Its well-designed format allows for ease of reading and features clear type, an engaging and efficient two-column format that enables readers to move quickly from one language to another, and an organization that contemporary readers will find familiar.
The Hebrew text of this TANAKH is based on the famed Leningrad Codex, the Masoretic text traceable to Aaron Ben Moses ben-Asher, ca. 930 CE Ben-Asher researched all available texts to compile an authoritative Bible manuscript. In 1010 CE his work was revised by Samuel ben Jacob, a scribe in Egypt. Lost for centuries, the manuscript was eventually discovered in the mid-nineteenth century and became known as the Leningrad Codex. This edition adapts the latest BHS edition of the Leningrad text by correcting errors and providing modern paragraphing.
The English text in this TANAKH is a slightly updated version of the acclaimed 1985 JPS translation. Wherever possible, the results of modern study of the languages and culture of the ancient Near East have been brought to bear on the biblical text, which allows for an English style reflective of the biblical spirit and language rather than of the era of the translation.
This edition also includes an informative preface that discusses the history of Bible translation, focusing on the latest JPS English translation of the Holy Scriptures. It is the result of a 30-year interdenominational collaboration of eminent Jewish Bible scholars. Readers are sure to appreciate one of the most intensive projects in the history of The Jewish Publication Society.
