I started with this. There are a lot of sources quoted and referenced in it.
The Hebrew Bible, called the Tanakh, consists of 24 books and is equivalent more or less to the Christian "Old Testament". However, you really need a Jewish translation with light commentary to understand the Jewish approach to the content. I suggest the Jewish Study Bible from JPS.
Judaism does not believe in the validity of the New Testament so there will be no such thing.
The Book of Enoch is part of the Apocrypha, a collection of extra-biblical books that are not considered part of the canon.
>I'm a reform Jew, I've had a Bar Mitzvah, and really want to dive a little more into the Jewish texts (I'm in college now, so I feel I have a better grasp of academic commentary).
The best for you is the Jewish Study Bible (Oxford, 2d edition), which covers the entire Hebrew bible (24 books), has line by line commentaries, introductions to each book, topical essays on subjects of interest, all written by Jewish specialists in their fields. https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468
I see from your post OP that you do write and understand English. Hence maybe for your translation of the Hebrew you might consider an English translation rather than a modern Hebrew translation, or in addition to a modern Hebrew translation. In that case I would recommend the Jewish Annotated Bible which covers the entire Tanakh and, in addition to the translation, has a line by line commentary, introductions to each book and essays -- https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468.
Non-believer here hoping to learn more about Judaism, and I'm trying to find a good English translation of the Jewish Bible as I can't read Hebrew.
I was looking at the Oxford University Jewish Study Bible, and the recommendations on the store page sound good. But I thought asking r/Judaism couldn't hurt before I got anything.
Here is the one I was looking at.
I'm fine with something that isn't super "beginner-friendly", if that helps.
Dr. Hayes’ class is excellent! I’m taking it now, and doing most of the reading assignments. I bought the Jewish Study Bible, and it’s rich with scholarly essays, cross references, and margin notes. She has many reading assignments from it.
For more reading assignments, I also bought, secondhand, The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures (Two Volumes), by James B. Pritchard, which Prof. Hayes. I’ve learned so much so far.
Thanks for your remarks. I'm not sure if I have access to this study bible since I'm in Brazil. Is this the one? https://www.amazon.com.br/Jewish-Study-Bible-FL-Tanakh-Adele-Berlin/dp/0199978468?crid=2CI2SCC6XPFMM&keywords=jewish+study+bible&qid=1530748779&sprefix=jew&sr=8-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1
Do you know a more "pop" Jewish book about the subject?
I also struggled a lot with the OT and avoided it for a while. i realized part of it was my lack of understanding--why is so much of it there, and what is it SAYING to me? This year I've been reading out of both my regular Christian Bible, but supplementing it with the Jewish Study Bible (Amazon link here) and I have found it extremely helpful for understanding. The JSB is a lively translation of the original texts, has helpful notes about the importance of certain passages to Jewish beliefs and life, and generally has deeper/more contextual notes on the OT than most Christian bibles I've seen. I tend to read passages side-by-side with the regular Bible and JSB. Has helped my OT study tremendously!
1) Video lectures by Richard Elliott Friedman. (There is a fee, but they are worth every penny if you want to learn more about the Hebrew Bible.)
2) Video lectures by Shaye J.D. Cohen. (These are free and include class notes.)
3) The Jewish Study Bible.
4) The New Oxford Annotated Bible.
5) NIV Study Bible (This may seem like an outlier, but some of the notes are actually pretty good, and you see what the inerrantist view of certain passages is. I also give the caveat that the NIV is definitely biased toward Bible inerrancy and will fudge its translation accordingly.)
6) The Anchor Bible Dictionary. "Dictionary" is somewhat misleading due to the thoroughness of the entries.
7) A good commentary series or commentary about a specific Bible book.
There are numerous resources that I could suggest, but these are a good start.
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Here's the link on Amazon: Jewish Study Bible.
**I've got some books for your reading list!** 🤓
Now, some of these are textbooks, so they may be on the pricier side. Some of these books may be available at your library, or you should go to your local college or university library. If you're unable to get them from any of those libraries, you could buy the book "used" on amazon.com or bn.com (barnes and noble). Even better, some of the books may be available to rent!!! Read them and send them back!
I imagine you're not going to read all of these books, so I'm going to put a star (🌟) so you know which one I personally feel is very important or essential.
By the way, all of the links are going to begin with "smile.amazon.com/yaddayaddayadda" because if you use that domain, 0.5% of your purchases will go to the charity of your choosing. Sounds like nothing, but since the program began in the Fall 2013, it has raised $89 million dollars (to various charities, not just one). You don't have to do use it if you don't want to, but I think it's nice. It's not an inconvenience to me. If you want to do it, though, go to smile.amazon.com , log in with your "regular" amazon account, select a charity, and then buy stuff! This also doesn't mitigate your amazon prime account, and you'll still get your 2-day free shipping.
I can't pare it down to just a few books! I know it defeats the whole purpose of putting stars next each book but it is killing me!!
Very nicely written. I would like to add that the contradictions in the Hebrew bible were not problematic for ancient Hebrews/Jews, or religious Jews today, but simply part of an evolving process of multiple writers (Isaiah, for example, apparently had three), editors, and redactors. Many of the edits and redactions reflected the influence of religious myths from the Ancient Near East (e.g., creation, the Noachian flood), the historical context of the time (e.g., pre-and post-reentance into Canaan, exilic and post-exilic conditions), and other circumstances.
Fundamentalist Christians feel compelled to explain away and harmonize these differences – and in the NT as well – but it's a fool's errand.
I highly recommend the open Yale course, Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). It's 24 one-hour lectures. I used the recommended Jewish Study Bible, and did many of the course readings – especially the excellent essays in the tome – as well as James Pritchard's The Ancient Near East, Volumes 1 & 2, also used in the course.
>Should I read Rashi?
No. Rashi's commentary is (1) totally based on the Hebrew text (2) steeped in the traditional Jewish sources that preceded him (Talmud, midrash) (3) speaking directly to the concerns of his generation of Jews and (4) too cryptic (brief) for an outsider to understand, esp. in translation. In fact, for Jews, Rashi's commentary needs a commentary (by Elijah Mizrahi, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Mizrachi#:~:text=Mizrachi%20himself%20considered%20his%20commentary,the%20later%20commentators%2C%20particularly%20Nachmanides.)) So to think you can derive something of value from "reading Rashi" is a non-starter.
If you want to understand the Tanakh (Prophets), get the Oxford Study Bible (https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468) and read -- you guessed it -- the Prophets.
I would recommend the Jewish Study Bible from Oxford University Press (2d ed. 2014): https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468 It has a line by line commentary, notes and essays written by Jewish scholars for each book.
Interestingly there are also the Jewish Annotated Apocrypha (2020) and the Jewish Annotated New Testament (2017), to round out the picture of seeing the biblical literature "through the lens of Judaism."
https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Annotated-Apocrypha-Jonathan-Klawans/dp/0190262486
https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Annotated-New-Testament/dp/0190461853
Hello!
Unfortunately your contribution has been locked due to violation of rule #1. Questions about personal application, such as how to vindicate your previously held beliefs, are not appropriate here.
But if you want a sure-fire "non-trinitarian" perspective in a study bible, anything from the JPS should do. They're jewish. Definitely not trinitarian. Here's their Tanakh
Then there's also the Jewish Annotated New Testament, which uses the NRSV translation, but the notes are from a Jewish (once again, obviously not trinitarian) perspective.
Just to be clear again though, coming to this subreddit looking for "vindication" of one's beliefs is off-topic. If you want to have theologically loaded discussions, please have them in the weekly open discussion threads.
If you want something academic, just get the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible (NRSV). Its essays and notes are all done by actual and published scholars of the ancient Mediterranean, biblical literature, ancient Judaism, and early Christianity. There's a reason this text is the most commonly assigned Bible in university classrooms.
You can also get excellent notes from scholars of ancient Judaism (if that's what you're looking for) by combining The Jewish Study Bible and the Jewish Annotated New Testament. I've assigned both of these in my courses. Excellent scholars have done the notes and essays.
Books used in Bible Studies will have them. For example, we used The Jewish Study Bible for my bible studies class.
Yes, the Jewish Study Bible is it.https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PEYDJ05AG7QT&dchild=1&keywords=jewish+study+bible+2nd+edition&qid=1611800434&sprefix=jewish+study+%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1
There is also a Jewish Annotated Apocrypha. https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Annotated-Apocrypha-Jonathan-Klawans/dp/0190262486/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L9JU85LJ75E5&dchild=1&keywords=jewish+annotated+apocrypha&qid=1611800374&sprefix=Jewish+annotated%2Caps%2C286&sr=8-1
And even a Jewish Annotated New Testament. https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Annotated-New-Testament/dp/0190461853/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TGFHYN96GF1G&dchild=1&keywords=jewish+annotated+new+testament+2nd+edition+2017&qid=1611800402&sprefix=jewish+annotated+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-1
Christine Hayes, a decorated professor of Religion at Yale, has an online course on the historical context and literary significance of the Hebrew Bible.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyuvTEbD-Ei0JdMUujXfyWi
Here is the "textbook" used for the class: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0199978468/
*I am not a religious scholar and cannot comment on the objectivity or quality of the course.
Not a website but an old fashioned book might help: The Jewish Study Bible, 2d ed., 2014, Oxford Univ. Press.
https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bible-Second/dp/0199978468
You can check it out of the library. It has all the modern scholarship in plain English, verse by verse, plus introductions and essays.
JPS's Jewish Study Bible is a great choice.
I like NRSV and NJPS and the study Bibles I linked to. I recommend getting both. They seem to be the preferred translations by Biblical scholars.
I have read that ESV and NRSV are very similar, but Christians seem to prefer ESV while scholars prefer NRSV.
KJV is good if you want to study English literature, but if you want to study the Bible it's a poor choice.
The Jewish Study Bible and NJPS and the New Oxford Bible with Apocrypha and NRSV have good reputation among scholars. I have seen them frequently recommended over at /r/academicbiblical, and I've heard they are used at universities and seminaries. (E.g. the Open Yale Bible courses use them.)
> Dogs surround me; a pack of evil ones closes in on me, like lions [they maul] my hands and feet.
> A graphic description of mortal illness. The psalmist feels his body stop working and disintegrate. He sees himself die, his body so dried up that it turns to dust. The scorners are like dogs (and lions, according to NJPS) hunting prey (cf. v. 14). They gloat at his death and are eager to take his possessions.