Excellent for both Jewish and Christian students of the Bible. The commentaries and resources within this study Bible will provide a Jewish perspective of the Biblical text.

Now, readers of the Bible who are interested in studying Jewish traditions have a one-volume resource specifically tailored for their needs.

Oxford University Press breaks exciting new ground in the field of study Bibles with The Jewish Study Bible. This innovative volume will, for the first time, offer readers of the Hebrew Bible a resource that is specifically tailored to meet their needs. The JSB presents the center of gravity of the Scriptures where Jews experience it--in Torah. It offers readers the fruits of various schools of Jewish traditions of biblical exegesis (rabbinic, medieval, mystical, etc.) and provides them with a wealth of ancillary materials that aid in bringing the ancient text to life. The nearly forty contributors to the work represent the cream of Jewish biblical scholarship from the world over.

The JSB uses The Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation, whose name is an acronym formed from the Hebrew initials of the three sections into which the Hebrew Bible is traditionally divided (Torah, Instruction; Nevi'im, Prophets; and Kethubim, Writings). A committee of esteemed biblical scholars and rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism movements produced this modern translation, which dates from 1985. Unlike other English translations based upon such ancient versions as the Septuagint and Vulgate, which emend the Hebrew text, TANAKH is faithful to the original text.

Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews, professors, students, rabbis: indeed, anyone interested in acquiring a fuller understanding of the riches of the Hebrew Bible will profit from reading The Jewish Study Bible.

Features

• Section and book introductions deliver insights into the background, structure and meaning of the text
• Running commentary beside the biblical text provides in-depth theological interpretation of it, from the Jewish perspective
• Informative essays address a wide variety of topics relating to Judaism's use and interpretation of the Bible through the ages
• In-text tables, maps and charts
• Tables of weights and measures
• Verse and chapter differences
• Table of Scriptural readings
• Glossary of technical terms
• Index to all study materials
• Full color Oxford Bible Maps, with index

A committee of esteemed scholars and rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism movements produced the TANAKH translation (1985) for The Jewish Publication Society.

Maps and Diagrams
Introduction: What Is The Jewish Study Bible?
Preface to the 1985 JPS Edition
Alphabetical Listing of the Books of the Bible
Hebrew Transliteration
Guide to Abbreviations and Terms
Torah: Introduction 1
Genesis: Introduction and Annotations 8
Exodus: Introduction and Annotations 102
Leviticus: Introduction and Annotations 203
Numbers: Introduction and Annotations 281
Deuteronomy: Introduction and Annotations 356
Nev'im: Introduction 451
Joshua: Introduction and Annotations 462
Judges: Introduction and Annotations 508
First Samuel: Introduction and Annotations 558
Second Samuel: Introduction and Annotations 619
First Kings: Introduction and Annotations 668
Second Samuel: Introduction and Annotations 726
Isaiah: Introduction and Annotations 780
Jeremiah: Introduction and Annotations 917
Ezekiel: Introduction and Annotations 1042
The Twelve Minor Prophets: Introductions and Annotations 1139
Hosea 1143
Joel 1166
Amos 1176
Obadiah 1193
Jonah 1198
Micah 1205
Nahum 1219
Habakkuk 1226
Zephaniah 1234
Haggai 1243
Zechariah 1249
Malachi 1268
Kethuvim: Introduction 1275
Psalms: Introduction and Annotations 1280
Proverbs: Introduction and Annotations 1447
Job: Introduction and Annotations 1499
The Scrolls: Introduction 1563
The Song of Songs: Introduction and Annotations 1564
Ruth: Introduction and Annotations 1578
Lamentations: Introduction and Annotations 1587
Ecclesiastes: Introduction and Annotations 1603
Esther: Introduction and Annotations 1623
Daniel: Introduction and Annotations 1640
Ezra: Introduction and Annotations 1666
Nehemiah: Introduction and Annotations 1688
First Chronicles: Introduction and Annotations 1712
Second Chronicles: Introduction and Annotations 1765
Essays: Introduction 1827
Inner-biblical Interpretation 1829
Early Nonrabbinic Interpretation 1835
Classical Rabbinic Interpretation 1844
Midrash and Midrashic Interpretation 1863
Medieval Jewish Interpretation 1876
Post-medieval Jewish Interpretation 1900
Modern Jewish Interpretation 1908
The Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls 1920
The Bible in the Synagogue 1929
The Bible in the Liturgy 1937
The Bible in the Jewish Philosophical Tradition 1948
The Bible in the Jewish Mystical Tradition: Background 1976
The Glorious Name and the Incarnate Torah 1979
The Bible in Israeli Life 1990
Jewish Women's Scholarly Writings on the Bible 2000
Jewish Translations of the Bible 2005
The Religion of the Bible 2021
Concepts of Purity in the Bible 2041
Historical and Geographical Background to the Bible: Adapted 2048
Languages of the Bible 2062
Textual Criticism of the Bible 2067
The Canonization of the Bible 2072
The Development of the Masoretic Bible 2077
The Modern Study of the Bible: Adapted 2084
Reading Biblical Poetry 2097
Tables and Charts: Weights and Measures 2105
Tables and Charts: Timeline 2106
Tables and Charts: Chronological Table of Rulers 2110
Tables and Charts: Calendar 2114
Tables and Charts: Tale of Biblical Readings 2115
Tables and Charts: Chapter and Verse Differences 2118
Translations of Primary Sources 2120
Glossary 2122
Index 2143

Jacob Neusner, Research Professor of Religion and Theology
"The Jewish Study Bible encompasses a monumental assembly of critical learning and acumen, representing the achievement of an entire generation of Jewish scholars. The commentaries are not only erudite but purposeful and theologically alert. A heroic undertaking, brilliantly conceived and executed with panache."

Publishers Weekly, Religion Bookline
"Serious students of Judaism will want to have a copy of this outstanding and surprisingly affordable study Bible, which stands in the tradition of Oxford's great study Bibles."

Associated Press
"Another superb holiday gift, especially appropriate for non-Orthodox Jews, is The Jewish Study Bible from Oxford University Press, which finally stands alongside the many verse-by-verse commentaries for Christians. This work also is recommended for serious-minded Christian readers."

George L. Beiler from San Francisco, CA United States
This study Bible contains the Jewish Publication Society's "Tanakh" translation of the Jewish scriptures [the Old Testament to Christians], together with extensive notes. The notes reflect modern scholarship, also indicate how a passage has been interpreted throughout the long history of Judaism and how a passage is used in Judaism today. Frequently, the notes give alternatives to the meanings presented in the translation. While the notes are far more extensive than in ecumenical study Bibles [such as the New Oxford Annotated Bible and the HarperCollins Study Bible], they serve only as a bare introduction to the vast wealth of Jewish commentary on the Bible.

The JPS translation, like all Jewish translations, adheres to the Masoretic (traditional) Hebrew text used in the Jewish liturgy. Most Christian translations substitute readings from other sources (such as the Greek Septuagint translation and the Dead Sea Scrolls) when they are thought to be more accurate than the Masoretic Text.

This study Bible does not pretend that, in places, other sources may reflect the original form of the text. The notes -- both to the Study Bible and the translation -- suggest possible alternate readings from other sources.

A long section of articles in the back of the Study Bible provides an introduction to Jewish interpretation and use of the Bible throughout the ages.

While it is impossible for any one-volume work to do more than scratch the surface of Jewish Bible scholarship throughout the ages, the Jewish Study Bible provides an introduction for Jews, and others who are interested in Judaism, to Jewish Bible study. It is definitely worth buying by those who do not have the time (or the money) for a multiplicity of volumes.