TheNew Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh (abbreviated asNJPS), first published in complete form in 1985, is a modern Jewish 'written from scratch'[1] translation of theMasoretic Text of theHebrew Bible intoEnglish. It is based on revised editions of earlier publications of subdivisions of the Tanakh such as theTorah andFive Megillot which were originally published from 1969 to 1982. It is unrelated to theoriginal JPS Tanakh translation, which was based on theRevised Version andAmerican Standard Version but emended to more strictly follow the Masoretic Text, beyond both translations being published by theJewish Publication Society of America.[2]
This translation emerged from the collaborative efforts of aninterdenominational team ofJewish scholars andrabbis working together over a thirty-year period.[2] These translators based their translation on the Masoretic Hebrew text, and consistently strove for a faithful,idiomatic rendering of theoriginal scriptural languages.[2]
The New Jewish Publication Society translation of theHebrew Bible is the second translation published by theJewish Publication Society (JPS), superseding its1917 translation. It is a completely fresh translation into modern English, independent of the earlier translation or any other existing one. Current editions of this version refer to it asThe Jewish Publication SocietyTanakh Translation. Originally known by the abbreviation “NJV” (New Jewish Version), it is now styled as “NJPS.”
The translation follows theHebrew orMasoretic Text scrupulously, taking a conservative approach regarding conjectural emendations: It avoids them completely for theTorah, but mentions them occasionally in footnotes forNevi'im andKetuvim. 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 publishedTanakhim, rather than that of commonEnglish Bibles. In particular, it follows the traditional Jewish division into Torah (the five books ofMoses),Nevi'im (Prophets) andKetuvim (Writings). Furthermore, the division into chapters follows the conventions established by printers of theHebrew text, which occasionally differs from English Bibles. In thePsalms, 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 wasHarry Orlinsky, who had been a translator of theRevised Standard Version and would become the only translator of that version to work also on theNew Revised Standard Version. The other editors wereE. A. Speiser andH. L. Ginsberg. Associated with them were three rabbis: Max Arzt,Bernard Jacob Bamberger, andHarry 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.
TheFive Megilloth (Five Scrolls) andJonah appeared in 1969, theBook of Isaiah in 1973 and theBook of Jeremiah in 1974. Revised versions of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah appeared inNevi'im (1978), edited by Professor Ginsberg assisted by Professor Orlinsky.
A separate committee was set up in 1966 to translateKetuvim. It consisted ofMoshe Greenberg,Jonas Greenfield andNahum Sarna. The Psalms appeared in 1973 and theBook of Job in 1980. Revised versions of both, and theMegilloth, appeared in the completeKetuvim in 1982. The 1985 edition listed the Ketuvim translation team as also includingSaul Leeman,Chaim Potok,Martin Rozenberg, andDavid Shapiro.
Since 2017, the bilingual Hebrew-English edition of the JPS Tanakh (1985 translation) has beendigitalized and is available online on the websiteSefaria.[3]
The NJPS is the basis of the translation used in the official Torah commentaries of bothReform Judaism andConservative Judaism. Jews inReconstructionist Judaism and theChavurah movement also use bothReform andConservative Torah commentaries, so the NJPS is effectively the primary translation for all forms of English-speaking Judaism outside ofOrthodox Judaism. Orthodox Jews use a wider variety of translations, but many use the NJPS as well.
All of theseJewish denominations use their respective Torah commentaries non-exclusively. Within theirsynagogue libraries, and in use in their adult education classes, one also may find a wide variety of other Torah commentaries, including many fromOrthodox Jewish authors and editors.
Song of Songs ... was entirely profane .. could not have been written by Solomon
