Sacred Writings Books

The Jewish Study Bible: featuring The Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Jewish Study Bible 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. No knowledge of Hebrew is required for one to make use of this unique volume.
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.
Anyone interested in acquiring a fuller understanding of the riches of the Bible will profit from reading The Jewish Study Bible.

Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament

William Sanford LA Sor, David Allan Hubbard, Frederic William Bush, Leslie C. Allen, William Sanford Lasor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very informative book, but the authors ride the fence 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 18 people found this review helpful.

I thought that this was a really interesting textbook. The authors reveal the message of each Old Testament book, while discussing some of the scholarly issues surrounding each part of the Old Testament (such as the JEDP theory). Unfortunately William Lasor passed away in 1991, so Hubbard (who is dead now too) and Bush recruited six other OT scholars to complete the revision. This may be one of the reasons why the authors ride the fence on issues such as whether or not we can take the numbers in Numbers literally, the number of Isaiah's, the historical worthiness of Joshua and Jonah, and the happenings surrounding the Exodus from Egypt. The authors also seem to lean toward the book of Jonah being a parable rather than actual history, although they don't take a really strong stand on that, either.

The reviewer who wrote that this book supports the JEDP theory was mistaken: In fact, the authors predict that this theory will eventually be out of vogue with scholarship. What the authors do affirm is that Moses was originally responsible for the Pentateuch and that through the centuries, the community revised and updated it.

And contrary to an earlier reviewer, I didn't find the book tedious at all: It was very well written and very interesting throughout. I especially appreciated the articles at the end about the Authority of the Old Testament for Christians, Messianic prophecy, and the chronological puzzle.

In short, I recommend this book, only wishing that the authors would take a stand on some of the issues discussed above.

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction

Lawrence Boadt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A deep understanding of the Old Testament 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

My reading of the Bible has had three levels of accompaniment. The first consists of the annotations of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, which tend to be brief explications of bits of the text that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend within the context of the writer. The second is Asimov's Guide to the Bible, which goes into somewhat greater detail and, in particular, is quite good at providing the necessary historical and geographic background.

The third is this book, which goes into considerable depth with not only the basic factual background, but also the cultural and literary background. Though written by a devout believer (a Catholic), he is not someone who believes in the literal truth of the Bible, but follows modern scholarship in teasing out the various strands of text: the J, E, and P source texts, in particular.

The book is divided into two sections and numerous chapters. The first section provides a general overview in four chapters. The first discusses the text itself, why we should read it, and its meaning for us today, and lesser issues such as the merits of various translations. Chapter 2 provides a general geographic and historical overview, discussing the peoples of that time and where and when they lived and prospered. The third chapter discusses Biblical archeology, how it works, and what sort of background it can provide. And Chapter 4 goes into the literary aspects of the writings, from the difficulties translators encounter to how the texts were considered at the time they were written down.

The bulk of the book, however, focuses on key portions of the text in turn, explaining their context and significance, and clarifying aspects that we moderns might find perplexing.

The author considers the book a textbook, and it would certainly be useful as the basis for a one- or two-semester course in the Old Testament. However, I found it very useful to read it on my own, providing a much deeper perspective than I could get just from reading the text, which, if nothing else, makes many assumptions about what I should already know.

Editorial Review:

Reading the Old Testament is a clear and carefully organized introduction for contemporary readers. It is designed to guide the student of the Bible through the text and its problems, enrich their understanding of the individual biblical books, and explore the way the Bible came to be written.

Reading the Old Testament combines the latest scholarship with sensitivity to religious issues and Israel's ever deepening understanding of God's ways. The author gives special attention to recent archeological discoveries in the Middle East and how these affect our understanding of the Old Testament. The book contains numerous maps, charts, and drawings.

Reading the Old Testament is particularly illuminating about the way Israel's religious experience was translated into written records. No other introduction offers the same thorough treatment of the Exile and the post-exilic periods as crucial times in the formation of the Old Testament.

Who Wrote the Bible?

Richard E. Friedman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Critical Look at the Bible, without being anti-religious 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

There are precious few books out there that critically examine the Bible as an archaeological item without bashing the religions that hold it up as a divine creation. While there are few fundamentalists or traditional religious believers who would applaud Dr. Friedman, "Who Wrote the Bible?" is a fantastic work that critically examines some books in the Old Testment and places them in a historical context.

In looking at "apparent contradictions" and other anomalies of the Old Testament, Dr. Friedman's explanations provide a plausible alternative to the strange, twisted logic of apologists. Archaeology tells us that the Bible was written by many different people over a very long period of time. Dr. Friedman lays that path out for us with stunning clarity.

If you consider yourself a "Bible Freak", or know someone who does, then you owe it to yourself to learn about the Holy Book. Dr. Friedman's book is a great start.

Editorial Review:

"J," "P," "E," and "D" are the names scholars have given to some authors of the Bible, and, as such, they are very important letters to a lot of people. Churches have died and been born, and millions of people have lost faith or found it, because of the last two centuries of debate about who, exactly, wrote the canonical texts of Christianity and Judaism. Richard Elliott Friedman's survey of this debate, in Who Wrote the Bible?, may be the best written popular book about this question. Without condescension or high-flown academic language, Friedman carefully describes the history of textual criticism of the Bible--a subject on which his authority is unparalleled (Friedman has contributed voluminously to the authoritative Anchor Bible Dictionary). But this book is not just smart. Perhaps even more impressive than Friedman's erudition is his sensitivity to the power of textual criticism to influence faith. --Michael Joseph Gross

A Survey of the Old Testament (Second Edition)

Andrew E. Hill, John H. Walton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I'm sorry, but I was very dissatisfied... 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I just finished this book for a college course. I admit it had a lot of useful information. But, from a Christian standpoint the authors do not take a positive or powerful enough stand on some serious issues. It's almost as if they give the unbelieving worldviews and theories too much credit. They act as if the unbelieving theories about the bible should be respected. Sure, at points in their arguments they mention (barely) in passing that they do not agree (sort of), but, they do not throw down the gauntlet and really challenge these unbelieving worldviews and seriously expose them for their weaknesses. Of course these men are wonderful scholars. But, they are supposed to be "Christian" scholars and are therefore commanded to contend for the faith. Obviously they make attempts at this in the book. However, I do not believe they did it strong enough.

If you were trying to get this book to learn as well as be edified... I would seriously try to persuade you otherwise. Not Spiritually uplifting.

Editorial Review:

This second edition improves, both textually and graphically, on a widely accepted Old Testament survey for undergraduate students that goes beyond basic content.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures--The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text

JPS

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Wonderful translation 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This has been a most welcome and very handy source for us whenever we seek English translations of Jewish sacred texts.

We also own the Stone edition of the Tanach: The Torah, Prophets, Writings, including all 24 books of the so-called "Old Testament," in Hebrew and English, with commentary. We also own The Torah: A Modern Commentary, which includes only Torah, better known as the Five Books of Moses, along with the readings' assignments to the Jewish holidays.

But this edition is by far the most used in our household, and we recommend it highly, to Jewish and Christian readers alike.

Fascinating to read when you have only had a Christian bias up until now 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Let's get one thing out of the way. All Bible translations have a bias. The Bible: Authorized King James Version (Oxford World's Classics) was a protestant document through and through. While many claim to be easier to understand, most of them sacrifice ambiguity and humor in the interest of "clarity". The worst offenders change the Bible stories altogether.

This particular version of the Bible is Jewish. Note the name as Tanakh and not "Old Testament" since in Judaism there is no "New Testament". The stories are arranged by the title - Torah - Nevuvim - Khethovim - or Torah, Prophets and Wisdom literature (Job, Ruth, Song of Songs, etc.) One can quibble with this translation losing some of poetry (unlike The Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (The Schocken Bible, Volume 1) which strives to preserve the poetic verses and repetitive words so that English readers can get a true taste of the Torah as it sounds to a native Hebrew speaker) but this is a fine translation full of passion and storytelling.

Of course, my personal bias in favor of this translation began when I read it for class and fell in love with stories that I once thought of as only prologues to Christianity. Gone are the "proof texts" that litter many a Christian missionary reading. Isaiah is looking at a young woman and not a virgin about to give birth. Psalm 22 is talking about lions not the crucifixion of Jesus. But what makes this more interesting is how fun some of the stories are, particularly Samuel (the story of David) which is ultimately tragic but has some hilarious bits along the way including the Philistines being stricken with hemorrhoids in chapter 5 and making golden rat and hemorrhoid statues to honor the G-d of Israel. Most other translations wimp out and say that they died of "the plague". Sure, it's immature to look through a Bible for scatological humor, but if it's there, it's there. And it makes God Knows seem a lot less blasphemous in comparison.

In many ways, this is the redheaded step child of Bible translations. Artscroll has been cornering the market on translations and they like to use Rashi commentary in place of translation (which means a thoroughly awful castrated version of Song of Songs) and others prefer King James for poetry, but I still find this one to be my favorite. Maybe because of some of the weaknesses or maybe because in a field ripe with biases and agenda, this one tries to be non-biased as it can be.

A Reader's Hebrew Bible

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent Hebrew Bible for the 1st year student or more casual reader. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Based on the success Zondervan had with A Reader's Greek New Testament, you knew it was only a matter of time before they'd put together a similar resource for the Hebrew Bible. To the delight of many, A Reader's Hebrew Bible was released this past March. I've been looking forward to writing this review and wanted to express a word of thanks to the folks at Zondervan for sending me a review copy. I'll be breaking this review into two parts. Part one will discuss the physical characteristics and also the packaging for this Bible. Part two will take a look at what's inside this Bible.

Let me start by talking about the physical characteristics of A Reader's Hebrew Bible. It has a very appealing look about it; one might go so far as to say it's beautiful. The binding is a light brown Italian Duo-Tone. You will find the title stamped on the front cover and the spine in silver lettering. The page edges match the lettering as they are also gilded silver. This volume measures 7.2 in. wide by 9.9 in. high by 2.1 in. deep, which makes it a bit larger than the other Hebrew Bibles I am familiar with. The paper used for this Bible is a bit thinner than the paper used in some of the other Zondervan Bibles in my library. It is slightly transparent as you're able to make out some of the text on the other side of each page. However, this in no way hinders the readability of the Hebrew text. I felt that the decision to go with this paper was probably design-related as it lends to the overall elegant look and feel of the Bible. In addition to the great look and feel of this Bible, Zondervan went the extra mile by creating great packaging for it. This Bible comes in what I would consider a presentation quality box. The front of the box is windowed to show the front cover with the title in silver lettering. The back of the box has a well laid out list of information that will be important to someone who is looking to buy this Bible.

Next, I wanted to take a look at the inside of A Reader's Hebrew Bible. There are 28 pages of worthwhile introductory material at the front of the Bible. This includes the Author's Preface, a Quick User's Guide, an Introduction, and Abbreviations & Sigla. I am very excited to note that all of the introductory material is written in English. Many of the Hebrew and Greek Bibles available in the bookstores of Bible Colleges and seminaries come from the German Bible Society. The difficulty for many American students is that the introductory material is written in German. Since most of the students are not fluent in German, they miss out on the introductory information, which will help them to make the best possible use of their new Bible. Following the introductory material is the actual Hebrew text. I really appreciate that the Hebrew text goes across the entire page, with all of the notes appearing at the bottom. This serves to make the text more readable as you don't have any notes or references in the margins, breaking up the text as you're trying to read it. I think this will be especially useful to first year students who are working on their Hebrew reading as it will minimizes the distractions on the page. When the reader comes across a word they're not quite sure about, they can refer to the notes at the bottom of the page which contain glosses and definitions of Hebrew words occurring 100 times or less and Aramaic words occurring 25 times or less. These notes will prove very useful to the 1st year student as well as the more casual reader whose Hebrew skills may be a bit out of practice.

Let me summarize by saying that I think Zondervan did a great job with A Reader's Hebrew Bible. It's a very attractive and high quality Hebrew Bible at a reasonable price. The layout and notes will be invaluable for the 1st year student or the more casual reader. It will make a great gift for students, pastors, or the layperson interested in Biblical Hebrew.

Editorial Review:

Following in the footsteps of the popular A Reader’s Greek New Testament, A Reader’s Hebrew Bible includes features that make this a time-saver for studying the Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament. It comes in Italian Duo-Tone™ binding—attractive, durable, and affordable.

A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: Based upon the Lexical Work of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner

William Lee Holladay

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

BEWARE to those who don't already know Hebrew! 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I had high hopes that A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (CHALOT) would be a helpful Bible study tool. However, for me, this book is practically useless.

The words are in order according to the Hebrew alphabet. The words are written in Hebrew ONLY. It's so hard to find a word because I don't recognize the Hebrew alphabet. I search and search just trying to find the word that I'm looking for. Once I find a word, the definition isn't any clearer or more detailed than the definition in Abingdon's Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (ASECB) -- usually, it's less detailed. Also, CHALOT (this book being reviewed) only gives a few examples of scriptures; I had hoped for all listings of where the word may be scripturally found. I find myself referring back to the ASECB to find all the word's listings (for comparison of meaning).

If you don't already read and write Hebrew, I propose that you will find this book as frustrating as I do. It is not handy for people who don't read and write Hebrew. To me, the definitions are not worth the effort and time spent searching for them.

For English-speaking Bible students, I still haven't found any better study tools than the ASECB (mentioned above) and The Interlinear Bible-Hebrew, Greek, English (IB). If you're interested in researching the earliest-known languages of the Bible, the use of these two books, together, is very thorough (exhaustive) and well organized for EASY reference. I don't know what the price differences are between the CHALOT and the ASECB (to be used with the IB), but if you're serious about Bible study and appreciate excellent referencing, the ASECB and IB are worth the money.

As for the CHALOT, I regret the money that I spent for it. I feel the on-line customer reviews that I read before buying this book were misleading.

The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word (Meyer, Joyce)

Joyce Meyer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Review of Secret Power of Speaking God's Word 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is excellent. It has many Bible scriptures on several subjects, any of which you may be dealing with at a particular time. Often, the scriptures are written in the first person so that that you can personalize them and make them daily confessions. For those of us that believe that speaking God's word is necessary, and is the essence of prayer, this book gives us quick access to spiritual nuggets in every imaginable area. It is a "God send," literally.

Use This Tool Daily 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book and I'm so glad I did! I'm using it every day, speaking God's Word for my life and the positive changes are really remarkable. This is the most useful book I've ever seen by Joyce Meyer and I just can't say enough about it. I'd rate it 10 stars if that were possible. Besides the content itself, this is a really well-made book, very sturdy and small enough to take along in my purse.

Many times when people are praying, they are just speaking to God about their problems. This is faithless prayer and God cannot change anything in your life when you don't ask with faith. God already knows about the situation and think about it this way...God says His Word will never go void, but that He watches over His Word to bring it to pass. When you speak God's Word over situations in your life, situations are guaranteed to improve. Speaking God's Word has caused my faith to grow enormously.

The book is broken down into different topics like courage, health, depression, finance and so many more. Get this book and start using it today!!! God will bless you like never before. Also get "God's Master Plan For Your Life" by Gloria Copeland. It's awesome! I pray that God begins to bless you in every area of your life as you put this foundational principle to work!

Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament (Zondervan Charts)

John H. Walton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Another good example of useful charts 3 out of 5 stars.
22 of 33 people found this review helpful.

This book of charts is part of a series covering the Old Testament, the New Testament, Church History, Christian Doctrine, Philosophy, etc.

Of the several that I have, I would rate this as not quite as good as its New TEstament counterpart.

There are easily just as many points of difference in doctrine and theology in the Old Testament as in the New; and there is no consensus in the Christian Church on the actual contents of the Old Testament Canon. As such, the obvious Protestant bias limits the ultimate value of this book for Catholic or Orthodox.

Nevertheless, this would still be a good book for the "informed layman" or for a church library.

But it is not without its flaws, and that needs to be realized in advance by clergy of differing backgrounds.

These CHARTS are the best. Get them all. 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 41 people found this review helpful.

Were all biased anyway. The question is which bias is the best bias. Catholics or anyone who "may not benefit as much" from this tool should wonder why not? I don't think God wrote a book hard to be understood. If you are a Catholic, Charismatic, or of the "Orthodox" persuasion, and you cannot "benifit as much" from this chart due to "bias", then perhaps you need to explore the differences between what makes a Christian different from a Catholic. These are not merely terms. A "Christian" is not an umbrella that encompasses a vast majority of mainline denominations or cults or movements or sects, as many people would have others to believe. God in His word tells us who are His. It would be best for folks to check it out. (Jn.1:12; 3:16; Eph.2:8 etc.)----anyway. As the Charts are a great series I personally own three of the set or series, and they are outstanding.

Editorial Review:

This volume is a revised, updated, and expanded edition of a very popular tool for pastors, teachers, and students for the study of the Old Testament.