Winner of the 2004 National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship, The Jewish Study Bible is a landmark, one-volume resource tailored especially for the needs of students of the Hebrew Bible. We sat down with co-editors Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler to talk about the revisions in the Second Edition of The Jewish Study Bible, and the Biblical Studies field as a whole.
What led to the decision to revise the Jewish Study Bible?
It has been ten years since the first edition of the Jewish Study Bible (JSB) was published. During that time our knowledge of the Bible and of ancient Israel has advanced tremendously. At the same time, a new generation of scholars has entered the field, with fresh approaches to the study of the Bible. We wanted to build on our very successful first edition by introducing our readers to new knowledge and new approaches.
How extensive are the revisions?
They are very extensive. Many books of the Bible have entirely new annotations/commentaries, by new authors, and all have been revised to reflect new scholarship. The essays have been revised, some by new authors. In addition, many new essays on a wide variety of topics have been added, ranging from topics such as the calendar to the place of the Bible in American Jewish culture.
What has changed in research in Biblical Studies since the publication of the first edition?
We now have a much broader and sophisticated appreciation of how the Bible came to be the Bible, and how its various parts were re-shaped and interpreted in ancient times. Much current emphasis is on the Persian and Hellenistic periods, when the biblical canon and its earliest interpretation were developing. The history and archaeology of these periods have given us a firmer grasp on how Jewish identity was being formed. This, in turn, helps us to better understand the development of the biblical text and its message for the audiences of those times. We recognize that there were multiple Jewish communities with differing views on certain matters, and we are sensitive to the many voices reflected (or suppressed) within the biblical books. Finally, even when scholars recognize that biblical books are composite and have a complex editorial history, it is valuable to examine the final form that an editor imposed upon them, and what this final form may mean.
Where do you see Biblical Studies heading in the next 10 years?
We are neither prophets not children of prophets (Amos 7:14). It is likely that further archaeological discoveries will help us better understand certain passages and institutions. Perhaps the debate raging about dating biblical literature will be resolved, and we will be able to better understand biblical books in their historical contexts. Finally, it is important to remember that Jewish participation in mainstream biblical scholarship began only half a century ago, and it is likely that in the coming decade Jewish scholars will find new ways of integrating classical Jewish sources with critical approaches.
What is the most important issue in the Biblical Studies field right now?
It is hard to single out just one important issue. Some of the older questions, like the history and growth of the biblical text, continue to engage scholars and they have proposed new models and new answers. A more recent development is the concern with biblical or ancient Jewish theology, a relatively neglected area until now. The general current interest in religion, religious concepts, and the importance of religious beliefs is shared by biblical scholars and has become a fruitful way to approach the study of the Bible.
Headline image credit: Rachel Preparing Bible Homework by David King. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.
The post Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler on the Hebrew Bible appeared first on OUPblog.
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Books with a “This is the House that Jack Built” format often use the first line as the title of the book. However, the first line is just a starting point from which to build the actual story. “This is the house that Jack built,” is not about the house at all but about the community around the house. Similarly, The Matzah that Papa Brought Home, by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Ned Bittinger, is not about matzah at all but about the Passover seder.
With tight and lyrical rhyme, Manushkin captures the high points of the Passover Seder from a child’s point of view. The narrator is clearly the child of the “Papa” who brought home the matzah. The child voice is unmistakable in the fourth spread into the story, when we read, “This is me standing tall and proud/ to ask the Four Questions nice and loud/ during the Passover Seder we shared/ to eat the feast that Mama made/ with the matzah that Papa brought home.” This passage reveals that the narrator is the youngest child in this family and the illustration portrays a sweet six-year-old girl who is glowing with the responsibilities of her question-asking task. My inner-child especially connected with the line, “This is “Dayenu,” a very long song/ that we sang with our stomachs growling along…”
Bittinger’s paintings are rendered in oil paint on linen using deep shadow and glowing light to intensify emotion and lead the eye of the viewer around the painting. From the feast, to clearing the table, to the child trying to sneak a bit of matzah, the images capture the chaos and order of a Passover Seder. My favorite image is of the narrator sitting on Papa’s lap, each of them taking pinkies full of wine to diminish their pleasure while reciting the plagues. The figures are bathed in light, the background a deep brown/black but in the middle values, frogs and locusts hop, and rains fall on enslaved Hebrew workers. This dreamy sequence allows two stories, Manushkin’s and the Exodus, to be told at the same time. www.franmanushkin.com/thematzahpapabroughthome.htm
The only issue I had with the book was the line, “This is the feast that Mama made with the matzah that Papa brought home.” I stumbled over this line when reading it aloud to my boys and we all looked at each other. My son said, “The roasted chicken [in the illustration] didn’t come from the matzah.” I agreed. Obviously, the feast was made to go along with the matzah but the syntax suggested that the whole feast was made from the matzah.
Scholastic published the book in 1995, and it is well worth the interlibrary loan. If you are looking to buy the book, it was reprinted in paperback in 2001 and should be available for order through your nearest Indie-bookshop. Happy Passover to all!
Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish high holy day of atonement. This means that I've been fasting all day and thinking about the wrongs I've committed throughout the past year. I've also been thinking of how I can make myself a better person and the world a better place. I went to services with my children. It was the first time we went to the synagogue in our new town and as in many smaller communities, it isn't even in our town and required a bit of a hike. The book that they used was wonderful. Developmentally appropriate and focussing on peace and sharing and apologizing because none of us is perfect. It really spoke to me as did the Rabbi who spoke to the kids about laundry as a metaphor for Yom Kippur. Our clothes get dirty and it just happens. Then Yom Kippur (laundry day) comes and we ask for forgiveness. We come out clean and pure, as white as linens flapping in the breeze. We should try to keep our clothes clean but we know that they are bound to get dirty again. That we all make mistakes but we can always ask for forgiveness.
The sun sets at about 6:30pm today and I haven't eaten since last night. I'm feeling pale and weak so I'll take just a moment to atone in public. (At least in cyber space.) I certainly make mistakes.
- I yell at my children more than I should and sometimes I'd like to whack their tushies. (Usually an, "I'm so angry I'm going to bite your nose off," gets everyone laughing instead.)
- I sometimes speak without thinking which hurts people I love. (I hope you've accepted my apology C.)
Recently though, jealousy, has been my undoing. (and at the root of #2) I can only speak for myself but I think that there are probably more than a few of us in this children's publishing game who have been chugging away for a while watching friends and acquaintances receive their first, second, third... (you get the picture) contracts while we are yet to get our first. It's hard not to feel that green nibble of envy, the hardness of heart that sneaks like a shadow over an otherwise cheery, supportive countenance. Perhaps it is only me and once again, I've spoken without thinking. In this case, please blame the light headedness that comes from lack of food. Or just accept my apology. I'm sorry. Sincerely.
