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Genesis Leviticus

Genesis

By Nahum M. Sarna

Philadelphia, the Jewish Publication Society, 1989. 414 Pp. $47.50.

Leviticus

By Baruch A. Levine

Philadelphia, the Jewish Publication Society, 1989. 284 Pp. $47.50.

Among the spate of new translations that have come forth in the last quarter century, none has received more critical acclaim than that of the Jewish Publication Society, now published under the title Tanakh. Few translations reflect so careful an understanding of the Hebrew as well as a literary sensitivity in expression. It has rightly taken its place as the modern Jewish translation of the Hebrew Bible.

Now the Jewish Publication Society is bringing forth a major new commentary of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible under the rubric "The JPS Torah Commentary." The first two volumes will be followed by the volume on Leviticus in the same year with Exodus to appear in 1990 and Deuteronomy in 1991. The General Editor is Nahum Sarna, a leading biblical scholar and author of the first volume. Chaim Potok is Literary Editor of the series. The authors include persons who worked on the JPS translation.

Each volume is fairly sizeable and includes both the Hebrew text and the JPS translation. This is followed by the commentary. Most of the literary units begin with a summary discussion of issues of background and meaning as well as literary and historical relationships. A treatment of particular words and phrases comes after this. In both the general discussion and the treatment of particular verses or phrases, the comment is often substantive and rarely trivial. For example, the discussion of Genesis 18:20-22 is a masterful treatment in two paragraphs of the sin of Sodom. The introduction to Genesis 22 makes some important connections back to Genesis 12 and shows the author's literary and theological sensitivities. The writers do not hesitate to disagree with the JPS translation, as in the case of Genesis 12:3.

The rich content of the volume is enhanced by many footnotes, which lead the reader not only into important secondary literature, but also make many connections to other biblical passages and Jewish literature. In addition, each volume has a number of excurses on particular topics. These are especially important in the com

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Genesis Leviticus

mentary on Leviticus, which contains a long and valuable essay on "Leviticus in the Ongoing Jewish Tradition" as well as discussions of such topics as the dietary laws, the scapegoat, family structures, concepts of holiness, retaliation and compensation, and land tenure.

Even a relatively brief use of these commentaries suggests that they will be of great value not only to the Jewish audience to whom they are primarily addressed, but to many others as well. While the fine volume on Genesis is forced to compete with many other good commentaries on that book, the Leviticus commentary in this series is probably the best modern commentary in English on that biblical book.

Patrick D. Miller, Jr. Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.