The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition - by Jewish Publication Society (Hardcover)

About the Book

This edition renews and revises the iconic Jewish Publication Society translation of the Bible to reflect advances in scholarship and changes in English while maintaining the utmost fidelity to the original Hebrew.

Book Synopsis

The first Jewish gender-sensitive translation of the full Hebrew Bible, THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition (RJPS or Revised JPS Edition) renews and revises the iconic Jewish Publication Society Bible translation (NJPS or 1985 New JPS Edition) to reflect advances in scholarship and changes in English while maintaining utmost fidelity to the original Hebrew.

The Gender-Sensitive Edition offers gender-inclusive renderings where appropriate and gendered renderings when called for historically and linguistically, incorporating the best of contemporary research into Israelite history and religion, literary studies, philology, linguistics, and the social sciences to offer a faithful and accurate translation. References to persons are gender sensitive yet consistent with ancient gender norms, and the translation strives for inclusive language when referring broadly to people, ancestors, and humankind. References to God are typically gender neutral and generally avoid grammatically masculine pronouns and labels, with careful examination of each context yielding the most appropriate rendering. To enable the tetragrammaton (God's four-letter name) to be encountered as a name and without masculine connotations, the edition typically translates it as "God" (in small capitals) rather than "the Lord."

Revising the venerable JPS translation, the Gender-Sensitive Edition empowers readers to experience Scripture with all the power of the original Hebrew. It is sure to become the new Bible translation of choice for readers who embrace biblical scholarship with reverence for tradition, and for communities and individuals who adopt an inclusive, egalitarian perspective in today's world.

Review Quotes

"Gender norms have so dramatically changed since the completion of the JPS Tanakh translation in 1985 that it is both a necessity and a pleasure to have this new translation, which pays deliberate and careful attention to issues of gender. Because this is gender sensitive rather than gender inclusive, it does not simply paper over the ways in which the text assumes male dominance, but tries to discern whether particular usages of male pronouns and terms were meant to be inclusive or not. In so doing, the translation both enlightens and disturbs, challenging many fixed assumptions and allowing readers to come to the Tanakh with fresh eyes."--Judith Plaskow, author of Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective

"The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition successfully seeks to translate the original text more accurately, faithfully, and readable to a modern audience. This edition is recommended for every major Jewish library."--David Tesler, AJL News and Reviews

"As we strive for utmost fidelity in how we render the eternal words of Tanakh, greater gender inclusivity in how we talk about people, and greater gender sensitivity in how we speak about God, JPS's new gender-sensitive translation offers us a momentous contribution to biblical study--a massive and crucial step forward. A must-have for every Jewish library and for every contemporary student of Torah."--Rabbi Shai Held, president and dean of Hadar

"This revised translation is not only gender sensitive; it is also gender sensible. Every decision regarding gender has been carefully considered to produce a faithful rendering of the Bible that is finely tuned to contemporary sensibilities. The explanations of the principles that direct these decisions are a welcome bonus; they enhance our understanding of the workings of biblical Hebrew and modern English."--Adele Berlin, Robert H. Smith Professor Emerita of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland

"Mining advances in ancient Near Eastern scholarship, rooted authentically in Jewish exegetical traditions, and paying exceptionally fine-tuned attention to contemporary English-language usage, this gender-sensitive translation is startling, thought-provoking, and equally well situated for the synagogue, the traditional classroom, and community adult education programs, among other settings."--Leonard Greenspoon, author of Jewish Bible Translations

"The rabbis of the Talmud taught that 'the Torah speaks in human terms, ' but this can only be the case if the Tanakh is translated and re-translated to reflect shifts in our manner of speaking. The JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition allows all of us to see ourselves created in the image of God and reflected in the Bible's teachings."--Ilana Kurshan, author of If All the Seas Were Ink

"This gender-sensitive translation will transform our understanding of the Tanakh and our place within it. It invites the reader to envision the Divine and the main actors of the Bible in a more expansive way."--Rabbi Angela W. Buchdahl, Central Synagogue, New York City

About the Author

David E. S. Stein, the revising translator and project manager of this gender-sensitive edition, has served as the general editor and revising translator for The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition; project manager for Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary; managing editor for the JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH (JPS, 1999); and editor of The Contemporary Torah: A Gender-Sensitive Adaptation of the Original JPS Translation (JPS, 2006).