The first Old Testament to be translated directly into English from the traditional Hebrew text, couched in modern English, will be published starting next January 28 with the issuance of the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch, by the Jewish Publication Society of America, it was announced at a press conference here today.
The completion of the first step in the 20-year project, undertaken by a committee of the leading Jewish Bible scholars in the English-speaking world, was announced by Dr. Harry M. Orlinsky, editor-in-chief of the committee of scholars who worked en the new Pentateuch for eight years. Dr. Orlinsky, professor of Bible at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, said that “in its fidelity to the actual meaning of the ancient Hebrew text of the Bible, preserved through centuries by the Masoretic scribes, this new Bible represents the most accurate translation ever made into English–clear, modern and easily understood English for today’s reader.”
He declared that the translation incorporates the vast new knowledge of biblical times and writings that has come to light in recent years as a result of archaeological and linguistic discoveries in the Middle East. The work of translating and publishing the new Pentateuch, involving about $250,000, had been underwritten by more than 1,700 individuals and institutions. A policy decision of the JPS trustees limited individual contributions to $150, so that persons in every walk of life might participate.
Publication of the Pentateuch will be the first step in a program of translation and publication which will include the complete text of the Old Testament in English and in combined Hebrew and English versions, as well as the Commentaries, a Concordance and special biblical works for children and young adults. The program is expected to be completed by 1975, and will be underwritten by an additional fund of $500,000 which will be raised on the same democratic basis as the fund for the new Pentateuch.
Sol Satinsky, president of the Jewish Publication Society, told the press conference that the JPS had been responsible for the translation of the Old Testament which is now in universal use by Jews in the English-speaking world. Published in 1917. that translation was essentially a revision of earlier English texts and the JPS started the current effort in 1955 because it was felt that a completely new translation containing the findings of modern scholarship was needed.
CROSSING OF RED SEA CLARIFIED; THIRD COMMANDMENT CORRECTED
Dr. Orlinsky stressed that the new translation is new from the very opening phrases of the Book of Genesis. Since the King James translation, made in the 17th Century, the Bible in English has begun: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Current knowledge, leading to a more accurate understanding of the original Hebrew, eliminates the implication contained in this translation, that eternity began at this point, he stated. The new, precise translation begins: “When God began to create the heaven and the earth. . . “
As another example of the confusion existing in prior translations, now clarified as the result of increased historical and archaeological knowledge, Dr. Orlinsky cited the common misconception–contained in the King James and other English translations–Moses led the Children of Israel across the Red Sea in their escape from Egypt. “Our current knowledge makes it completely clear, ” he declared, “that they actually crossed an area where the Suez Canal lies today, a marshy section north of the Red Sea which in all probability was covered with water to substantial depths in the time of the Exodus. That area was known as the Sea of Reeds, and is so given in our new translation.”
“There are literally hundreds of passages in the Holy Scriptures,” Dr. Orlinsky said, “which have baffled translators for centuries, and whose meaning is only now becoming clear in the light of our increased understanding of the laws, languages and spirit of the Biblical era.”
Perhaps the most striking change in the new translation. Dr. Orlinsky stated, “will be seen in our revised understanding of the Third Commandment. ” Noting that the Commandment, previously translated as “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, ” has been interpreted to constitute an injunction against profanity, he said that a more accurate reading of the Hebrew reveals the Commandment to be concerned, instead, with perjury. The new translation of the Third Commandment, he reported, reads: “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.”
‘THOU’ AND ‘THY’ FORMS ELIMINATED; CONSIDERED AS BEING ARCHAIC
This change, Dr. Orlinsky declared, “reveals not only the correct meanings which we have discovered — scores in the Torah along–in making this translation directly from the ancient Hebrew text, it is also an example of the style in which our translation has been couched. We have eliminated the ‘thou’ and ‘thy’ forms, and their accompanying verbs with endings such as ‘geest’ and ‘bringeth.’ which are a holdover from the 17th Century
and which make it almost impossible for most people, particularly young people, to read the Bible with understanding.
“These archaic forms, including such words as ‘perforce’ where the Hebrew means ‘therefore’ and the use of the word ‘even’ in almost a thousand places where there was no corresponding word in Hebrew, have led many people to believe that the Word of God was given in the Elizabethan English of the 17th Century. Cur constant goal has been to render the original Hebrew as accurately as contemporary understanding will permiti into modern, readable English, discarding the errors and obstacles which, through misunderstanding or a misplaced traditionalism, have stood between modern man and a clear knowledge of God’s Word.”
Dr. Orlinsky, who was the sole Jewish member of the committee which prcd-nced the Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament in 1952–the first Jewish scholar ever invited to participate in an authorized English Bible translation under Christian auspices-as Professor of Bible at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York–is a recognized world leader in Bible scholarship.
Co-editors of the committee responsible for the translation of the Torah are Dr. H. Louis Ginsberg, professor of Biblical History and Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and a member of the Hebrew Language Academy in Jerusalem; and Dr. Ephraim A. Speiser, professor of Bible and Semitic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is also chairman of the Department of Oriental Studies, He is a renowned orientalist, who has led a number of archaeological expeditions to Mesopotamia.
The associate editors represent the three branches of Judaism. They are Dr. Max Arzt, vice-chancellor and associate professor of Practical Theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative); Dr. Bernard J. Bamberger, former president of the (Reform) Central Conference of American Rabbis; and Dr. Harry Freedman, a leading British Orthodox scholar, a former lecturer on Bible at Yeshiva University of New York, and a contributor to the Soncino Bible, Talmud, Chumash and Midrash Rabbah.
Secretary of the translation committee is Dr. Solomon Grayzel, of Philadelphia, editor of the Jewish Publication Society of America, and author of major works of Jewish history. Members in an ex-officio capacity are Sol Satinsky, president of the society; Judge Louis E. Levinthal of Philadelphia, honorary president; Edwin Wolf, 2nd, chairman of the society’s publication committee; and Lesser Zussman, executive director of the JPS.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
