Translated by David H. Stern and published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., this Bible stands out among the others for its translation and use of Hebrew names and text. With a glossary in the back-both Hebrew-to-English and a smaller English-to-Hebrew-it adds texture to the Bible which other translations miss.
I found three examples for use in this review in which clarification stood out.
CLARIFYING A SPECIFIC TIME
I had not noticed before in other more common versions of the Bible how the original Hebrew word was vital in bringing about an understanding of what a speaker was conveying. In this case, Jacob is speaking at the end of Genesis to his twelve sons (the twelve tribes of Israel) just before his death.
Genesis 49:1 Then Ya’akov called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the acharit-hayamim.”
The glossary defines acharit-hayamim as, “Literally, ‘the end of the days,’ The End Times or ‘latter days,’ when the ‘olam hazeh (this world, this age) is coming to a close and the ‘olam haba (the world to come, the age to come) is about to begin” (my parentheses).
I believe this re-defines the entire passage. Jacob wasn’t speaking to his sons about themselves at all, but rather about what the characteristics of their tribes-the people from those tribes-would be at the End of the Age.
CLARIFYING WORDS AND IMAGES
Another clarifying marker is in word-pictures, or descriptions that add insight and meaning. One is found in the book of Psalms.
Psalms 12:7 (verse 6 in the CJB) The words of Adonai are pure words, silver in a melting-pot set in the earth, refined and purified seven times over.
Other versions say, “refined seven times over in a furnace of silver.” The descriptive language of the Complete Jewish Bible puts forth a word-picture that can be seen in the mind’s eye. It therefore makes more sense to the reader. It also adds character to the text according to what the Psalmist may be wanting to convey.
CLARIFYING VERB TENSES AND VERB USAGE
Another worth-reading element is its accuracy of grammar usage. Sometimes it can be difficult to decipher certain passages according to the tense that is used in current Bible versions. The Complete Jewish Bible gives a clarification in a passage in the book of Revelation, where verb tense is especially important in aiding understanding of time and events that are described.
Revelation 12:6 . . . and she fled into the desert, where she has a place prepared by God so that she can be taken care of for 1,260 days.
Other versions use the verbs “had” in place of “has” in where she has a place prepared by God, and “could be” or “was” in place of “can be” in so that she can be taken care of for 1,260 days. This changes the text dramatically, making it out to read as a present-day occurrence, or an ongoing phenomenon. This passage describes the woman fleeing the dragon in the desert after she has given birth to a son who will judge the nations with an iron rod, the “son” making reference to the book of Psalms, chapter 2. This passage in Psalms and here in Revelation describes Jesus, or Yeshua.
The Complete Jewish Bible verb phrasing, then, describes an ongoing scene-not a one-time pursuit. In “The Lord’s Prayer” in the book of Matthew, Yeshua taught his disciples to pray (paraphrasing): our Father who is in heaven, hallowed (honored) is your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The pursuit of the woman in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, seems to be a descriptive on earth as it is in heaven-happening currently, not in the past as other versions of the Holy Bible may convey. Or, that the scene happened in heaven and now is happening on earth.
This translation is in-depth and painstaking in its usage of the vernacular and in details relating to time, word images, and grammar, more specifically verb tenses. It is worth reading should anyone wish to choose a Bible text or to study culture, words, names and places directly from the Biblical source.
