The Psalms: Hebrew Text & English Translation, With an Introduction and Commentary

by Abraham Cohen, Shalom Shahar

Book by Cohen, A., Oratz, E., Shahar, Shalom

Genres: Judaism

495 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Abraham Cohen was a Jewish-British scholar. He was the editor of the Soncino Books of the Bible and also participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash. He attended the University of London and Cambridge and was a minister of Birmingham Hebrew Congregation from 1933.

Reviews

[Robert New England · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two editions of this book. The first edition was written in late 40s/early 50s, and the second edition was edited in the 90s. Their text is largely identical. This book presents a summary of traditional, rabbinic views of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible.) The editor draws upon a variety of classical classical Jewish sources, such as: the Midrash literature, the Talmud, and the Meforshim - medieval rabbinic Jewish Bible commentators. These include Abraham ibn Ezra, Rashi, Ramban, Radak, Sforno and Ralbag (Gersonides). The first edition of this work also included some (then) modern historical scholarship, including the work of Christian expositors.

A second edition appeared in the 1990s, edited by Rabbi Abraham J. Rosenberg, who has also written for Judaica Press and Artscroll). Unfortunately, instead of updating the historical scholarship, all of that has been removed entirely. The removed material was replaced by additional references to the Midrash literature and medieval Jewish commentators. In a note, the editor talks down to his audience, explaining that removing academic material was necessary because it "diluted" the work. In fact, this material was censored, as part of a long campaign of right-wing Orthodox Jewish authors rewriting Jewish history, to make it conform to modern day Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) ideology. See "Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History" by Marc B. Shapiro for more on that troubling phenomenon.

Nonetheless, both editions of this book function very well as a great repository for English translations of the classic Jewish Bible commentators, which is mostly what I was looking for. As long as the reader is aware that classical interpretations should be read alongside more modern historical analysis - e.g. the JPS Bible Commentary Series, or the Jewish Study Bible, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. - then this series is a great addition to any Jewish household library.

[Jean Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is worthy of note that this volume, the first of a series of Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Old Testament) published by Soncino Press, appeared in 1945—the year the Holocaust ended, almost as though it was a reaffirmation of the Jews’ right to exist and their determination to continue on as the Chosen People in defiance of all those who had sought their extermination—both at that time and past and future.

The strength of the commentary is that Dr. Cohen has consulted a wide range of both Jewish and Christian scholars, contemporary and ranging back to the Middle Ages, and does not hesitate to disagree with popularly accepted translations, meaning, or dates of composition. The writings of Rashi (Solomon ben Isaac, 1040-1105) and Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092-1167) are often cited, along with commentary from the Midrash and Talmud. The Septuagint and Targum (Greek and Aramaic versions of the Old Testament)) come into play where translation is an issue. Christian Hebraic scholars figure in as well—Franz Delisch, A.F. Kirkpatrick, A. MacLaren, and others. A well-known 19th century Holy Land travelogue by W.M. Thompson, “The Land and the Book”, is used to clarify geographic references.

The Hebrew text appears directly alongside the English translation, so this volume and the others in the series would be a valuable tool for both the beginning and advanced student of Hebrew. This reviewer had to go to five or six different booksellers in order to obtain the entire series, but it was well worth the effort and provides an opportunity for those who wish to consult a variety of sources, Christian and Jewish, in their quest to interpret and understand the ancient texts, and who approach the study without a particular theological axe to grind or a determination to wrest the text into a particular meaning which corresponds to their preconceived viewpoint.

***** review by Chuck Graham *****