The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy

by Jeffrey H. Tigay

The JPS Torah Commentary series guides readers through the words and ideas of the Torah. Each volume is the work of a scholar who stands at the pinnacle of his field. Every page contains the complete traditional Hebrew text, with cantillation notes, the JPS translation of the Holy Scriptures, aliyot breaks, Masoretic notes, and commentary by a distinguished Hebrew Bible scholar, integrating classical and modern sources. Each volume also contains supplementary essays that elaborate upon key words and themes, a glossary of commentators and sources, extensive bibliographic notes, and maps.

Genres: Judaism, Reference, Jewish, Christian, Biblical Studies

608 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Josh Fisher]

There are probably some books you can imagine Judaism or the Bible doing without. Zephaniah? Would anything really change if we nixed Zephaniah? Probably not. But Deuteronomy? It's unlikely that either Judaism or the Bible would exist without this book and the centralizing, radically monotheistic movement behind it. They would both look very different, at the very least. Deuteronomy is the nexus of so much of what makes the Bible the Bible, integrating ideas from prophetic and wisdom literature into a powerful synthesis that in many ways represents the core of Jewish theology (if such a thing can be said to exist). And yet it may also be the book that modern biblical scholarship has most significantly altered our perception of. In the past two centuries (barely any time for a book 2600 years old), we've gone from taking its claims of Mosaic authorship at face value to recognizing its distinct 7th century BCE context, coinciding closely with the temple reforms of kings Hezekiah and Josiah. This discovery has changed how we view many of these passages. But it also highlights how often religious innovators use tradition and the past in their claims to legitimacy. Whether it's Martin Luther or the Deuteronomist or Jesus Christ himself, it seems you can't go forward without going back. To the extent that we choose to appropriate the biblical text in our present-day thinking, I think the most important lesson provided by Deuteronomy is that the Bible is a conversation that we actively enter into—like the Deuteronomist is doing here—not a monologue that we passively receive. Our job is not to fetishize the text and turn it into a stable object we can base every aspect of our lives on, but to recognize and live into the plurality of perspectives it provides, adding our own voice in the process. This is (for the millionth time) something the Jewish tradition does really well and Christians not so much! Christians talk big game about a living word, but treat it as though it's been dead for millennia. The modern study of Deuteronomy reveals just how active and contestable and malleable this tradition is and continues to be. In interacting with this text, we need to recognize that it's passing us the baton, not asking us to outsource our meaning-making capacity to people who died before paper was invented. All of this is why, if we're going to see a (desperately needed) sea change in spiritual consciousness, I think it's helpful to at least know a thing or two about the Bible and how it developed! End rant

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This commentary tends to be a bit more focused on style and on apparent contradictions within the Torah than some of the other JPS commentaries (which are more focused on history). Tigay gives some space to traditional attempts to harmonize seemingly divergent sections of the Torah, but he makes it clear that he thinks that these differences are simply varying traditions. So this book is a bit less traditional and more dry than the Genesis and Exodus JPS commentaries.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most technical of the JPS Torah Commentary series (yes - compared to its subject-matter, even more so than Leviticus.) An extremely valuable read, but admittedly, a labor of love.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly splendid commentary. I have been forever changed by my study of the Torah.