The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus

by Nahum M. Sarna

Publisher:

Jewish Publication Society

, 1991

(82)

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Overview

From Library Journal: “…a masterful commentary by eminent scholar Sarna. Drawing upon classical and modern sources, Sarna’s exegesis and historical and philological interpretations are scholarly yet quite accessible to nonspecialist readers. Included are an introduction, six excurses on problematic subjects, a glossary, and notes. Sarna eschews any attempt to discuss the provenance of the Exodus text, although he does state that he considers Exodus a work of historiosophy (a document of faith) rather than a work of historiography… this beautifully formatted book will greatly help elucidate the text of a seminal book of the Hebrew Bible.”

This resource is available as part of the JPS Tanakh Commentary Collection (11 volumes).

Top Highlights

“This is the first appearance in Exodus of the verb y-d-ʿ. It is a key term in the Exodus narratives, occurring over twenty times in the first fourteen chapters.¹¹ The usual rendering, ‘to know,’ hardly does justice to the richness of its semantic range. In the biblical conception, knowledge is not essentially or even primarily rooted in the intellect and mental activity. Rather, it is more experiential and is embedded in the emotions, so that it may encompass such qualities as contact, intimacy, concern, relatedness, and mutuality. Conversely, not to know is synonymous with dissociation, indifference, alienation, and estrangement; it culminates in callous disregard for another’s humanity.” (Page 5)

“This suggests that the mother deliberately selected the spot after observing the character and habits of this particular princess.” (Page 9)

“Throughout the Near East the bull was a symbol of lordship, leadership, strength, vital energy, and fertility” (Page 203)

“Without doubt, the revelation of the divine name YHVH to Moses registers a new stage in the history of Israelite monotheism.” (Page 18)

“The names of the midwives are recorded but not those of the reigning pharaohs. In the biblical scale of values these lowly champions of morality assume far greater historic importance than do the all-powerful tyrants who ruled Egypt.” (Page 7)

Title: The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus
Author: Nahum M. Sarna
Series: JPS Tanakh Commentary
Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
Print Publication Date: 1991
Logos Release Date: 2007
Era: era:contemporary
Language: English
Resources: 1
Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
Subject: Bible. O.T. Exodus › Commentaries
Resource ID: LLS:JPSTORAHEX
Resource Type: Bible Commentary
Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:09:01Z

Nahum M. Sarna received his Ph.D. in biblical studies and Semitic languages from Dropsie College, Philadelphia. He taught at Gratz College in Philadelphia from 1951 to 1957 when he was appointed librarian of the Jewish Theological Seminary and member of its faculty. In 1965 he joined the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University. Sarna was a translator for the Kethuvim (Writings) new Jewish Publication Society translation of the Bible and the general editor of its Bible Commentary Project, and, after retiring from Brandeis University in 1985, academic consultant for Judaica. He was a departmental editor of the Encyclopaedia Judaica for Bible—the period of the Pentateuch, the Desert, Joshua and Judges—and also contributed major articles to the Encyclopaedia Britannnica, the Encyclopaedia Hebraica, the Encyclopaedia Biblica Hebraica, the Encyclopaedia of Religion, and the Oxford Companion to the Bible. He has written over 100 scholarly articles, some of which were collected in Studies in Biblical Interpretation. One of the major thrusts of his work has been to make the Bible and biblical scholarship available to the broad Jewish community. For example, his Understanding Genesis (1966) has served as a general introduction to the Bible . This was followed by Exploring Exodus (1986) and his Commentary on Genesis (1989) and Commentary on Exodus (1991), and Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms (1993), a study of selected psalms.

The Jewish Publication Society of America was founded in Philadelphia in 1888 to provide the children of Jewish immigrants to America with books about their heritage in the language of the New World. As the oldest publisher of Jewish titles in the English language, the mission of JPS is to enhance Jewish culture by promoting the dissemination of religious and secular works of exceptional quality, in the United States and abroad, to all individuals and institutions interested in past and contemporary Jewish life.

Over the years JPS has issued a body of works for all tastes and needs. Its many titles include biographies, histories, art books, holiday anthologies, books for young readers, religious and philosophical studies, and translations of scholarly and popular classics. It is perhaps known best for its famous JPS Tanakh, the translation of the Hebrew Bible in English from the original Hebrew.