Jewish English Bible translations: Encyclopedia II - Jewish English Bible translations - Artscroll Tanach series

Jewish English Bible translations - Artscroll Tanach series

Mesorah Publications is an Orthodox Jewish publisher of Bible translations, rabbinic literature and Jewish prayerbooks. Their Stone Edition of the Chumash (Torah) and Stone Edition of the Tanach (also called the Artscroll Tanakh) have become very popular in the Orthodox Jewish community, and are in use by some non-Orthodox Jews as well. It is considered by many Orthodox Jews to be the best of the English translations.

Their translations has been criticised by a few Modern Orthodox scholars, e.g. B. Barry Levy, and by non-Orthodox scholars for mis-translating the text. The dispute comes about because the editors at Mesorah Publications consciously attempted not to present a straight translation of the text, but rather to smooth out differences between the plain meaning of the text and later interpretations of the text by medieval bibical commentators such as Rashi. More severe, however, is that the lack of scholarship by the editors is accused not only of misrepresenting the plain meaning of the text, but even its rabbinic interpretation.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Artscroll Tanach series", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki