The Bible With and Without Jesus

August 3, 2020
Levine (Short Stories by Jesus) and Brettler (How to Read the Jewish Bible), editors of The Jewish Annotated New Testament, aim to foster better understanding between Jews and Christians in this impeccable volume examining well-known passages from Israel’s scriptures that are important to the New Testament. Stories they examine include the creation of the world, the Garden of Eden, and Jonah’s prophetic mission. For familiar texts such as “an eye for an eye” and “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” the authors trace how they were interpreted at different times by ancient Israelites, New Testament authors, postbiblical Jews, and later Christians. For example, viewing Adam and Eve as misguided actors requires “a code of conduct, and so we have the Jewish Torah, which helps to harness the evil inclination”—but if the story is considered “a narrative of a fall, then we require a narrative of a redemption, and so we have the Christian story.” The effect is often one of appreciation of the influence of translation choices—for example, Isaiah refers to an “almah,” literally meaning a young woman in Hebrew, but the Septuagint, which rendered the Bible in Greek, chose to translate it as “parthenos,” a term affiliated with virgin birth. This remarkable, accessible study will appeal to anyone interested in the Hebrew Bible.

August 28, 2020

Levine (New Testament, Vanderbilt Univ.) and Brettler (Judaic studies, Duke Univ.) had previously collaborated to produce The Jewish Annotated New Testament. This new project focuses on the lenses by which Christians call the Old Testament and Jews frequently refer to as the Tanakh is interpreted. For Christians, that would be Jesus, while Jews look to their shared experience as filtered through the Talmud. Using stories and passages most familiar to Christians, Levine and Brettler attempt to reconstruct possible ways these passages might originally have been heard. They then look at the various reinterpretations of the text in the first centuries BCE and CE, how they diverged according to Christian and Jewish belief, and the subtle and not-so-subtle polemics that were then developed. VERDICT Previously, Levine and Brettler have provided support for the idea that Christians and Jews should view the New Testament as Jewish literature. Here, they go a step further to argue that the scriptures that some call the Old Testament and others the Tanakh owe their meanings to the communities in which their interpretations have developed, effectively showing how the separate interpretations may never converge, but the integrity of each can be appreciated.--James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2020
Levine and Brettler, both well-respected biblical scholars, take on a formidable task here, exploring how Jews and Christians read the same Bible stories but come to profoundly different conclusions about what they mean. The passages they tackle include some of the most controversial in the Bible, narratives that have generated anger, distrust, and even hatred over the millennia. Did the actions of Adam and Eve lead to original sin, which only Jesus could overcome? What were the various translations that led to Christians believing Mary was conceived as a virgin? To whom does the Suffering Servant in Isaiah actually refer? The book goes beyond the surface arguments that have been made forever. For each passage, there is history of the text as it was understood in its time (as well as various contemporary interpretations); discussion of how the theological presuppositions of the two religions influenced the texts' importance; and, given today's knowledge of history and theology, a look at how well these interpretations hold up. The authors sometimes get bogged down in the bulrushes, and readers should come to the book with a fair amount of biblical knowledge and an understanding of the issues raised, but, overall, this is fascinating stuff. The chapter on the original meanings of sections of the Sermon on the Mount is alone worth the price of admission. A rich and important offering.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2020
An ecumenical look at the Bible. Biblical scholars Levine and Brettler, editors of The Jewish Annotated New Testament, tackle the worthy yet weighty task of examining the Jewish Scriptures through both Jewish and Christian eyes, seeking to promote further understanding between adherents of both religions. The authors make clear that while both Jews and Christians have similar beliefs regarding what is variously called the Tanakh, the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, the lenses through which each religion views these Scriptures--as reflecting either the story of Israel or the story of Christ--are quite different. Additionally, the original hearers and readers of these Scriptures viewed the texts through yet a third type of lens. Demonstrating how these three views of Scripture differ from and interact with each other, Levine and Brettler hope "to foster a different future, where Jews and Christians come to understand each other's positions and beliefs, and at the minimum, respectfully agree to disagree." To perform this task, the authors present 10 passages or themes from the Tanakh and examine how each has been read in different eras and across various faith traditions. These passages all tie in closely with the Christian understanding of its own faith tradition, yet some may not be as essential to Jewish readers--e.g., the story of Adam and Eve, the priesthood of Melchizedek, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, the story of Jonah. In each case, the authors provide context for the theme based on other Scriptures and on what scholars know of the language, culture, and events of the time. They go on to explain how the Scripture in question has been viewed by both Christians and Jews and why and how modern believers might be able to find a common ground of understanding and tolerance between these interpretations. A thorough, readable addition to the consistently fecund Jewish-Christian conversation.

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