Reply To: What version of the Tanakh do you read?

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#783990
m in Israel
Member

I don’t have anything to add to the clear explanations offered above. However I do think it must be stressed that there are no different versions of Tanach — simply different versions of the translation. Anyone who has ever worked in translation knows that there is no “right” or “wrong” in many aspects of translation, particularly when dealing with language that is poetic or figurative. It is also virtually impossible to accurately translate anything, and certainly not Tanach with is layers of meaning. I don’t believe this is an issue of “if there is an alteration in the truth that is expressed in a bible from one to another”, but rather an alteration of the focus of the translation. The Orthodox sources tend to rely heavily on the Rabbinic interpretation even when attempting the literal translation of the words, while other sources may focus more on the technical grammatical constructs. Additionally some translations are not even translations from the Hebrew but rather translations from Greek or Latin translations — leaving you even more removed from the original source.

As has been mentioned, most serious Biblical students in the Orthodox world use the original Hebrew with commentators (often the Mikraos Gedolos), which will obviously get you the most accurate truth. This is obviously not an option for everyone, but it is important to realize the limitations of using translations altogether,and understand that many discrepancies you find may be simply unavoidable if you cannot access the original.

Remember the original translation of Tanach into Greek was considered a tragedy in Jewish history, and it was considered a miracle that the 70 scholars translating it separately actually came up with identical translations.