Pathways through the Bible: Classic Selections from the Tanakh (Third Edition)

Foreword to the Original Edition

Foreword to the Original Edition Cc About six years ago, The Jewish Publication Society of America launched the project of a simplified version of The Holy Scriptures which would be readable, easy to comprehend and even enjoyable. Pathways Through the Bible seeks to encompass and realized these goals. While this book is intended primarily for the young, it is believed that adults also will find in it interest, instruction and enjoyment. A special committee advised with the author in planning this volume . It consisted of Mr. Bernard L. Frankel, Chairman; Mr. J. SolisCohen , Jr., President of the Society; Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Chairman of its Publication Committee; and Mr. Philip W. Amram. The following rabbis, scholars and educators were appointed as an editorial committee to represent various national institutions and organizations interested in the Bible and concerned with spreading knowledge and appreciation of it among the Jewish people: representing the Aleph Zadik Aleph of B’nai B’rith—Dr. Sidney Glazer and Rabbi Michael Alper; the Central Conference of American Rabbis—Dr. Solomon B. Freehof; the Hebrew Union College—Dr. Abraham N. Franzblau; the Jewish Theological Seminary of America—Rabbi Milton Steinberg; the National Council for Jewish Education—Mr. Nathan Brilliant and Dr. Samuel Dinin; the Rabbinical Assembly of America—Rabbi Alter F. Landesman. In addition to these, the following read all or portions of the manuscript: Dr. Sheldon H. Blank, Professor of Bible at the Hebrew Union College; Dr. Louis Finkelstein, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Dr. Jacob S. Golub, Librarian-Consultant of the Jewish Education Committee of New York; Dr. Isaac Landman, Editor-in-Chief of the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia; and Dr. David de Sola Pool, President of the Union of Sephardic Congregations. Pathways Through the Bible has been planned to give the reader a broad acquaintance with the contents of the Bible. It embodies such lit- ■ xvii ■ erary and pedagogical devices as will make for better understanding and richer appreciation of The Holy Scriptures. The general reader, as well as the teacher, will find here those classic passages of The Holy Scriptures which combine both literary beauty and the enduring ethical and religious values of Judaism. These readings are presented in chapters , each one of which contains a thought-unit. While The Jewish Publication Society translation of the Bible has been used as the basic text, liberty has been taken occasionally to modernize that text by eliminating difficult words, obscure phrases and archaic expressions, or by substituting modern equivalents for old English words. Sometimes, too, verses have been transposed or rearranged in order to make the reading smooth and unobstructed and the thought clear. The selections from the Book of Psalms, however, are given in the accepted version. Certain passages like the Ten Commandments, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” and a few others , have also been kept in their original English because they are met with in the Prayer Book and are often used for responsive readings in Synagogue services. So far as possible, the biblical selections have been presented in chronological order, especially in the case of the prophets; and each prophetic book has been set forth as a modern writer would arrange his volume. Because of the abundance and variety of their contents, the selected readings from the Book of Psalms and the Book of Proverbs have been organized about a few large, general and important ideas. The Book of Job is presented as a modern reader would expect a drama to appear. The Books of Chronicles have been omitted as books, but selections from them have been woven into the corresponding portions of the Books of Kings. Certain of the Minor Prophets, too, have been left out; others are represented in their proper historical backgrounds by characteristic selections. The form and structure of Pathways Through the Bible parallel, with minor exceptions, The Holy Scriptures in order to familiarize the reader with the latter’s form and structure. The Hebrew names and titles have been retained also to help to make him aware of the parallel arrangement . The purpose of the introduction to each book in Pathways Through the Bible is to arouse the curiosity of the reader, to enable him to discover the relevancy of the book’s message to the present or to his perxviii ■ Pathways Through the Bible sonal interests, and to direct his attention to the main ideas of the book; and, also...