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Jews not only should study the Torah (five books of Moses) but also the entire Tanakh (Hebrew Bible.)
– Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 30a; Avodah Zarah 19b. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Talmud Torah, 1:11, and Shulkhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 246:4
What books can we turn to for a religious, yet non-fundamentalist, Bible commentary? In many ways this list can be considered an alternative to ArtScroll Tanakh commentaries. The authors here draw from classical sources including the Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, and Meforshim (classical Bible commentators) and also from modern day rabbis knowledgable about historical, archaeological, and comparative textual studies.
Perhaps the best books to start learning the Bible from a Jewish perspective are:
Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible, by Joseph Telushkin.
The Prophets, by Abraham Joshua Heschel. This book describes the lives of the prophets, the historical context their missions were set in, their work, and their psychological state. It gives a detailed treatment of the phenomenon of prophecy, and what it means.
The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Robert Alter, W. W. Norton & Company.
Commentaries on individual books of the Bible
(יְהוֹשֻעַ / Yehoshua) – Joshua
Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land: Maggid Studies in Tanakh, Koren Publishers, 2015, Michael Hattin. The author highlights “how the many complex issues faced by the people as they fought to possess their new land mirror and shed light on today’s reality. Hattin approaches the text as literary narrative, considering it from the perspectives of rabbinic midrash, medieval commentary, and modern scholarship.”
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Joshua, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing House Gefen book link
(שופטים / Shophtim) – Judges
Judges: The Perils of Possession, Michael Hattin, Maggid (Koren Publishing) 2020
Marc Zvi Brettler, The Book of Judges: Old Testament Readings, Routledge, 2001
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Judges, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing
(שְׁמוּאֵל / Shmuel) – Samuel
“The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel” Robert Alter, W. W. Norton & Company, 1999
Fox, Everett, “Give Us a King! Samuel, Saul, and David: A New Translation of Samuel I and II with an Introduction and Notes”
Halpern, Baruch, David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King (Eerdmans, 2001)
1 Kings, Mordechai Cogan, Anchor Yale Bible – AB
2 Kings, Mordechai Cogan and Hayim Tadmor, Anchor Yale Bible – AB 11
(מלכים / Melakhim) – Kings
I Kings: Torn in Two, Alex Israel, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2013
II Kings: In a Whirlwind, Alex Israel, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2019
(יְשַׁעְיָהוּ / Yesha‘ayahu) – Isaiah
Thus Saith the Lord: The Revolutionary Moral Vision of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Richard E. Rubenstein, 2006
“In ancient Judea, Jeremiah and Isaiah advised kings and priests and watched the great armies of the ancient Near East sweep across the desert, threatening and overtaking their tiny country with its burgeoning faith. Across centuries a new view emerged based on their words: Might does not make right; we are all the children of one God. Both the beautiful words of Isaiah and the frightening words of Jeremiah helped form our contemporary ideas of justice, ethics, and faith. Richard Rubenstein shows us the evolution of our own moral codes and how they transformed the god of the Israelites from a local deity into Adonai, the universal sovereign who requires ethical behavior and demands the pursuit of justice for all people.”
Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Judgement, Yoel Bin-Nun and Binyamin Lau, Translated by Sara Daniel, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2019
“Isaiah in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book, Part A: Mishnah, Tosefta, Tannaite Midrash-Compilations, Yerushalmi, and Associated Midrash-Compilations” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
“Isaiah in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book, Part B: The Later Midrash-Compilations and the Bavli” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(יִרְמְיָהוּ / Yirmyahu) – Jeremiah
Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet, Maggid Studies in Tanakh, Koren Publishers, Binyamin Lau, 2013
Thus Saith the Lord: The Revolutionary Moral Vision of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Richard E. Rubenstein, 2006
“In ancient Judea, Jeremiah and Isaiah advised kings and priests and watched the great armies of the ancient Near East sweep across the desert, threatening and overtaking their tiny country with its burgeoning faith. Across centuries a new view emerged based on their words: Might does not make right; we are all the children of one God. Both the beautiful words of Isaiah and the frightening words of Jeremiah helped form our contemporary ideas of justice, ethics, and faith. Richard Rubenstein shows us the evolution of our own moral codes and how they transformed the god of the Israelites from a local deity into Adonai, the universal sovereign who requires ethical behavior and demands the pursuit of justice for all people.”
“Jeremiah in Talmud and Midrash” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America.
“This sourcebook collects and classifies how Israelite Scripture was received and recast in the language community that produced the dual Torah of Judaism. It is well known that verses of prophecy figure as proof-texts in Rabbinic exegesis of scriptural narratives, but to what end, and with what larger concept in mind? With extensive translation and documentation, author Jacob Neusner uses the case of Jeremiah in the Rabbinic canon of the formative age to examine the Rabbinic document’s response to the prophetic ones in terms of how they select, explain, and utilize the language of Scripture. ”
“Book of Jeremiah: a Commentary” Solomon Bennett Freehof, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1977
(יְחֶזְקֵיאל / Yĕkhezqiēl) – Ezekiel
The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary , Commentary on Book of Ezekiel, Robert Alter, W. W. Norton & Company
Ezekiel: From Destruction to Restoration, Tova Ganzel, Maggid (Koren Publishing) 2020
“Ezekiel 1-20: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible, Vol 22)” Moshe Greenberg, 1983
“Ezekiel 21-37 : A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible Series, Vol 22A)” Moshe Greenberg ,1997
“Ezekiel in Talmud and Midrash” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
“Book of Ezekiel: a Commentary” Solomon B. Freehof, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, New York, 1978
Commentary on Sefer Yechezkel from the VBM (Virtual Beit Midrash)
Reconciling the Sacrifices of Ezekiel with the Torah, Jewish Bible Quarterly, Reuven Chaim (Rudolph) Klein, JBQ, 44:1 January – March 2016
The Discrepancies Between the Sacrifices in Ezekiel and the Torah, Tova Ganzel, TheTorah.com
Some related papers by Tova Ganzel here
Statutes that Were not Good (Ezekiel 20:25-26): Traditional Interpretations, By Hyam Maccoby
The Twelve Minor Prophets (תרי עשר, Trei Asar)
See the commentaries by Robert Alter, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Joseph Telushkin.
(הוֹשֵׁעַ / Hoshea) – Hosea
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Hosea, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing
“Hosea in Talmud and Midrash” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
Ben Zvi, Ehud, Hosea (Forms of the Old Testament Literature; Eerdmans, 2005)
(יוֹאֵל / Yoel) – Joel
“Micah and Joel in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(עָמוֹס / Amos) – Amos
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Jonah and Amos, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing House Gefen
“Amos in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(עֹבַדְיָה / Ovadhyah) – Obadiah
“Habakkuk, Jonah, Nahum, and Obadiah in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(יוֹנָה / Yonah) – Jonah
“The JPS Bible Commentary: Jonah” Uriel Simon, JPS, PA, 1999
Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet, Erica Brown, Maggid (Koren Publishing) 2017
“Jonah: A Modern Commentary”, Translation and commentary by Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky ISBN: 0-8074-0860-3
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Jonah and Amos, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing House Gefen
(מִיכָה / Mikhah) – Micah
“Micah and Joel in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
Ben Zvi, Ehud, Micah (Forms of the Old Testament Literature)
(נַחוּם / Nakhum) – Nahum
Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley, Yaakov Beasley, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2020
“Habakkuk, Jonah, Nahum, and Obadiah in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(חֲבַקּוּק /Havakuk) – Habakkuk
Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley, Yaakov Beasley, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2020
“Habakkuk, Jonah, Nahum, and Obadiah in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
(צְפַנְיָה / Tsephanyah) – Zephaniah
Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley, Yaakov Beasley, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2020
“Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of America
Zephaniah: The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, Adele Berlin, 1994
(חַגַּי / Khaggai) – Haggai
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty, Hayyim Angel, Maggid Books (Koren Publishers) 2017
Haggai, Zechariah 1-8 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 2004) Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers.
Zechariah 9-14 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 1998) Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers.
(זְכַרְיָה ) / Zkharyāh) – Zechariah
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty, Hayyim Angel, 2017. Maggid Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers.
Haggai, Zechariah 1-8 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 2004) Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers.
Zechariah 9-14 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 1998) Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers.
(מַלְאָכִי / Malākhi) – Malachi
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: Prophecy in an Age of Uncertainty, Hayyim Angel, 2017. Maggid Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers.
Tehillim (Psalms) תְהִלִּים
“Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms” Nahum Sarna, Schocken Books, 1993. 298 pp.A scholar known for bringing the materials of the ancient Near East to bear on the interpretation of biblical texts, Sarna has created a detailed introduction to and commentary on ten of the psalms: 1, 8, 19, 15, 24, 30, 48, 82, 93 and 94.
“Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms” Uriel Simon, SUNY Press, NY, 1991
“On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel” Nahum M. Sarna, Schocken Books, 1993
“The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary” Robert Alter, W. W. Norton, 2007
“The Lord Is My Shepherd: Why Do I Still Want?” Paul Plotkin, 2003
“Our Haven and Our Strength: The Book of Psalms” Martin Samuel Cohen, Aviv, 2003
“Healing Psalms” by Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman (Wiley, 2003)
“The Book of Psalms: a Commentary” Freehof, Solomon B., Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1938
“The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the 23rd Psalm” Harold S. Kushner, 2003
“The Bible: Psalms with the Jerusalem Commentary” trans. Rabbi Israel Berman, 3 volumes, Mosad Harav Kook, 2003. Commentary by Amos Hakham. A translation of the Da’at Mikra commentary on Tanach from Mosad Harav Kook.
“Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms” Jewish Publication Society, Mayer I. Gruber
“Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Commentary on the First Book of Psalms: Chapters 1-41″ H. Norman Strickman, Long Dash Publishing, 2008
Mishlei (Book of Proverbs) מִשְלֵי
Proverbs 1-9 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) Michael V. Fox, 2000
Proverbs 10-31 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) Michael V. Fox, 2009
“Mishlei: A Modern Commentary on Proverbs” Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky, URJ Press
Book of Proverbs: A Commentary. W. Gunther Plaut, UAHC Press, 1961
Iyov (Book of Job) אִיּוֹב
“The Book of Job: Commentary, New Translation, and Special Studies” Robert Gordis, JTS Press, 1978/2012
Gordis’ method of interpretation, which he calls in his Introduction “vertical”, “[reaches] out in time to later periods in the historical experience of the Jewish people, in order to utilize all the resources of post-biblical literature and language, apocryphal, mishnaic, talmudic, medieval, and modern, for the purpose of enhancing our understanding of the vocabulary, syntax, style, and content of biblical literature — and in turn to be illumined by it.
Japhet, Sara “The Commentary of Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir (Rashbam) on the Book of Job” Jerusalem, 2000
“Book of Job; a commentary” Freehof, Solomon Bennett, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1958
“The Book of Job” Stephen Mitchell
“The Book of Job” Raymond P. Scheindlin
Shīr Hashīrīm (Song of Songs) שִׁיר הַשִׁירִים
“The Song of Songs and Lamentations: A Study, Modern Translation and Commentary ” Revised edition, 1974, Ktav, Robert Gordis
The JPS Bible Commentary: Song of Songs, Michael Fishbane, 2015
Shir Ha-Shirim: The Song of Songs in H“Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi in Talmud and Midrash: A Source Book” Jacob Neusner, University Press of Americ, Hebrew and English with a Midrashic commentary.
Yitzhak I. Broch, Feldheim, 1983.
“Shir HaShirim: A Modern Commentary on Song of Songs” Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky. Using commentary from Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Gersonides, and others, as well as insights from related contemporary teachings, the line-by-line translation and commentary.
M. Fox, “The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs”
“The Song of Songs” Ariel Bloch and Chana Bloch, University of California Press 1995
Rut (Book of Ruth) רוּת
The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth, Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Tikva Frymer-Kensky, 2011
Ruth: From Alienation to Monarchy, Yael Ziegler, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2015
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther and Judith, Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing
Yitzhak I. Broch “Book of Ruth, as reflected in Rabbinic Literature” New York, Philipp Feldheim, 1975.
“Ruth: A Modern Commentary” Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky
This work incorporates interpretations from the Targum, Rashi, and Ibn Ezra, as well as scholarly and contemporary sources, to create an engaging and accessible modern commentary on this ancient text.
Eikhah (Lamentations) איכה
Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World, Yael Ziegler, Maggid (Koren Publishing) 2021
Lamentations: A Commentary. The Old Testament Library. Adele Berlin, 2002
“Eichah: A Modern Commentary on Lamentations” Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky. Using commentary from the Targum, Rashi, and Ibn Ezra, as well as contemporary sources.
Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) קהלת
“The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary,” Robert Alter
“Koheleth: The Man and His World (A Study of Ecclesiastes)” 1968 third, revised edition, Robert Gordis
“Studies in Koheleth”, Harold Louis Ginzberg, 1948, NY
“Commentary on Ecclesiastes” Harold Louis Ginzberg, Jerusalem, 1961
“The JPS Bible Commentary: Ecclesiastes”, Michael V. Fox, 2004
“A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes” Michael V. Fox
“Kohelet: A Modern Commentary on Ecclesiastes” Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky. Using the classical commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra and others, as well as modern critical scholarship, the authors have produced a line-by-line translation and commentary to accompany the Hebrew text of the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Ester (Book of Esther) אֶסְתֵר
“Megillat Esther: The Masoretic Hebrew Text With Introduction, New Translation and Commentary” Robert Gordis, Jason Aronson Inc. 1995
Esther: A Modern Commentary. By Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky. Using the classical Jewish commentaries of the talmud, Rashi, Ibn Ezra and others, as well as modern critical scholarship, the authors have produced a line-by-line translation and commentary for this book.
Esther: Power, Fate, and Fragility in Exile, Erica Brown, Maggid (Koren Publishing) 2020
“Esther: A Commentary” Jon D. Levenson, OTL, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997
The JPS Bible Commentary: Esther, Adele Berlin, 2001
Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther, Michael V. Fox, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2nd edition, 2001
Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought, Aaron Koller, 2014
Esther Unmasked: Solving Eleven Mysteries of the Jewish Holidays and Liturgy, Mitchell First, 2015
Daniel (Book of Daniel) דָּנִיֵּאל
An older English commentary is Studies in Daniel by Harold Louis Ginsberg, 1948, Jewish Theological Seminary, available to read online at at Studies in Daniel, Harold Louis Ginsberg, hathitrust.org.
An excellent modern translation and commentary for the lay person is Daniel, by Robert Alter, available either in “Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary”,” or “The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary.”
Ezra-Nehemiah עזרא-נְחֶמְיָה
Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage, Dov S. Zakheim, Maggid (Koren Publishing), 2016
Revelation Restored: Divine Writ and Critical Responses, 1998, David Weiss Halivni
In an Age of Prose: A Literary Approach to Ezra-Nehemiah, Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Society of Biblical Literature, 1988
Divrei ha-Yamim (Chronicles) דברי הימים
The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought, Sara Japhet, Eisenbrauns, 1989/2009
History, Literature and Theology in the Book of Chronicles, Ehud Ben Zvi
“Radak’s Commentary to Chronicles and the Development of his Exegetical Programme”, Yitzhak Berger, Journal of Jewish Studies, Volume: 57(1), p.80-98, 2006
“The Commentary Of Rabbi David Kimhi To Chronicles: A Translation With Introduction and Supercommentary”, Brown Judaic Studies. Yitzhak Berger
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Multi-book commentaries
“The Prophets” Abraham Joshua Heschel, Pub. by Harpercollins
Strong As Death Is Love: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel, A Translation with Commentary, Robert Alter, 2015
The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary, Robert Alter, 2010
The Early Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings: The Schocken Bible, Volume II, Everett Fox, 2014
The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot, Michael Fishbane, 2002
The Haftarah Commentary, W. Plaut (Author), Chaim Stern, 1996
Merrimack Valley Havurah 