The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel — Exodus (Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2020), edited by David Arnovitz
Reviewed by
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein (Rachack Review)
This
beautifully produced volume features contributions from several scholars and is
visually stunning. It includes high-quality graphics, maps, and photographs of
ancient inscriptions, artifacts, and even Medieval artwork. The typesetting is
elegant, making it an attractive coffee-table book that draws in the reader. It
includes color images, including reconstructions and archaeological finds, such
as maps illustrating the Israelites’ travels through the desert. However, this
reviewer occasionally found it jarring to read sacred verses alongside images
of idolatrous deities or partially unclothed figures.
While the book
may be compared to Mossad HaRav Kook’s Da'at Mikra series, the key
differences are that this volume is in English and places far less emphasis on
traditional rabbinic commentary. It also does not provide a continuous
commentary on the entire text of Exodus, instead focusing on select verses and
themes. The articles consist of attributed contributions from many different
scholars in a sort of “encyclopedic” format. Those articles are informative but
tend to present basic, accessible information, and there are no footnotes or
source citations, making it less suitable as a scholarly reference.
The layout is
highly thoughtful: icons are used to indicate the type of article (e.g.,
Egyptology, Language, and Near Eastern), and the visuals are in line with the
book’s overall aesthetic sophistication. The "Egyptology" and
"Near East" sections aim to contextualize the Torah by comparing or
contrasting it with Egyptian and Mesopotamian culture and mythology. This highly
comparative approach is one of the book’s most intriguing aspects. For example,
the Egyptology entries often highlight how Biblical references to Egyptian
culture subtly subvert those ideas to emphasize the supremacy of the God of
Israel over nature and pagan gods. Most of the Egyptology entries were written
by Dr. Racheli Shalomi-Hen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. That said,
not all entries labeled "Egyptology" are properly categorized. For
instance, the etymology of the names Shifra and Puah (p. 8) is traced to
Semitic/Hebrew roots, not Egyptian ones.
The “Flora and
Fauna” sections were apparently penned by Dr. Zohar Amar from Bar Ilan
University, a scholar whose work I have been following for some time now. But
in this limited framework, those entries were obviously abbreviated and shorter
than Dr. Amar’s more thorough work in his books on Biblical and rabbinic
flora/fauna.
The editors
wisely steer clear of most chronological debates, probably due to the messiness
of the topic. However, the volume does perpetuate several factual inaccuracies
that have crept into popular consciousness. For example, it claims that Exodus
12:2 is the rabbinic source for the requirement that Nisan be in spring (p.
63), whereas more accurate sources include Exodus 13:4, 23:15, 34:18, and
Deuteronomy 16:1. The book also states (there) that the fixed Jewish calendar
was established during the Second Temple period, even though rabbinic tradition
attributes that development to Hillel II, who lived in the 4th century
CE, well after the Temple’s destruction.
Furthermore,
the volume claims that tefillin are worn “on the forehead” (p. 72), an
assertion belied by normative halakhic practice. On that same page, the book
claims that tefillin were found at Qumran that correspond to both Rashi
and Rabbeinu Tam’s opinions in how to order the texts of the tefillin, but that
myth has already been dispelled close to twenty years ago in Dr. Yehudah Cohn's
2007 article in Jewish Studies Quarterly. The book also asserts that the
name of Pharaoh’s daughter who rescued Moses is unknowable from the biblical
text (p. 12), neglecting to mention the Midrashic identification of her as
Bithiah based on I Chronicles 4:18.
Some of these oversights
and others like them reflect a broader tendency in the volume: it favors
archaeology, realia, and cultural studies over traditional textual exegesis.
The commentary on the Exodus narrative, in particular, leans heavily on
Egyptology, sometimes at the expense of classic Jewish interpretations.
Each page
includes the original Hebrew Masoretic text alongside a dignified English
translation by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, accompanied by the thematic articles and
visuals that are the centerpieces of this work. However, despite Koren’s
generally impeccable reputation for Hebrew textual accuracy, this edition
contains several proofreading errors. Extra letters that are not part of the
Masoretic text appear in multiple locations — e.g., two extra yuds on
page 13, an extra vav on page 32, an extra kaf on page 50, and
another vav on page 62. Additionally, the colon that marks the end of a
verse is sometimes layed over a letter instead of preceding it
(for examples, see page 32, 61).
This review
focused primarily on the first part of Exodus (chapters 1–17), which covers the
narrative of the Israelites' liberation from Egypt. The rest of the book should
be treated separately, but in short, those later sections of Exodus primarily
offer a legal code (roughly chapters 18–24), and a lengthy account of the mishkan
(“tabernacle”) with its associated appurtenances and paraphernalia (roughly
chapters 25–40). In the legal sections, the articles mostly compare and
contrast the Torah’s laws to the laws in other Near Eastern milieus. The mishkan
section is adorned with exquisite photographs that imagined how those
components may have looked, with the scholarly articles mostly written by Rabbi
Menachem Makeover and Professor Zohar Amar.
In terms of the
book’s back matter, it contains an eclectic glossary that defines Jewish and
Egyptian terms and situates them within their proper context for readers who
might not otherwise be familiar with those ideas. It also contains a
bibliography that offers sources and further supplementary reading to the
book’s article (arranged by chapter and verse where the article appears),
extensive photo credits, and a helpful index.
In conclusion, The
Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel — Exodus succeeds as a visually-engaging
and accessible introduction to the world of the Exodus story, especially for
readers interested in historical, archaeological, and cultural background. Its
stunning design and curated visuals make it ideal for casual reading or
display, and its articles offer useful context for understanding the Torah’s
setting and significance. However, those seeking in-depth engagement with
traditional rabbinic commentary or rigorous academic sourcing may find its
approach too limited. While the book brings much to the table, it would be best
used alongside more traditional or scholarly works, rather than as a standalone
reference.
