Quick Reference
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Encyclopaedia JudaicaThe landmark 22-volume set, lauded as the standard work on Judaism since first appearing in the early 1970s, includes more than 21,000 entries on Jewish life, culture, history and religion.
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The Encyclopaedia of JudaismThis new edition of the prize-winning Encyclopaedia of Judaism offers an authoritative, comprehensive and systematic presentation of the current state of scholarship on fundamental issues of Judaism, both past and present.
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The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish CultureThis is an authoritative and accessible reference work that defines the spiritual and intellectual concepts and religious movements that distinguish Judaism and the Jewish experience.
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Medieval Jewish Civilization: An EncyclopediaThis is the first encyclopedic work to focus exclusively on medieval Jewish civilization, from the fall of the Roman Empire to about 1492. More than 150 alphabetically organized entries include biographies, countries, events, social history and religious concepts.
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Jewish Life in America, c. 1654-1954An indispensable resource for scholars and students interested in understanding and exploring the history of Jewish communities in America from the first arrival of Jewish immigrants in New York in 1654 to the mid-20th century.
Further Reading
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Judaism: A Very Short Introduction
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Publication Date: 2014Normon Solomon's succinct book is an ideal introduction to Judaism as a religion and way of life. Demonstrating the diverse nature and ethnic origin of those with the Jewish faith, Solomon explores how the Jewish religion has developed in the 2,000 years since the days of the Bible. -
An Introduction to Judaism
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Publication Date: 2010In this book, contemporary Judaism is presented in all its rich diversity, including both traditional and modern theologies, as well as secular forms of Jewish identity. While the focus of the book is on developments that have taken place in the past two hundred years, they are set against a historical background, going back to the Bible. -
An Introduction to Early Judaism
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Publication Date: 2022Based on archaeological research, this volume explores the history of Judaism during the Second Temple period (516 BCE-70 CE), describing the body of Jewish literature and the most important groups, institutions and practices of the time. Particularly interesting are VanderKam's depiction of events associated with Masada and, more briefly, the Bar Kokhba revolt--as well as his commentary on texts unearthed in places like Elephantine and Qumran. -
The Cambridge History of Judaism
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Publication Date: 1984-2017The 8-volume set of The Cambridge History of Judaism covers the history of the Jews from the Exile in 587 BCE to the early 2000s. A comprehensive examination is made of all the relevant literary and archeological sources, and special attention is given to the interaction of Iranian, Semitic, Hellenistic and Roman cultures. -
Judaism Today
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Publication Date: 2010In the modern period, Jewish religion has fragmented into a series of separate denominations with competing ideologies and theological views. Judaism Today gives an account of the nature of traditional Judaism, provides an introduction to the various divisions that currently exist in the Jewish world and identifies and discusses contemporary issues with which the Jewish faith engages in the 21st century.
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The Jewish Study Bible
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Publication Date: 2014First published in 2004, The Jewish Study Bible is a landmark, one-volume resource tailored especially for the needs of students of the Hebrew Bible. The Jewish Study Bible combines the entire Hebrew Bible - in the celebrated Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation - with explanatory notes, introductory materials and essays by leading biblical scholars on virtually every aspect of the text. -
Pathways Through the Bible: Classic Selections from the Tanakh
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Publication Date: 2002This new edition shares the same essential features as the original, especially the core principle that Pathways Through the Bible, in Cohen's words, "is not intended to replace The Holy Scriptures...it is rather to be regarded as preparatory to the reading of the Bible itself." -
Judaism and Its Bible: A People and Their Book
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Publication Date: 2023Judaism and Its Bible explores the profoundly deep and complex relationship between Jews, Judaism and the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible has been ubiquitous in Jewish life and thought: Jews read it, interpret it and debate it. They translate the Bible even as they deem those translations inadequate, and they cite the Bible as the basis for observances that are not even mentioned in it. -
The Hebrew Bible Manuscripts: A Millennium
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Publication Date: 2022In The Hebrew Bible: A Millennium, scholars from different fields are trying to consider the Hebrew Bible as a whole. The development of new databases and other technological tools have an increasing impact on research practices. By inviting doctoral students, young researchers and established scholars to contribute, this interdisciplinary book showcases methods and perspectives which can support future scientific collaborations. -
How Old Is the Hebrew Bible? A Linguistic, Textual, and Historical Study
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Publication Date: 2018From two expert scholars comes a comprehensive study of the dating of the Hebrew Bible. The scarcity of clear evidence allows for the possibility of many views, though these are often clouded by theological and political biases. This impressive, broad-ranging book synthesizes recent linguistic, textual and historical research to clarify the history of biblical literature, from its oldest texts and literary layers to its youngest.
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The Torah: The Five Books of Moses
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Publication Date: 1992The Torah is the essence of Jewish tradition; it inspires each successive generation. The current JPS translation, based on classical and modern sources, is acclaimed for its fidelity to the ancient Hebrew. -
The Torah: A Beginner's Guide
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Publication Date: 2011There is no question that the Torah is one of the most influential documents in Western civilization. It is the source of widely known characters like Joseph, Moses and Noah, and timeless stories such as the Garden of Eden and the Exodus. Jointly authored by professors of Judaism and Christianity, The Torah: A Beginner's Guide takes a unique approach, exploring the interplay and dynamics of how these two religions share this common scripture. -
The Torah: A Modern Commentary
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Publication Date: 2005Nearly 25 years after the ground-breaking publication of the first-ever English language liberal Torah commentary, we present The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition. This volume features new highlights and makes it easier than ever to study, read and teach Torah. -
The Samaritan Pentateuch: An English Translation with a Parallel Annotated Hebrew Text
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Publication Date: 2025This new translation into English seeks to introduce the reader to the character of the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch, while emphasizing the fundamental differences between it and the Masoretic version.
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A History of the Talmud
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Publication Date: 2020In this volume, David C. Kraemer offers students of Judaism a sophisticated and accessible introduction to one of the religion's most important texts. Here, he brings together his expertise as a scholar of the Talmud and rabbinic Judaism with the lessons of his experience as director of one of the largest collections of rare Judaica in the world. -
The Jerusalem Talmud
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Publication Date: 2000The original text of the Jerusalem Talmud is here established on the basis of the editio princeps and the existing manuscripts. The text is fully vocalized. This 17-volume edition also presents the first English scholarly translation and commentary of the Jerusalem Talmud. -
A Guide to the Jerusalem Talmud
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Publication Date: 2002This book is a compilation and composition of the Jerusalem Talmud, the cultural, economic and political conditions in the Land of Israel during its development, the scholars who studied it throughout the generations and a synopsis of their research and commentaries. Examined in detail is the transformation of the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity and the effect this has had on the Jerusalem Talmud. -
Stories of the Babylonian Talmud
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Publication Date: 2010Jeffrey L. Rubenstein continues his grand exploration of the ancient rabbinic tradition of the Talmudic sages, offering deep and complex analysis of eight stories from the Babylonian Talmud to reconstruct the cultural and religious world of the Babylonian rabbinic academy. Rubenstein combines a close textual and literary examination of each story with a careful comparison to earlier versions from other rabbinic compilations. -
The Babylonian Talmud and Late Antique Book Culture
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Publication Date: 2023In this book, Monika Amsler explores the historical contexts in which the Babylonian Talmud was formed in an effort to determine whether it was the result of oral transmission. Scholars have posited that the rulings and stories we find in the Talmud were passed on from one generation to the next, each generation adding their opinions and interpretations of a given subject. Yet, such an oral formation process is unheard of in late antiquity. -
Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures
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Publication Date: 2011Talya Fishman examines ways in which circumstances of transmission have shaped the cultural meaning of Jewish traditions. Although the Talmud's preeminence in Jewish study and its determining role in Jewish practice are generally taken for granted, Fishman contends that these roles were not solidified until the late 11th and early 12th centuries.
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Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 1: Qumran Cave I
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Publication Date: 1955First in a series of forty authoritative volumes that present workable scholarly editions of the texts of the major scroll discoveries accompanied by introductions, transcriptions, translations, notes, indices, photographic plates and hand drawn figures. -
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations
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Publication Date: 1994The Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls Project provides critical editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not copies of books in the Hebrew Bible (the so-called "Old Testament"). The format of the series is unique; each manuscript is presented with Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek text on the left page with English translation on the right. -
The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls
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Publication Date: 2010In 1946 the first of the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries was made near the site of Qumran, at the northern end of the Dead Sea. The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls seeks to probe the main disputed issues in the study of the Scrolls, reflect on diverse opinions and viewpoints, highlight the points of disagreement, and point to promising directions for future research. -
A Handbook of the Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves
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Publication Date: 2023This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves of Qumran. These nearly one hundred scrolls open a window onto a vibrant period of Jewish history for which we previously had few historical sources. Scholars and advanced students will find a general introduction to the corpus, detailed, richly-illustrated profiles of individual scrolls, and up-to-date studies of their Aramaic language and scribal practices. -
The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls: In Text and Pictures
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Publication Date: 2024First published in 1959, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls gives a complete pictorial record of the dramatic story of the Dead Sea Scrolls – actually shows the places where the Scrolls were found, as well as the desert and caves in which the people of the Scrolls lived just before the dawn of Christianity.
Journals
Web Resources
- Jewish Encyclopedia which recently became part of the public domain, contains the complete contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, originally published between 1901-1906 with over 15,000 articles and illustrations.
- Sefaria: A Living Library of Jewish Texts Online is a nonprofit organization offering free access to texts, translations and commentaries so that everyone can participate in the ongoing process of studying, interpreting and creating Torah.
- RAMBI: Index of Articles on Jewish Studies is a selective bibliography of academic articles covering all of the fields of Jewish studies based largely on the collections of the National Library of Israel.
