The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot

by Michael Fishbane

Publisher:

Jewish Publication Society

, 2002

Overview

The haftarot are an ancient part of Hebrew liturgy. These supplemental readings are excerpted from the Prophets (Nevi’im) and accompany each weekly Sabbath reading from the Torah as well as readings for special Sabbaths and festivals.

Noted Bible scholar Michael Fishbane introduces each haftarah with an outline and discussion of how that passage conveys its meaning, and he follows it with observations on how it relates to the Torah portion or special occasion. Individual comments—citing classical rabbinic as well as modern commentators—highlight ambiguities and difficulties in the Hebrew text. The haftarot are also put into biblical context by a separate overview of all prophetic books (except Jonah) that are excerpted in the haftarah cycle. This volume was a National Jewish Book Award Finalist.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Joshua is thus a book of transition: between the desert wanderings and the settlement in the Land. The generation of the desert forgot the wonders of the Exodus and did not believe in God’s power to realize the conquest (Num. 14:11, Num. 14:22); in turn, their descendants forgot the historical wonders of the conquest and wandered after the gods of nature.” (Page 505)

“‘bring them close to each other [lit., one to the other; ʾeḥad ʾel ʾeḥad], so that they become one stick [le-ʾaḥadim], joined together in your hand’” (Page 72)

“The foregoing triad (Torah, prophecy, and homily) represents three levels of authority in Judaism and three modes of religious instruction.” (Page xix)

“The third level of this commentary is that of the derash, or creative interpretation and theology” (Page xxxii)

“is rewarded for her hospitality with the announcement that ‘at this season [la-moʿed” (Page 28)

Praise for the Print Edition

... without a doubt, the finest commentary on the Haftarot I have studied.

—David L. Lieber, President Emeritus and Skovron Distinguished Service Professor of Biblical Literature and Thought, University of Judaism; Senior Editor of Etz Hayim

Product Details

• Title: Haftarot
• Author: Michael Fishbane
• Series: The JPS Bible Commentary
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 700

About Michael Fishbane

Michael Fishbane was trained in Semitic languages, biblical studies, and Judaica. His writings span from the ancient Near East and biblical studies to rabbinics, the history of Jewish interpretation, Jewish mysticism, and modern Jewish thought. Among his many books are Text and Texture; Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel; Garments of Torah; The Kiss of God; and The Exegetical Imagination: On Jewish Thought and Theology. Both Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel and The Kiss of God won the National Jewish Book Award in scholarship. His commentary on the prophetic lectionary (Haftarot) in Judaism was published in 2002 (Jewish Publication Society Bible Commentary), and his book Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking was published in 2003 (Oxford University Press). He is now completing a multileveled comprehensive commentary presenting the full range of Jewish interpretations on the Song of Songs. His latest work, Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology, was published in fall 2008 by the University of Chicago Press. In progress are a study of Jewish liturgical poetry and a treatment of spiritual exercises in Jewish religious history. Prof. Fishbane received a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other major grants, and has twice been a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University. Prof. Fishbane is a member of the American Academy of Jewish Research, and has been recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement in Textual Studies by the National Foundation of Jewish Culture. His life and work was written up in the forthcoming new edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica.