A new Tanakh

The Israel Bible is a new online resource for reading the Hebrew Bible. You can listen to the Hebrew version of the text and read along in English or Hebrew.

The focus of this translation is on the real estate in Palestine.

The Land of Israel is the most central aspect of the Bible with references to the land appearing on nearly every page... The Israel Bible is the world’s first Bible to highlight the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, and the unique relationship between them. The Israel Bible provides an original commentary which seeks to explain God’s focus on the Land of Israel.  In doing so, our commentary features comments pertaining to the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the language of Israel.

So there's an agenda, one that might give readers pause in light of the illegal settlements issue and the legitimate concerns raised by BDS advocates. The endorsements so far aren't exactly stellar either, and one of the scholars responsible for the Israel Bible speaks of "his vision for honoring and nurturing evangelical Christian support for Jews and the Jewish homeland".

With those qualifications, it's still an interesting resource. How it is received as more people become aware of it and it is critiqued by a broader range of scholars is a significant question for the future.

(HT to Charles Savelle.)