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Bible Psalms with Jerusalem Commentary Da'at Mikra Psalms (3 vols.) By Amos Hakham Mosad Harav Kook, 2003, 1429 pages ISBN-10: 9657265037 ISBN-13: 978-9657265031

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - February 16, 2010

This is a first-class comprehensive scholarly work that can be read and enjoyed by non-scholars. It contains a forty page introduction that explains such things as the name Psalms, its place in the biblical canon, its division, headings, order of presentation, purpose, content, how it was used in antiquity, and the names of the people that appear in the book. It also explains the unique poetry of the psalms and its use in Jewish liturgy, and it offers many examples. Since people read psalms frequently, this is useful information; it reveals the psalms' meaning.

Each psalm is introduced with an introductory explanation, an extensive commentary and notes, and a summary conclusion. Thus, the first and twenty-third psalms, for example, which comprise only six short verses each, takes up four and five pages, respectively.

The translation is simple and to the point. The twenty-third psalm, for instance, is very similar in wording to the well-known translations, except that the English is more colloquial.

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack for nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake.

Even when I walk in a valley of darkness, I do not fear evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

You have anointed my head with oil. My cup runs over.

Only goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in tranquility in the house of the Lord forever.

The commentary explains such things as other biblical places where God is compared to a shepherd, what is the significance of "still waters" for a shepherd and other people, does "soul" mean something other than "life," what does "His name's sake" imply and is it important, as well as every other phrase in the psalm. As a result, readers begin to realize that they did not understand what they thought they understood.

Dr. Israel Drazin is the author of fifteen books, including a series of five volumes on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, which he co-authors with Rabbi Dr. Stanley M. Wagner, and a series of four books on the twelfth century philosopher Moses Maimonides, the latest being Maimonides: Reason Above All, published by Gefen Publishing House, www.gefenpublishing.com. The Orthodox Union (OU) publishes daily samples of the Targum books on www.ouradio.org.

• The Artscroll Tehillim, Edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz.
  The psalms of King David, in Hebrew with English translation on the facing page. This edition includes brief commentaries related to the Tehillim.
  
  
• The Stone Edition of the Tanach, edited By Rabbi Nosson Scherman.
  This single volume edition of the Tanach contains all 24 books of the Bible (Chumash, Neviim, and Kesuvim) in Hebrew, with an English translation on the facing page.