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Product Description

The only English-language translation of the Tosefta (“supplement”), which contains explanations and discussion not included in the Mishnah and is organized according to the same six divisions. Materials in the Tosefta are attributed to rabbinic authorities in the first and second centuries c.e., the same ones cited in the Mishnah, and as such the Tosefta is crucial to the study of formative rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. This two-volume edition, by renowned rabbinic scholar Jacob Neusner, contains the complete text of the original six-volume set. The following features enhance the usefulness of this new edition: the text is continuously paginated, with a new preface, a single general index, and a full index of biblical and talmudic references.

"The Tosefta has been one of the most neglected of the major texts of rabbinic Judaism. Jacob Neusner has devoted considerable attention to this text and has produced the only modern language complete translation. Yet, his six-volume work (New York: Ktav, 1977-1986) remained relatively inaccessible to most students and scholars. It is an event of significance to have now an accessible, two-volume edition of Neusner's English translation with his new introduction. This should enhance both rabbinic studies and the shared concern among Jewish and Christian scholars and students for better understanding ancient Judaism."
—David M. Scholer, Professor of New Testament and Associate Dean, Center for Advanced Theological Studies, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary

Reviews

"A core work, this highly recommended set should be included in the reference and/or circulating section of any collection of Judaica."
--Library Journal

“First published in several installments in the 1970s and 1980s, the present edition makes Neusner’s work again available in an attractive format (complete with amalgamated index). Thanks to the effort of Hendrickson Publishers, all of Neusner’s now classic renderings of major rabbinic texts will soon be available as reprints.”
—International Review of Biblical Studies

“There is a useful index of Biblical and Rabbinic references, as well as a good index of subjects, glossary, and list of abbreviations. This is clearly not for the general reader or even the informed layman. It is a reference tool prepared by a well-established scholar for use by other scholars and advanced students.”
—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter

“These two volumes reprint the only full English translation of this early rabbinic work, which is important both for scholars of early Judaism and for students of New Testament backgrounds. The Tosefta represents an early collection of rabbinic legal decisions and aphorisms. It is structured like the Mishnah (composed somewhere around A.D. 200), which is the most foundational document of rabbinic thought and served as the core of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds). The name "Tosefta" implies that the early readers conceived this as a collection of "additions" to the Mishnah; and the later Talmuds included much of the material found already in the Tosefta. Although the earliest probable date for the Tosefta would be sometime in the third century A.D., at least some of this early rabbinic material contains traditions from the time of Jesus and Paul.

“The clear topical structure of the Mishnah and the Tosefta makes both quite accessible to the beginner, and such structure facilitates parallel comparison of the two works for the more advanced student. Students of early Judaism have long known the importance of the Tosefta, but a full English translation was slow in coming.

“Jacob Neusner in the 1970s and '80s launched a project with his students of translating and comparing both the Mishnah and the Tosefta. Their Tosefta translation originally appeared in six volumes during that time, but went out of print with the demise of the old Scholars Press. Hendrickson has performed a great service to the scholarly community in reprinting that whole work in these two volumes. Neusner has added a helpful brief introduction, which provides orientation even for the tenderfoot. While occasional concerns have been raised about Neusner's other translations, my somewhat limited experience with this translation has shown it to be fairly close to the original Hebrew. Nonetheless, I would remind scholars of the importance of working with the original languages, though this translation provides a helpful entry point. I would further suggest to students interested in delving into rabbinic thought, that this translation does indeed make accessible an important supplement to the more widely known Mishnah.”
—Presbyterion

Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Religion and Theology, Bard College, and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College. He has published more than eight hundred books and innumerable articles, and he is editor of The Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period and the three-volume Encyclopaedia of Judaism. He has also served as President of the American Academy of Religion, and was appointed as Member of the National Council on the Humanities and the National Council on the Arts.

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