The Tree of Life Version of the Holy Scriptures (TLV), first published in 2014, is a Messianic Jewish translation of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
(or New Covenant) sponsored by the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society and The King's University.
Purpose
According to the publisher,
Baker Books
Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chosen, an ...
, the Tree of Life Version (TLV) is intended to be a translation that "speaks with a decidedly
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
-friendly voice ..to recover the authentic context of the Bible and the Christian faith." The sponsors of the translation sought to restore to the biblical texts "their actual Jewish essence," which, in their view, is lost in most English translations.
Specifically, the project sought to restore "the Jewish order of the books of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
," "the Jewish name of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
,
Yeshua
Yeshua () was a common alternative form of the name Yehoshua () in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jewish people of the Second Temple period. The name corresponds to the Greek spelling (), from which, through the Latin /, comes the En ...
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
transliterated terms, such as ''shalom'', ''shofar'', and ''shabbat''." Prior to the publication of the TLV in its entirety, It was previously published either with the TLV New Covenant alone or bound together with the public domain 1917 Jewish Publication Society Version
Messianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism is a syncretic Abrahamic religious sect that combines Christian theology with select elements of Judaism. It considers itself to be a form of Judaism but is generally considered to be a form of Christianity, including by ...
and Christian scholars commissioned to work on the project included Dr. Jeffrey L. Seif, Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Feinberg, Rabbi Dr. Glenn Blank, Dr. Hellene Dallaire, Rabbi Jeff Adler, Rabbi Barney Kasdan, and Dr. Vered Hillel. Other contributors included Mark Anthony,
Michael L. Brown
Michael L. Brown (born March 16, 1955) is an American radio host, author, apologist, activist, and proponent of Messianic Judaism, Christian Zionism, and the Charismatic Movement. His nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Line of Fire'', airs ...
, Dr. Jack Cairns, Dr. Mordechai Cohen, Pat Feinberg, Dr. John Fischer, Dr. Patrice Fischer, Dr. Steve Galiley, Dr. Ray Gannon, Dr. Henri Goulet, Dr. Ihab Griess, Dr. David Harris, Dr. Stanley Horton, Dr. Daniel Juster, Liz Kasdan, Elliot Klayman, Dr. Seth Klayman, Dr. Craig Keener, Phillip Lanning, Dr. Barrie Mallin, Rabbi Dr. Shawn Moir, Dr. Richard Nicol, Dr. Seth Postell, Dr. David Rothstein, Dr. Noel Rabinowitz, Dr. Rich Robinson, Dr. Matthew Salathe, Dr. Jim Sibley, Josh Sofaer, Dr. Greg Stone, Rabbi Eric Tokajer, John Taylor, Myles Weiss, Dr. Randy Weiss, Dr. Lon Wiksel, and Dr. Wayne Wilks.''Holy Scriptures''. Tree of Life Version. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015. Pages x-xii.