Anyone know what the difference is between The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated and Translated into English (19 vols.) available on Pre-Pub and the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud published earlier this year?
Steve ... I can't find the thread so maybe someone else can find it. The current pre-pub has some tractates etc that the Neusner one doesn't, though the latter is more complete having also the Palestine Talmud which is hard to find electronic. Hopefully the Logos explanation can be found; it's a little more specific.
I can't find the thread so maybe someone else can find it.
http://community.logos.com/forums/p/37632/284204.aspx
They're also different translations, just as the King James is different to the NIV. Neusner's translation is also structured more clearly, and the comments and introductions will obviously be different in each case. So that you can compare the translations, I've packaged together two PDFs of part of Tractate Shabbat 11.
4760.The_Babylonian_Talmud__A_Translation_and_Commentary.pdf
8306.The Babylonian Talmud (Rodkinson).pdf
Here's the quote from the above thread:
Vincent Setterholm Replied: Thu, Sep 8 2011 6:01 PM The order is quite different, and they do not have the same total content. If you just count the tractates, Neusner's edition has 37 while Rodkinson has 25.But there are some more surprises:Rodkinson includes Shekalim and Edduyot in his 25, which aren't found in the Babylonian Talmud at all - he's just using the Mishnah text and adding notes for those two tractates.But Rodkinson does have material not found in Neusner's edition. In particular, he includes four of the so-called 'Minor Tractates' that aren't part of many editions of the Babylonian Talmud (including Neusner's edition): Derekh Eretz RabbbahEvel Rabbati (also called Semahoth)Derekh Eretz ZutaAboth of Rabbi NathanSo you do get some material in the Rodkinson edition that isn't in Neusner's (four minor tractates and information on two tractates not found in Bavli), but if all you had was Rodkinson, you'd be missing 18 tractates of the Babylonian Talmud proper. In addition, the translation as a whole is entirely prose, so it reads very differently from Neusner's highly structured sense-units.
Thanks Mark, your information was helpful. I only need one translation, so will stick with the Neusner one that I already have.
Don't forget that if you get both you can have both open simultaneously and read one with your right eye and the other with your left eye. [:D]
Since you're asking this question now, I just wanted to make sure you're aware of the Community Pricing program, through which Rodkinson's Talmud could be pre-ordered for $20 some months ago. At that price it's probably worth it for almost anyone who knows enough to ask. At the current price it's probably not worth it for people who own Neusner, unless they're really into Talmud (in which case they probably know too much to ask...).
