The Artscroll-published Stone Chumash (Five books of Moses, haftorahs, & Commentary) is a politically conservative take on those books. By picking and choosing from the 3000 years of Jewish tradition, they have crafted a book that clearly takes a illiberal view of Jewish Wisdom Tradition in interpretation of the text.
The beautifully bound Artscroll/Stone translation of Torah entered the scene in the 1990's and is now the is mostly commonly used in Orthodox Jewish synagogues in the US.(Orthodox Jews are about 15% of Jews in America).
Below I unpack how its retranslation of just one Hebrew word can aid in the reunderstanding of the Bible to fit a world view.
Empathy & Tolerance for other people...for the different & the stranger, is a core- some would say THE core -- Liberal value (see writing of Prof. Geo Lakoff e.g. Moral Politics).
And we can see from Sotomeyer Supreme Court confirmation hearings how "empathy" is far from a Conservative value, or at least certainly not one a law giver should place high.
And who is the most prominent law giver in the Jewish tradition: Moses.
So, consider the book of Exodus where there is the classic commandment of empathy usually translated into English as:
"You will treat a stranger (Hebrew "GER") well, as you were strangers (GER) in the land of Egypt. " Ex:23:9
This Hebrew word word GER is used throughout the Torah (5 Books of Moses) in such places as commandment like who to give charity to, treatment in law court, etc.
Artscroll translation takes the unusual tack of translate the Hebrew GER into English using the word "Proselyte" (convert). And other times it uses the word "strangers" but then in their commentary describes "strangers" as fellow Jews who are not local.
Below are excepts from Artscroll's Stone Chumash with page references showing the varied way "GER" has been translated:
Gen 23: 4 page 107 Translation of Hebrew ‘ger' as 'alien' describing that Abraham lives among ‘ger’, i.e. Hittites, as resident and alien. Gen 15:13 page 69 Hebrews in Egypt described as ‘Ger’ translated as ‘aliens.’
Contrast this translation of ger’ with selective and inconsistent translation of ‘ger’ as ‘proselyte’ (i.e. convert to Judaism) when it involves commandment in Torah of giving charity or treating well. ArtScroll editors also sometimes translate ‘ger' as stranger, but as the footnote makes explicit the word stranger in Torah text refers to Jews from ‘out of town/another county’. (** see Artscroll page 703 footnote to Lev 25:35 bottom of page on definition of resident vs Proselyte-what is mapping to Hebrew?).
Ex 12:49 page 361 Translation of ‘ger’ as proselyte when stranger/alien is more typical: "One law there shall be for the native and proselyte who lives among you". Also see translation at Ex 12:43, Ex 12:48
Ex 22:20-22 page 431 footnote discussing Hebrew word ‘ger’ in passage translated by Artscroll "You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for you were stranger in the land of Israel" footnote: "A stranger: Commentators explain the verse as referring to a convert to Judaism, but the sense of the verse applied also to any stranger, even a fellow Jew who is a newcomer to a neighborhood or school, for he too, feels ill at ease in unfamiliar surroundings. A native who taunts a convert over his foreign origin invites the retort that ‘you, too, were a stranger in the land of Egypt. (Rashi) ’"
Lev 19:10 page 659 Translation of ger as proselyte not the more common ‘stranger’ : "and the fallen fruit of your vineyard you shall not gather; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them..."
Lev 19:33 page 665 ‘ger’ translated as both proselyte and alien in same sentence, and disagrees with Artscroll’s own translation of ger in original passage Ex:23:9 about oppressing a stranger (see above) "When a proselyte dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him. The proselyte who dwells with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt –I am the Hashem, your God. " footnote: "And you shall love him. Aside from the commandment to love all Jews, proselyte included, there is a special commandment to love proselytes."
Lev 23:22 page 687 translation of ‘ger’: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field as you reap and you shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them. "
Lev 24:22: page 695 Translation of ‘ger’: "There shall be one law for you, it shall be for proselyte and native alike..."
Lev 25:10-53 pages 698-707 This section with its footnotes elaborates on treatment of slaves begins with passage about the Jubilee Year when all slaves are freed includes the famous passage carved on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia: "proclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants". The footnotes, beginning with one for Lev 25:10 indicate this granting freedom to slaves, and rules for fair and non-demeaning treatment of slaves applies only to Jewish Slaves. Hertz and others universalize the reading of the text treatment of all men in their commentary. Commentary makes this argument and translates the text, finding the Hebrew word ger can be translated as either Proselyte or Sojourner to support of this interpretation.
Deut 1:16 page 943 translation of Hebrew plural ‘gerim’ as ‘litigant" and not ‘strangers’: "I instructed your judges at that time, saying "Listen among your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother or his litigant"
Gen 23:11 page 108/109 footnotes Abraham’s purchase of cave for Grave of Sarah .. Ephron’s offer of the free land to Abraham was "unctuously" "Ephron’s public generosity was a sham... After naming a price that was great enough to purchase an estate, Ephron made light of it..."
Gen 18:16-21 page 81 Footnote paraphrase: Sodom’s sin was not sharing prosperity with its poor immigrants. "Root of their evil was greed...Sodomites wanted to maintain their own prosperity and not be encumbered by a flood of poor immigrants...made it a crime to feed a starving person or offer alms to a beggar. "
Ex 23:9 page 435 Translations of Ger as Stranger in " Do not oppress a stranger, you know the feelings of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt..."
yet Ger translated differently in following places...
Ex 27:19 page 1075 Text on judging ‘ger’ fairly. Ger translated as "Proselyte."
Deut 28:43 page 1080 Ger translated as ‘stranger’ in passage on who will prosper while Jews do not if they not follow God’s commandments:: "The stranger who is among you will ascend higher and higher while you descent lower and lower..."
Ex 12:19 translation of GER as "Convert or citizen of the land" **
Deut 10:18-19 page 993 translation of ‘ger’ as both ‘proselyte’ and ‘stranger’ in same phrase, translation indicates God favors proselytes: Note inconsistency with translation of Ex 23: 9. "He carried out the judgement of the orphan and widow, and loves the proselyte to give him bread and garment You shall love the proselyte for you were stranger in the land of Egypt."
Deut 24:14-15 page 1061 While Stone’s editors acknowledge in the footnote that traditional commentators apply this commandment about paying a "ger" on the day he works to non-Jewish workers, they still translate ‘ger’ as ‘proselytes’: "You shall not oppress a laborer who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or a proselyte in one of the communities in your land. You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets; for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it, else he will cry against you to the Eternal, and you will incur guilt." Footnote states: "Exegetically, the Sages extend this to non-Jewish workers..."
Deut 24:17-19 page 1061 Translation of ‘ger’ in context of commandment for equal Justice: "You shall not pervert justice for an proselyte <ger> or an orphan...(18) You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and Hashem, your God, redeemed you from there....19...When you reap your harvest in your field, and you forget a bundle...it shall be for the proselyte <ger> and the widow..."
Deut 23:7" page 1054 Translation of ger as Sojourner. "...you shall not reject an Egyptian, as you were sojourners in his land." footnote: "Sanctity of the Camp. The Jewish army’s power potent weapon is Righteous behavior. This is especially so in times of danger, when Satan goes on the offensive... "
Charity to "ger" commanded in the Torah but ‘ger’ translated as "proselyte" in following additional passages: Ex 24:19, Ex 24:20, Ex 24: 21, Ex 26:12,
Deut 28:43 page 1080 ‘ger’ translated as ‘stranger’ (implying non-Jew) in passage on who will prosper while Jews won’t if they fail to follow God’s commandments:: "The stranger who is among you will ascend higher and higher while you descent lower and lower..."
Ex 12:45 page 361 footnote: thought "Arabs are controlled by Jewish people somewhat"...and are circumcised they are still not allowed to eat a Passover offering.
Ex 23:9 page 435 Translations of ‘ger’ in Torah passage "Do not oppress a stranger, you know the feelings of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." <No footnote Stone fails to comment on this seminal passage.>
Lev 19:18 page 661-662 "Love thy neighborhood as yourself" footnote: "Akiva said this was the fundamental law of the Torah. Hillel paraphrased....The Sages based a variety of rules on this verse. For example, this precept requires that the least painful death be used for capital offenses , and a husband may not put his wife into situations that might make her distasteful to him. " footnote goes on to provide an extensive list of how to treat "their fellows" well. (Contrast with essay in Hertz page 563-64 written during the 1930’s, a dark period of Jewish anti-Semiticism.)
I am sure some more-scholarly-than-me folks can make an argument that GER can be translated these many ways. I am not in the position to rebut those arguments. But given that all other main-stream Jewish translations of GER as Stranger...and traditional translations to English used in Orthodox synaoguges before Artscroll (e.g. Hertz), this shows there is room for choice....and Artscroll's editors have made some innovations here.
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Using the Bible as a proof text of your political belief is an old practice, and should not surprise.
What is surprising is that Orthodox Jews, most of whom are literate in Hebrew, would accept this translation with so little discussion of its implications.