- Torah and Jewish Thought
- General Questions
Marcus Jastrow’s dictionary
Question
Is Marcus Jastrow’s dictionary considered to have a reliable/accurate translation of the Hebrew/Aramaic terms into English?
Answer
ב"ה
Shalom
Though my remarks here should not be considered a letter of approbation, because that is not my intention and neither am I worthy of giving one, no one can deny the fact that for many of us who grew up and started studying Talmud, the Jastrow dictionary was the only dictionary available and I believe it is still on the book shelves many English speaking Yeshivot. It was definitely deemed by those who used it as reliable and by the Seforim stores which sold it. It was published in 1903 and since then, many new things have come out such as "The Practical Talmud Dictionary "by Yitzchak Frank recently and Art Scroll publications have published the entire Talmud in English with extensive commentary.
All the best