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The Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica

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This book is ostensibly an introduction to Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, a standard work giving the text of the Hebrew Bible and a list of variants and plausible emendations. It serves that function superbly, but it is also one of the best books ever written on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. It is well worth buying even if you do not have a Biblia Hebraica. Some may prefer Tov's book on the subject, but ideally you should have both.

Wurthwein first wrote this book to "meet a practical need," the need that many students of Biblia Hebraica Kittel did not understand the "wealth of material" in the critical apparatus(or apparati, if you prefer). This book incorporates the changes in the criticial apparatus of BH Stuttgartensia (but not later editions such as BH Quinta).

As one might expect, the siglia for the Masora Parva are explained. So are the siglia for the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls whose textual witness is now being considered by scholars. Wurthwein goes on to consider the primary versions, the LXX, the Targums, the Syriac versions, and the Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic versions.

Wurthwein does not spend most of his book arguing for a particular theory of the origen of the Hebrew Bible such as Cross' theory of local texts. It is his purpose to introduce the tools and resources to the student of BHS. To this end he devotes over 40 pages of his short book to plates of sources (these are terrific) that many of us will never see. Instead Wurthwein presents the sources so that the student of textual theory may find his/her way for him/her-self.

Covers most important issues in textual criticism. If you only get one book on textual criticsm this is the one to get. Emmanuel Tov covers much more ground and is less dated, but it is much more expensive and more difficult to read. If you want both, definitely read Wurthwein first.

"Whoever alters a word of this Mahzor or this writing or erases one letter or tears off one leaf - unless he understands and knows that there is a word in it in which we have erred in the writing or in the punctuation or in the Masora or in defective or in plene - may we have neither pardon nor forgiveness, neither 'let him behold the beauty of the Lord' (Ps. xxvii, 4)" Codex Cairenesis, End colophen



Introduction:
This reader friendly introduction to the Hebrew Bible's textual criticism, updated incorporating new critical editions and recent findings in the various related texts as the Masorah, Peshitta, Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book exposes the history of the text, and the significance of OT textual criticism, and provides resources for textual research. It includes hundreds of plates of text inscriptions. Compared to Metzger's classic work on the NT text, most Christian seminaries would rely on Wurthwein for the Hebrew Bible history and textual criticism, incorporating the changes in the criticial apparatus of BH Stuttgartensia. Although Emmanuel Tov covers more ground it is less friendly to the ordinary reader.

Wurthwein Plates:
The capable professor told the story of OT documents in 49 plates of inscriptions and manuscripts photos and recounted related discoveries from the Elephantine papyrus, fifth century BC, the Complutensian Polygot, which formed a useful tool for textual Criticism of the OT in the sixteenth century, in a masterful introduction for any general reader of the subject. Included in this visual treasure; a fragment of the song of Moses, the first and second Isaiah scrolls, the Habakkuk commentary, fragmentary Leveticus, Deutronomy, and the Minor Prophets, mostly all from the Dead Sea Scrolls. He also provides samples of Codex Cairensis, Aleppo, Leningradensis, Bodleian, and the amazing Codex Sinaiticus with the fascinating adventure of K. von Tischendorf. All the way you enjoy the stories, the name of Origen, the greatest OT scholar keeps echoing in all Koine Greek translations.

Text Transmission:
The first part of the study tells the story of the script up to the production of the Masoretic text. The transmission of the text in the original languages, does not clearly tackle the development of Hebrew. "The concepts of 'biblical Hebrew remains a fiction just like the concept of the 'biblical text' or even of the 'Masoretic text'. The biblical texts reflect a whole millennium of linguistic development and must also reflect different types of Hebrew and must have absorbed different dialects." Julio T. Barrera, The Jewish Bible, and the Christian bible (pp. 64) To which Dr. Wurthwein states, "All this was certainly not without significance for the formation of the Old Testament, and must receive due recognition in any consideration of the roles of oral and written tradition among the Israelites and the Jews." But he further concludes, "We can only allude to this in passing, limiting ourselves here to some comments on those systems of writing which were directly related to the initial writing of the Biblical texts and their continuing transmission."

Primary Versions:
The second chapter of this work discusses ancient translations from Hebrew to Greek (Septuagint), to Aramaic (the Targums), and to Syriac (the Peshito). The Septuagint' origin and history leads to trials to correct it by Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, and their comparative study by Origen, in his massive work, the Hexapla, utilizing Aristarchus philology, which was a common literal tradition in Alexandria. Origen's asterisks are referred to in many of those manuscripts shown in Wurthwein Plates. The author then takes an exposition of Old Latin, Vulgate, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, and Arabic versions.

Textual Criticism:
OT Biblical Criticism:
Looking for an authorative definition for Biblical Criticism from Professor Barrera, the eminent biblical scholar, who wrote, "Textual criticism studies the process of transmission of the text from the moment it is put into writing or its first edition. Its aim is to determine the oldest biblical text witnessed by the manuscript tradition. ... Literary criticism studies instead the process before the formation of the biblical writings in order to determine their author and date. Even though in theory the domains and methods of these two disciplines are quite separate, in practice they often overlap." The Jewish Bible and the Christian bible, pp. 370
Josephus, in Contra Apionem, claimed that 'no one had ever presumed to add to, remove from, or in any way alter the original OT text, already long in existence, being regarded as sacrosanct.' In spite of this declaration, the author briefly, but efficiently takes up the causes of textual corruption, explaining the targets and methods of textual criticism. He concludes, "No book in the literature of the world has been so often copied, printed, translated, read, and studied as the Bible. It stands uniquely as the object of so much effort devoted to preserving it faithfully, ..."

The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and Historical Criticism: Jews and Christians in Biblical Studies

"The Old Testament is indeed part of the heritage of Judaism, but that does not mean it is the exclusive heritage of what became mainstream rabbinic Judaism. ... this should not lead scholars to speak as if we have now realized that Christians have no stake at all in the inheritance of the Old Testament and its religion, or to imply that the Old Testament is correctly read only from the standpoint of rabbinic Judaism: scholars are neither required nor permitted to make value-judgements of that kind." John Barton



OT Biblical Criticism:
Dr. Peter Enns, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, has been recently suspended by the Board of Trustees, pending a review to consider whether Professor Enns tenure should be terminated at the Seminary. The suspension is due to controversy surrounding his evocative, even if insightful, recent book, "Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament." This urged me to seek a thorough precise definition for this domain from a leading biblical scholar, Julio T. Barrera.
"Textual criticism studies the process of transmission of the text from the moment it is put into writing or its first edition. Its aim is to determine the oldest biblical text witnessed by the manuscript tradition. ... Literary criticism studies instead the process before the formation of the biblical writings in order to determine their author and date. Even though in theory the domains and methods of these two disciplines are quite separate, in practice they often overlap." The Jewish Bible and the Christian bible, pp. 370

Introducing the BHS:
The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) is a revision of the third edition of the Biblia Hebraica initially edited by the eminent Biblical scholar Rudolf Kittel, based on the Leningrad Codex. the BHS is an edition of the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, a precise copy of the masoretic text as recorded in the Leningrad Codex, supplemented by text critical notes. Originally appearing in parts, with a one-volume edition in 1977, published by the German Bible Society in Stuttgart. It is regarded by Christians and Jewish scholars alike, as an accurate edition of the Hebrew scriptures, and a useful text-critical tool, most widely used by Hebrew Bible scholars. For masoretic details, however, Jewish scholars have shown preference for alternative editions based upon the Aleppo Codex. While the biblical books generally follow the order of the codex as well, that order differs from most printed Hebrew bibles. However, Chronicles has been moved to the end as it appears in common Hebrew bibles. The Book of Job follows Psalms and precedes Proverbs, and the Five Megilloth are in the order Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and Esther.
In the margin are Masoretic notes. These are based on the codex, but have been heavily edited to make them more consistent and easier to understand. Some of the notes are marked Sub loco, indicating the meaning is not clear, or allusion to some problem, that may contradict the text. The editors never published any explanation of what the problems were or suggestions of resolution. Footnotes record possible adjustments to the Hebrew text, mostly based on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Samaritan Pentateuch, or on the early Bible translations such as the Septuagint, or Peshitta.Two fascicles of Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) or Fifth revision Hebrew Bible, being a revision of the existing edition of BHS, have now appeared: General Introduction and Megilloth (2004) and Ezra and Nehemiah (2006).

A Masterful Study:
This masterful introduction to Hebrew Bible's textual criticism, updated incorporating new critical editions and recent findings in the various related texts as the Masoretic, the Peshitta, the Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book exposes the history of the text, and the significance of OT textual criticism, and provides resources for textual research. It includes fifty plates of text inscriptions. Compared to Metzger's classic work on the NT text, most Christian seminaries would rely on Wurthwein for the Hebrew Bible history and textual criticism, incorporating the changes in the criticial apparatus of BH Stuttgartensia (but not the later BH Quinta). Although Emmanuel Tov covers more ground it is harder to read.

Core Amazon Reviews:
"His salient work demonstrates editions of Hebrew texts handed down, along with textual criticism of BHS. Working on that text has demonstrated to this reviewer the truly complimentary usefulness of such as Wurthwein's contribution." Rodboomboom
"..., a standard work giving the text of the Hebrew Bible and a list of variants and plausible emendations. It serves that function superbly, but it is also one of the best books ever written on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. It is well worth buying even if you do not have a Biblia Hebraica. Some may prefer Tov's book on the subject, but ideally you should have both." M A Baxter

Anyone serious about theology will need to be competent handler of Biblical documents contained in the two testaments.

While Metzger's critical work on the NT text has remained standard there, for the OT most would rely on Wurthwein.

His salient work demonstrates editions of Hebrew texts handed down, along with textual criticism of BHS. Working on that text has demonstrated to this reviewer the truly complimentary usefulness of such as Wurthwein's contribution.

Photocopies of illustrative material highlighting the least accessible is most useful.

Würthwein's book presents in succinct compass a clear explanation of most of the key issues most of us want explained about the text of the Old Testament.