The Variable Spellings Of The Hebrew Bible

In this detailed study, Barr examines the problem of standardization of spelling in the Bible. He scrutinizes both the optional use or omission of letters such as W or Y to indicate certain vowels, and the several variations of spelling present in the individual books and passages, suggesting explanations of how the different spellings occur on the same page or even in the same verse. An authoritative and original analysis, this book will make an important contribution to the development of the text of the Hebrew Bible and to the history of the Hebrew language.

This book is an outgrowth of the Dahood Memorial Lectures delivered at the University of Michigan, February 8-10, 1983. It attempts four things: to describe the orthographic phenomena of the Hebrew Bible; to assess the evidence by means of appropriate statistical analyses; to interpret the evidence in terms of the history of Hebrew spelling; and to speculate on the significance of this evidence for studies in the production and transmission of the text.

Subdivided into three segments (Hebrew Bible, Greek Bible, Qumran), this updated and revised collection of essays represents the work of Emanuel Tov in the past seventeen years. He focuses on various aspects of the textual analysis of the Hebrew and Greek Bible, as well as the Qumran biblical manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek. Further he takes a special interest in the orthography of biblical manuscripts, the nature of the early Masoretic Text, the nature of the Qumran biblical texts and their importance for our understanding of the history of the biblical text, the editions of the Hebrew Bible, and the use of computers in biblical studies. The author also focuses on the interaction between textual and literary criticism and the question of the original text or texts of the Hebrew Bible. His special interests in the Qumran scrolls include the nature of the Qumran corpus, their scribal background, the contents of the various caves, and the number of the compositions and copies found at Qumran. His interest in the Septuagint translation evolves around its text-critical value, the Greek texts from the Judean Desert, and translation technique.

Thirty-three revised and updated essays on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Qumran and the Septuagint, originally published between 2008 and 2014 are presented in this volume, the third volume of the author’s collected writings. All three areas have developed much in modern research, and the auhor, the past editor-in-chief of the international Dead Sea Scrolls publication project, is a major speaker in all of them. The scrolls are of central importance in the modern textual research and this aspect is well represented in this volume. Among the studies included in this volume are central studies on coincidence, consistency, the Torah, the nature of the MT and SP, the diffusion of manuscripts, and the LXX of Genesis. The previous two volumes are: The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint (VTS 72; Leiden: Brill, 1999). Hebrew Bible, Greek Bible, and Qumran: Collected Essays (TSAJ 121; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008).

This book introduces the student to the textual study of the Hebrew Bible--to help such a student "perceive the work of the numberless and nameless scribes torn between tradition and fashion in their restrained attempts to update the orthography of Scripture." Sixteen essays serve as the bridge from older methods for the study of orthography to newer ones, using the computer to analyze large bodies of text.

Diachrony in Biblical Hebrew is an indispensable publication for biblical scholars, whose interpretations of scriptures must engage the dates when texts were first composed and recorded, and for scholars of language, who will want to read these essays for the latest perspectives on the historical development of Biblical Hebrew. For Hebraists and linguists interested in the historical development of the Hebrew language, it is an essential collection of studies that address the language’s development during the Iron Age (in its various subdivisions), the Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods, and the Early Hellenistic period. Written for both “text people” and “language people,” this is the first book to address established Historical Linguistics theory as it applies to the study of Hebrew and to focus on the methodologies most appropriate for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The book provides exemplary case studies of orthography, lexicography, morphology, syntax, language contact, dialectology, and sociolinguistics and, because of its depth of coverage, has broad implications for the linguistic dating of Biblical texts. The presentations are rounded out by useful summary histories of linguistic diachrony in Aramaic, Ugaritic, and Akkadian, the three languages related to and considered most crucial for Biblical research.

Customers in North America who wish to purchase this publication, please contact Augsburg Fortress Press. First published in 1992, Emanuel Tov’s Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible has rapidly established itself as the authoritative reference work for all those engaged in the study of the text of the Hebrew Bible. This thoroughly revised second edition will be welcomed by students and scholars alike. A wide range of readers will find this book accessible and indispensable. Emanuel Tov offers extensive descriptions of the major witnesses to the text of the Hebrew Bible–the Hebrew texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text–as well as the Aramaic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate, and others. Special attention is given to the exegetical aspects of the textual transmission, literary issues, and the problem of the original shape of the biblical text. Praise for the First Edition: “Emanuel Tov is preeminent in the world in the field of Septuagint studies. This is a solid and durable work which, given its technical character, is written in a readable way.” Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University “Nowhere else can you find such a thorough presentation of how the Bible was transmitted in Second Temple times ... This excellently written handbook represents a major step forward for biblical studies.” Lawrence Schiffman, New York University “History will surely regard Emanuel Tov’s monumental work as the definitive discussion of textual criticism of this generation. A ‘must-have’ for any serious scholar of the Bible!” Sidnie A. White, University of Nebraska “The basic reference work on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible for at least the next decade. This is a magisterial work which is badly needed and masterfully done.” Journal for the Study of Judaism “This book will soon be viewed as a classic of biblical studies.” Ralph W. Klein, Journal of Religion “Replete with examples, tables, plates, lucid definitions and explanations, as well as extensive bibliographies, the volume brings together a wealth of information not previously so accessible and makes the theory and practice of textual criticism easily understandable and visually clear.” Judith E. Sanderson, Seattle University

Hebrew Texts and Language of the Second Temple Period presents discussions on textual and linguistic aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls and of Second Temple Hebrew corpora.