Printing and Modern Bibles — Hebrew and Greek Source Editions

The Second Rabbinic Bible and the Masoretic Text

AD 1524-1525
A Visit With Jesus

Daniel Bomberg published Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijahs edition of the Hebrew Bible with Masoretic notes and rabbinic commentaries.

Full Account

The Venice edition organized the Hebrew text, Masorah, Targums, and Jewish commentaries into a durable scholarly format. Ben Hayyim compared manuscripts and gathered Masoretic material, although the surviving codices available to him were later than the great Tiberian manuscripts now known. His text nevertheless became standard in many subsequent printed Hebrew Bibles.

Historical Significance

The Second Rabbinic Bible shaped the printed Hebrew text consulted by translators and scholars for centuries.

People, Places and Sources