Printing and Modern Bibles — Translation Scholarship

The Biblia Hebraica Editions

AD 1906-present

The Biblia Hebraica series has supplied translators and scholars with the Masoretic Hebrew text accompanied by a critical apparatus.

Full Account

Rudolf Kittels first editions used the Second Rabbinic Bible; the third adopted the Leningrad Codex. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia reproduced that codex with a revised apparatus, and the ongoing Biblia Hebraica Quinta presents fuller evidence book by book. The apparatus records alternatives without implying that the inherited Hebrew text should be casually reconstructed.

Historical Significance

These editions make the Masoretic Text and significant evidence from manuscripts and ancient translations available in a compact scholarly form.

People, Places and Sources

Key people: Rudolf Kittel; Paul Kahle; BHS and BHQ editorial committees
Key places: Leipzig; Stuttgart; Jerusalem
Languages: Hebrew, Aramaic
Scripture: Isaiah 7:14