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Loading... The text of the Old Testament : an introduction to the Biblia Hebraica (original 1973; edition 1995)by Ernst Würthwein
Work InformationThe Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica by Ernst Würthwein (1973)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  waltzmn | Dec 22, 2013 |    ) kwmcdonald | Sep 22, 2005 | no reviews | add a review
Kristin De Troyer -- University of St. Andrews "This finely revised and nicely updated version of one of the classics in our field can truly be called a grand introduction to the history of the biblical text." Leonard Greenspoon -- Creighton University "Readers familiar with Würthwein's earlier work will discover all of the strengths of his approach to Biblical Hebrew. Old and new readers will enjoy the thoroughly up-to-date discussion of the aims and methods of textual criticism as well as the unbiased analysis of ancient versions and their modern scholarly editions. Beautifully reproduced plates are easy to read, and the updated bibliography is satisfyingly full. . . . This successful project can be easily digested by newcomers and savored by specialists." Robert L. Hubbard -- North Park Theological Seminary "A very welcome, thorough revision of the long-honored standard introduction to the Masoretic text. Its integration of recent scholarship is first-rate, and the rewritten text retains the clear, accessible style that won its predecessors decades of popularity as a textbook. Yet another generation of students will find in this book a friendly, reliable guide through the complex terrain of ancient Hebrew texts and their relationships. Highly commended." The Bible Today "Every scholar and serious Bible student should have a passing knowledge of the work of the text critic. This book will provide such knowledge." Books at a Glance "An important, up-to-date resource that will benefit everyone interested in Old Testament Textual criticism. The excellent bibliography, diagrams, and plates are unique contributions among introductory works in the field. Highly recommended." No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)221.4Religions Bible Old Testament Original texts and early versions; CodicesLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.89)
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Wikipedia in English (10)
1
Textual criticism is the attempt to reconstruct a lost original document based on later corrupt copies. This inherently has two parts: Cataloging and assessing the surviving materials, and then reconstructing the text. Würthwein does a good job of the former, describing the Masoretic Text (the type of text to which all recent Hebrew copies belong), the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Greek Septuagint translation, and many other translations made later, either from Hebrew or from the Septuagint.
So far, so good. Then Würthwein sits down to analyze them so that he can reconstruct the text. And what he says boils down to, "The Masoretic Hebrew is the best." This is a widely-held position, supported by many Christians and effectively all Jewish scholars (after all, it is the Jews who, with meticulous care, copied the Masoretic text) -- but there are overwhelming reasons to think it isn't always true. In the Book of Samuel, for instance, the Masoretic text has many clear defects that can be corrected based on the Septuagint.
So it's often better to learn from Würthwein's examples than his words. The latter, while they may still defer a little too much to the Masoretic Text, show a much broader array of the tools available to the Old Testament critic. Combine this with a few other books on the field and you'll be off to a solid start in Old Testament Textual Criticism.
The book is a translation, but Erroll F. Rhodes is a good translator; the fact that the original is in German is rarely evident and should not pose any major problems. (