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The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, or BHS, is an edition of the Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
 of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
 as preserved in the Leningrad Codex
Leningrad Codex

The Leningrad Codex is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible produced according to the Tiberian masoretic text; it is dated 1008 according to its colophon ....
, and supplemented by masoretic and text-critical notes. It is published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Bible Society
Bible society

A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and Bible advocacy its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life....
) in Stuttgart
Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-W?rttemberg in southern Germany. The list of cities in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 590,429 while the metropolitan area referred to as Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million ....
.

Authority
BHS is widely regarded (by Christians and Jews alike) as an accurate edition of the Hebrew scriptures, and a useful text-critical tool.






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Encyclopedia


The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, or BHS, is an edition of the Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
 of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
 as preserved in the Leningrad Codex
Leningrad Codex

The Leningrad Codex is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible produced according to the Tiberian masoretic text; it is dated 1008 according to its colophon ....
, and supplemented by masoretic and text-critical notes. It is published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Bible Society
Bible society

A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and Bible advocacy its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life....
) in Stuttgart
Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-W?rttemberg in southern Germany. The list of cities in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 590,429 while the metropolitan area referred to as Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million ....
.

Authority


BHS is widely regarded (by Christians and Jews alike) as an accurate edition of the Hebrew scriptures, and a useful text-critical tool. It is the most widely used edition among biblical scholars.

For masoretic details, however, Israeli and Jewish scholars have shown a marked preference for alternative editions based upon the Aleppo Codex
Aleppo Codex

The Aleppo Codex is the most complete extant version of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the 10th century CE. It is considered the most authoritative document in the masorah , the tradition by which the Hebrew Scriptures have been preserved from generation to generation....
.

Publishing history


BHS is a revision of the third edition of the Biblia Hebraica
Biblia Hebraica

Biblia Hebraica is a Latin phrase meaning Hebrew Bible. It is traditionally used as a title for printed editions of the Tanakh .In current scholarly usage, it refers almost exclusively to the three editions of the Hebrew Bible edited by Rudolf Kittel ....
 edited by Rudolf Kittel
Rudolf Kittel

Rudolf Kittel was a Germany Old Testament scholar.Kittel studied at T?bingen University. He became Professor of Old Testament at Breslau and Leipzig....
, the first printed Bible based on the Leningrad Codex
Leningrad Codex

The Leningrad Codex is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible produced according to the Tiberian masoretic text; it is dated 1008 according to its colophon ....
. The footnotes are completely revised. It originally appeared in instalments, from 1968 to 1976, with the first one-volume edition in 1977; it has been reprinted many times since.

Contents


The text of BHS is an exact copy of the masoretic text
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
 as recorded in the Leningrad Codex
Leningrad Codex

The Leningrad Codex is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible produced according to the Tiberian masoretic text; it is dated 1008 according to its colophon ....
. However, Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
 has been moved to the end as it appears in common Hebrew bibles, even though it precedes Psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
 in the codex.

In the margin are Masoretic notes
Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
. These are based on the codex, but have been heavily edited to make them more consistent and easier to understand. Even so, whole books have been written to explain these notes. Some of the notes are marked Sub loco, meaning that there seems to be some problem, often that they contradict the text. The editors never published any explanation of what the problems were or how they might be resolved.

One should not be fooled to think that the Sub loco notes explain interesting text variants; they are in the vast majority only notes on wrong word countings/frequencies. See Mynatt, Daniel S: The Sub Loco Notes in the Torah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Bibal Press, 1994

Footnotes record possible corrections to the Hebrew text. Many are based on the Samaritan Pentateuch
Samaritan Pentateuch

The Samaritan Pentateuch is a version of the Pentateuch that is used by the Samaritans.Scholars consult the Samaritan Pentateuch when trying to determine the meaning of text of the original Pentateuch and to trace the development of text-families....
, the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls

The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea....
 and on early Bible translations such as the Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
, Vulgate
Vulgate

The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labors of Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of Vetus Latina....
 and Peshitta
Peshitta

The Peshitta is the standard version of the Christian Bible in the Syriac language.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated from the Hebrew , probably in the second century....
. Others are conjectural emendations.

Work is now under way to produce a revision, to be known as the Biblia Hebraica Quinta
Biblia Hebraica Quinta

The Biblia Hebraica Quinta is the fifth version of the Biblia Hebraica and when complete will supersede the fourth version, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia ....
 or Fifth Hebrew Bible, being a revision of the existing fifth edition of BHS.

Book Order


The order of the biblical books generally follows the codex, even for the Ketuvim
Ketuvim

Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh , after Torah and Nevi'im. In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa."...
, where that order differs from most common printed Hebrew bibles. Thus the Book of Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
 comes after Psalms and before Proverbs, and the Megilloth are in the order Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and Esther. The only difference is with Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
.

The Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
:
1. Genesis
Genesis

Genesis or Breishit is the first book of the Bible used by Judaism and Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah....
 [?????? / Breishit]
2. Exodus
Exodus

Exodus is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. It tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Mountain of God Sinai....
 [???? / Shmot]
3. Leviticus
Leviticus

Leviticus is third book of the Torah , the name given in Judaism to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible .Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of Covenant set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God...
 [????? / Vayikra]
4. Numbers
Book of Numbers

The Book of Numbers, , is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. In the Greek language Septuagint it is called Arithmoi, or Numbers....
 [????? / Bamidbar]
5. Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. In form it is a set of three sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness; its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Children of Israel are to live in the Promised Land....
 [????? / D'varim]

The Nevi'im
Nevi'im

Nevi'im is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Torah and Ketuvim .Nevi'im is traditionally divided into two parts:...
:
6. Joshua
Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christianity Bible. This book stands as the first in the Former Prophets covering the history of Kingdom of Israel from the possession of the Promised Land to the Babylonian Captivity....
 [????? / Y'hoshua]
7. Judges
Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is a Books of the Bible originally written in Hebrew language. It appears in the Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of Biblical judges , who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites, and of their times....
 [?????? / Shophtim]
8. Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
 (I & II) [????? / Sh'muel]
9. Kings
Books of Kings

The Books of Kings are a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew language and were later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament....
 (I & II) [????? / M'lakhim]
10. Isaiah
Book of Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God....
 [????? / Y'shayahu]
11. Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah , is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism's Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianity's Old Testament....
 [????? / Yir'mi'yahu]
12. Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Hebrew Bible named after the prophet Ezekiel....
 [?????? / Y'khezqel]
13. The Twelve Prophets [??? ???]
a. Hosea
Book of Hosea

The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and of the Christian Old Testament. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets....
 [???? / Hoshea] b. Joel
Book of Joel

The Book of Joel is part of the Jewish Tanakh, and also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets"....
 [???? / Yo'el] c. Amos
Book of Amos

The Book of Amos is one of the books of the Nevi'im and of the Christian Old Testament. Amos is one of the minor prophets.Amos was the first biblical prophet whose words were recorded in a book, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah....
 [???? / Amos] d. Obadiah
Book of Obadiah

The Book of Obadiah is found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long....
 [?????? / Ovadyah] e. Jonah
Book of Jonah

In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jonah is the fifth book in a series of books called the Minor Prophets. Unlike other prophetic books however, this book is not a record of a prophet?s words toward Israel....
 [???? / Yonah] f. Micah
Book of Micah

The Book of Micah is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Micah ....
 [???? / Mikhah] g. Nahum
Book of Nahum

The book of Nahum is a book in the Bible's Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It stands seventh in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets....
 [???? / Nakhum] h. Habakkuk
Book of Habakkuk

The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BCE....
 [????? /Havakuk] i. Zephaniah
Book of Zephaniah

The superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to ?Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Kingdom of Judah? ....
 [????? / Ts'phanyah] j. Haggai
Book of Haggai

The Book of Haggai is a book of the Tanakh and of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Haggai. It was written in 520 BCE some 18 years after Cyrus had conquered Babylon and issued a decree in 538 BCE allowing the captive Jews to return to Judea....
 [??? / Khagai] k. Zechariah
Book of Zechariah

The Book of Zechariah is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh attributed to the prophet Zechariah ....
 [????? / Z'kharyah] l. Malachi
Book of Malachi

Malachi is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh, written by the prophet Malachi. Possibly this is not the name of the author, since Malachi means 'my messenger' or 'my angel' in Hebrew language....
 [????? / Mal'akhi]
The Ketuvim
Ketuvim

Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh , after Torah and Nevi'im. In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa."...
 The "Sifrei Emet," "Books of Truth":
14. Psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
 [????? / Tehilim]
15. Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
 [???? / Iyov]
16. Proverbs
Book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
 [???? / Mishlei]

The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls":
17. Ruth
Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. It is a rather short book, in both Judaism and Christianity scripture, consisting of only four chapters....
 [??? / Rut]
18. Song of Songs
Song of songs

Song of Songs is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music*Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants...
 [??? ?????? / Shir Hashirim]
19. Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek language translation of the Hebrew #Title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aph...
 [???? / Kohelet]
20. Lamentations
Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Judaism Tanakh. It is traditionally read by the Jewish people on Tisha B'Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem....
 [???? / Eikhah]
21. Esther
Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Historical Books of the Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim....
 [???? / Esther]

The rest of the "Writings":
22. Daniel
Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew language and Aramaic language, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC....
 [????? / Dani'el]
23. Ezra
Ezra

Ezra was a Jewish priestly scribe who led about 5,000 Babylonian captivity living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem in 459 BC. Ezra reconstituted the dispersed Jewish community on the basis of the Torah and with an emphasis on the law....
-Nehemiah
Nehemiah

Nehemiah or Nechemya is a major figure in the Babylonian captivity history of the Jews as recorded in the Bible, and is believed to be the primary author of the Book of Nehemiah....
 [???? ?????? / Ezra v'Nekhemia]
24. Chronicles
Books of Chronicles

LocationIn the masoretic text, Chronicles is part of the third part of the Tanakh, namely Ketuvim . In most printed versions it is the last book in Ketuvim ....
 (I & II) [???? ????? / Divrei Hayamim]


Literature

BHS editions
  • Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, Hardcover: ISBN 3-438-05218-0, Paperback: ISBN 3-438-05222-9


About the BHS
  • Kelley, Page H, Mynatt, Daniel S and Crawford, Timothy G: The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Eerdmans, 1998
  • Mynatt, Daniel S: The Sub Loco Notes in the Torah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Bibal Press, 1994
  • Wonneberger, R: Understanding BHS: Biblical Institute Press, 1984
  • Würthwein, Ernst: The Text of the Old Testament, an Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica (2nd edition): SCM Press, 1995
  • Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible by C.D. Ginsburg