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Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia. Edited by Aron Dotan. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001, xxv + 1264 pp. $49.95. hardcover. |
Hendrickson is to be commended for providing an accurate, up-to-date edition of the Ben-Asher text as it appears in Codex Leningrad (B19a). Aron Dotan is Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University, and Head of The Cymbalista Jewish Heritage Center (Tel Aviv). A member of the Academy of Hebrew Language, he has served since 1992 as president of the International Organization for Masoretic Studies. It must be understood that this work in not a slavish reproduction of the actual Codex Leningrad.
Dotan has corrected at points where Codex Leningrad is clearly wrong. A sixteen page forward explains the editor's methodology and how this edition differs from the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgatensia (BHS). The most obvious difference between the two versions is the complete lack of any type of critical apparatus by Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (BHL).
Five appendices conclude the work . Appendix A gives a listing of all the readings where BHL differs from the Codex Leningrad. Appendix B gives a listing of the Petuhot and Setumot in the manuscript. Appendix C is a discussion concerning the shape of the songs (e.g. Son of Moses and the Song of the Sea) in the manuscript. Appendix D is a nine page discussion called, "Deviation in Gemination in the Tiberian Vocalization" by the editor. Appendix E is a listing of Scripture readings (Haftarot) for the weekly portions, special sabbaths, holy days and special reading from the Torah.
In addition to being a scientific edition, it was originally commissioned in Israel to follow the necessary adaptations that qualify it for Jewish liturgical use, such as divisions into weekly portions and their subdivisions for synagogue reading.
Kevin W.
Woodruff, M. Div.
Tennessee Temple University
http://pages.prodigy.net/cierpke/woodruff.htm