Two Options in Textual Criticism

Learning Greek and Hebrew is hard enough. Either you do it in a ten week intensive at seminary or all year long while taking other classes at the college or seminary level. Either way your professor and you are stretched for time. I don’t know of any introductory biblical language course that has time to thoroughly introduce the practice of textual criticism.

In exegetical courses further down the road professors, to greater or lesser extents, incorporate into their lessons the critical apparatus of the respective testaments. This suffices for a sense of familiarity, but it does not lend itself to regular and accurate usage of the critical editions of the Hebrew and Greek testaments in your career as the resident theologian of your parish.

Before I review the below guides to Hebrew textual criticism I suppose I should briefly answer the question, “why should a Lutheran pastor learn the practice of OT textual criticism?” Truthfully, it is not absolutely necessary (hence why I’m filing this under “Continuing Ed.”).  You can certainly rely on thorough commentaries to do the labor for you. Those scholars can wrestle with the manuscript evidence and decide if the Septuagint (LXX) variant is to be favored over the Qumran, Samaritan Pentateuch, etc. And you can side with their suggestions. In contrast to this, your learned knowledge of Hebrew textual criticism would enable you to critique their analysis and come to your own conclusions.

Beyond critiquing the commentaries you employ, textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible does make for a valuable field of continuing education. In addition to learning the rudimentary differences between types of scribal errors, textual criticism will teach you the history of how Holy Scripture has been passed down to you and your flock. What is the history of the Masoretes? Why is their Masoretic Text (MT) so heavily favored? How does the LXX fit in? Where are we at in the publication, translation, and text critical analysis of the Qumran scrolls? These questions, their answers, and more like them make Hebrew textual criticism a worthwhile area for you, dear pastor, to continue your education. You will be a better biblical scholar for it.

Emanuel Tov- Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 500 Pages Amazon price= $52.13

**As of November 2011 the third revised AND EXPANDED edition has been released. That is not the edition I own or read, so I cannot speak to the revisions. I’m sure much has been done in the field over the last ten years but I felt like his 2001 treatment of Qumran was fairly complete and final. I will try to check it out of Durham’s library once I get there. I will compare it to the 2001 edition and if I find it exceedingly superior I’ll publish a revised edition of my own!

Ellis R. Brotzman- Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction , Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994. 208 pages

Amazon price= $14.20

Comparison and Recommendation

Tov is the academic standard. Still, Brotzman is respectable. In 2012 the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies had Brotzman (not Tov) listed as required reading for students entering their graduate program. Here’s my take-

COST- Buying Tov at $52 is a gift considering its list price is $90! Brotzman is a lot cheaper and closer to actual worth. Right away this may be the deciding factor for you but I’d recommend you check used prices on Tov to see if there are any in your range. Perhaps the recent release of the third edition will cause some of the used prices of the second edition to drop even more.

CONTENT- Tov is the standard for a reason. Considering it is also more up-to-date (2011 vs. 1994) it’s hard to even compare the two. Brotzman’s section on the Dead Sea Scrolls is not very good while Tov’s third revision seems to be the result of advances in that very area (and his 2001 edition was already worlds better than Brotzman on Qumran). As if that were not enough, in all areas Tov gives more examples (perhaps a mind-numbingly too many!). Tov also includes a huge section of plates in the back with photos of various manuscripts which he references in the text proper to demonstrate different errors and techniques. Brotzman does not have this. Brotzman does include other helpful tables, but none that Tov does not also include in some way, shape, or form. One thing is certainly in Brotzman’s favor- his jargon is far less technical and overwhelming.

CONCLUSION- Ultimately it’s up to you, but here’s how I see the two (three?) options playing out. If you want a very basic introduction that will take you beyond the next-to-nothing of seminary training, Brotzman is affordable, simple, and will get the job done quickly. If you would like a more complete understanding of textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Tov’s 2001 second edition is excellent. If you are really interested in the practice of textual criticism and you want your continuing education in this area to be as up to date as possible, go ahead and get the brand new revised and expanded edition.

***I do not have an Amazon Associates Account set up yet, so if you purchase anything after clicking the above links I won’t get any credit just yet (but go ahead if you really can't wait). Once I get it set up I may repost this with different links if I have to do so.