Reading your Hebrew Bible: How BHQ helps read the Masorah Magna (sort of)

Students of OT Hebrew know that although the current critical edition of the Hebrew text (BHS) is the standard text at present, a new edition (BHQ) is currently being prepared (slowly, fascicle by fascicle). When completed, BHQ looks to be the new standard.    

Currently published BHQ fascicles

• Megilloth (Ruth, Canticles/Song of Songs, Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther)
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Deuteronomy
• Proverbs
• Twelve Minor Prophets
• Judges
• Genesis
• Leviticus, Job, and Ezekiel should appear within the next year or so, according to the BHQ website

Accessing BHQ

The main options for accessing BHQ each have their cons, sorry:

1. Purchase hard copies of the fascicles. Cons: Cost prohibitive, and paper is not portable nor searchable (unlike the digital versions).
2. Visit a local (theological/seminary) library to view their hard copies: check worldcat for locations. Cons: Time demanding and inconvenient (and perhaps impractical, if no library nearby owns it).
3. Purchase digital copies. Cons: Not currently available at Logos (fascicles under development to again offer for sale) and BibleWorks (no longer in business; Megollith, Deuteronomy, and Ezra-Nehemiah had been sold before they folded). Accordance is the only one of the major Bible softwares currently offering them ($199 for the first 6 fascicles, Genesis not yet included), but not many consultants own and use Accordance. 

Masorah Magna of Ruth 1:1

The BHQ page of Ruth 1:1 provides the full Masora Magna (Mm) comment on וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ (“and there was a famine in the land”). One thing to be aware of is that the Mm references OT passages without our modern chapters and versification: “The Mm identifies references to the OT by listing a word (or words) in unpointed Hebrew that occurs in that reference.”^[1] I have highlighted the OT references in yellow in the following Mm note and translation in BHQ:

• תרין פסוקׄ מיחדין ולית זוגה ויהי רעב בארץ בׄ בטעׄ וירד אברם . וילך איש ׃

Now, if you are scratching your head about any words in that sentence, BHQ also provides this very helpful translation:

• Two verses unusual and unique in the Hebrew Bible: ‏ויהי רעב בארץ‎ twice with these accents: Gen 12:10; Ruth 1:1.

Assessing the Efficacity of the Masorah Magna at Ruth 1:1

Sure enough, if you search on the string וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ in BibleWorks (or some other comparable Bible software program) you discover that only Genesis 12:10 and Ruth 1:1 have the same exact series of three words and Masoretic accents (in the Leningrad Codex Masoretic accent system, at least). But you also discover that the Mm neglects to mention that the same string of words also occurs in Genesis 26:1, differing from the other two references only in the Masoretic accents. 

So, I would classify this Mm note as only moderately helpful. 

For translation teams that are making consistent certain key expressions throughout the OT, the Mm might signal to the consultant certain repeated Hebrew constructions/words. But the Mm’s data cannot replace the work of the consultant/exegete! Reference the masorah to tip you off on textual observations you might have otherwise missed. But then make use of the digital tools at your disposal (e.g., Logos, BW, etc.), in order to search the Hebrew text more exhaustively and consider other things like the context!

^[1] Ellis R. Brotzman and Eric J. Tully, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016).

Where was Ruth in Ruth 2:7f?: Wrestling with a translation in Nigeria

Ruth 2:7f

I recently ran into Ruth 2:7 while prepping to consultant check the book of Ruth with a team in Nigeria. Here is what I am wrestling with in a part of that verse...

In Ruth 2:7, we reach the point in the narrative where Ruth had been gleaning in Boaz's field, and he now arrives, first talking with his harvesters. The leader of the harvesters reports to Boaz about the young Moabite woman, Ruth.

There is some discussion about establishing the original text of verse 7 (a practice called textual criticism). This post is about an issue in verse 7f, the last part of the verse. 

First off, note that the external evidence is not in agreement:

• ‎ Hebrew text: זֶ֛ה שִׁבְתָּ֥הּ הַבַּ֖יִת מְעָֽט׃   ("This her-sitting the-house a-little")      

• Septuagint (Greek) text: οὐ κατέπαυσεν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ μικρόν (“She did not rest a bit in the field," NETS), referring to “rest” and “field” instead of MT’s “sitting/dwelling” and “house”.

• ‎Peshitta (Syriac) text: 9xynl amd[ arpc !m  (מִן הַבֹּקֶר וְעַד־שׁבתה “from the morning until the (time of) rest^[1]”), referring to neither “house” nor “field”

• Aramaic text: ‎ פון זעיר דין דיתבא בביתא ציבחר׃  ("then a-few this-one she-sat in-house small-amount," my word-for-word rendering = “It is only for a short time that she has sat in the house but a little while,” Brady’s translation), referring to “house” like the MT does. Btw, the standard Aramaic lexicon (CAL: Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon) is available online for free!: http://cal.huc.edu/       

So, in Ruth 2:7, where does the lead harvester say Ruth had been?

The issues are complex—as is clear even from the external textual evidence above—and much has been written about them (and other text crit issues in this verse). But staying with this one question….

Block comments, 

“it is unclear what the young man meant in lines 7d–f, arguably the most difficult in the book….The interpretive problems continue in 7f, which translates literally, ‘This (masculine) her sitting/dwelling the house a little.’ While consensus on the meaning of this utterance is lacking, it seems the narrator has intentionally preserved a convoluted reading to aid in characterizing the supervisor. Not only has the young man painted Ruth with negative brush strokes, but his stammering style at this point also conveys his own insecurity and nervousness before his boss, who may see through his exaggeration if not fabrication of Ruth’s intent.”^[2] NB: Block counts at least 19 different interpretations of the sentence by 1971!

Brotzman provides a good model of reasoning through the external and internal evidence, and of following text critical principles (I’ve highlighted his conclusion). He writes:

“Having gathered all of the information, we are now in a position to summarize and draw a conclusion. First, it is clear that there are multiple, actual differences between the versions and the MT [Hebrew]. Second, the differences involve multiple noncontinuous words. This suggests that they were not caused by a simple scribal error. Third, the MT is difficult, but G [Greek] and S [Syriac] are clear and simple. However, G and S are clear and simple in different ways. G has a common word pair (morning and evening) and makes more sense in regard to the story (i.e., she was in the field, not the house). S is simpler because it is shorter and does not contain any of the difficult elements that are in the MT. It seems likely, then, that the MT is original and the preferable reading. G and S both had a Hebrew text like the MT before them, but they used different means to 'fix' it. G changed several difficult words to easier ones that made more sense; S simply omitted several words and combined the two clauses. 

This conclusion is very significant for our exegesis. Did Ruth work in the field and then take a rest? Or did she wait in the house until she had permission from Boaz to work in the field? According to G, she did not rest at all during her day of gleaning! G and S represent particular exegetical perspectives and are themselves a kind of commentary on what they thought the Hebrew text was saying. If the MT is original, as we think, then we must first explain what the foreman is telling Boaz and then how that relates to the rest of the story. One interesting proposal, made by Avi Hurvitz, is that the text is intentionally confused and ungrammatical in order to reflect the foreman’s stammering speech. He is worried that Boaz will be angry that Ruth has been allowed to sit in the house.”^[3]

Block and Brotzman both conclude with the possibility that the story depicts the lead harvester as “stammering” due to worry/fear (something like, “This…her sitting…the house…a little”)—though they imagine different causes for his supposed concern/worry—which to me seems a reasonable take on the evidence. The Hebrew text does seem a bit choppy. And the lead harvester was talking with his boss, after all, which may have been an unnerving experience.

Translation takeaways for translating Ruth 2:7 in Nigeria

This is a back-translation of what the translation team has currently drafted for the last sentence of v7: 

“It is now that she sat down small in the shade so she can rest small.”

My two big takeaways from the above discussion in relation to consulting the team's translation are:

1. Suggest that the team avoid a (lengthy) description of a sitting/resting booth. It is not at all firmed up that the original text indicated that she was in a booth in the field. So, one question for the translators would be where this shade is located, and if it can possibly refer to the shade of the house. A further consideration to this is how the modern translations that impact their language community have rendered this. Many English versions have “shelter” (e.g., NIV, NLT), which suggests they think of her being in the field. I should also ask the team what the Hausa versions (the major regional trade language) have for this verse…
2. I am also interested to know what the translators think that the lead harvester was feeling as he shared this bit of info with his boss in v7f. If there is a way to bring out the nervousness/worry he may have felt, I might suggest they add an ideophone or something…

For more discussion on this complicated textual issue and others in this verse, see the resources cited below and the NET notes on this verse. 

---

^[1] Ellis R. Brotzman and Eric J. Tully, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016), 153.

^[2] Daniel I. Block, Ruth: The King Is Coming, ed. Daniel I. Block, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 128.

^[3] Ellis R. Brotzman and Eric J. Tully, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016), 153–154.

Old Testament Text Criticism (Links)

This site is full of OT Text criticism links, even if it needs updating (some links are broken; their last update was in 2010):

Texts Online

• bibelwissenschaft.de. Website of the German Bible Society. Full text of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.
• The Online Parallel Bible Project. By John Isett. A fast-loading site with full text of several Hebrew editions, pointed and unpointed.
• Mechon Mamre. A Jewish site that has the full text of the Hebrew Bible online in four editions in Hebrew (including one with cantillation marks), one in Aramaic (Targum Onqelos), one in English (the Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917), and one in parallel Hebrew and English (voweled Hebrew and JPS English). Also provides several ancient compilations of the Oral Law (Mishneh Torah, Mishnah, Tosefta, Yerushalmi and Bavli), and an encyclopedia of Torah basics (in English).
• Sifrut HaKodesh, an online Hebrew Bible with links to relevant references in Rabbinical literature, provided by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem through the Snunit program, Israel's main learning and teaching resource for children, parents, and educators. Also on the Snunit site are the Hebrew texts of the Targum Onkelos, Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud Yerushalmi, and Mishneh Torah. (NOTE: There is no English here, only Hebrew.)
• The TanakhML Project. By Alain Verboomen in Brussels, Belgium. The complete Hebrew Bible online (including vowel points and cantillation marks), with a sophisticated concordance feature and a "verse structure analyser" (based on massoretic verse cantillation). Requires the SBL Hebrew font.
• Electronic Text of the Leningrad Codex. By Christopher V. Kimball in West Redding, CT. An elegantly formatted Hebrew Bible, displaying vowels and accents, based upon the Michigan-Claremont electronic text. Requires the SBL Hebrew font. Users can download the whole site in a zipped archive.
• Unicode Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), from the Internet Sacred Text Archive by J.B. Hare.
• The Book of Genesis, in accented and pointed Hebrew characters, from the Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia.
• The Aleppo Codex website. Pages of the Aleppo Codex online in digital photographs. Sponsored by the George S. Blumenthal Foundation.
• Complete Hebrew Bible (with vowel points) by Jeff A. Benner at his "Ancient Hebrew Research Center" site.

Audio recordings of the Hebrew text

• Selected chapters of the Hebrew Bible. About a hundred chapters of the Hebrew Old Testament in mp3 audio files.
• Complete Hebrew Bible in mp3 files, hosted by Audio Scriptures International. These files must be played on site or purchased on CD. No download available.
• Complete Hebrew Bible in mp3 files, divided into chapters and hosted by Gary Martin at the University of Washington in Seattle. This is the same recording available at the Audio Scriptures International site, but divided up into chapters for downloading.
• Complete Hebrew Bible in mp3 files, divided into chapters, hosted by the Israeli Snunit Kodesh site [Father Abraham Shmueloff]. This also is the same recording available at the Audio Scriptures International site. The larger book files are also available here.
• Audio Hebrew Bible on CD. The Hebrew text narrated and recorded on four CD's by "Israel's premier Bible reader," Shlomo Bertonov. Produced by The Central Library for the Blind in Israel. This is a professional-quality narration. Also available for purchase here

Textual Criticism

•  LOCAL  The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament. Several introductory articles on the Hebrew text and the Hebrew language in general, with a bibliography.
• Canon and text of the Old Testament, by Dr. Frants Buhl ... translated by Rev. John Macpherson (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1892).
• General Introduction to the Old Testament: the Text, by William Henry Green (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899).
• The Old Testament Text and the New Testament Text. By Philip Comfort. A very good introduction to text-critical materials and methods. This is the first two chapters of Comfort's book, Essential Guide to Bible Versions.
• The Study of Textual Criticism. By Dr. Allen P. Ross at Beeson Divinity School. A good brief introduction to textual criticism of the Old Testament. See also the samples of textual criticism in his Samples of the Exegetical Procedures.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Integrity. by Garry K. Brantley, M.A., in the Reason & Revelation online Journal of Apologetics Press. A good article explaining the practical importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have provided proof of the general reliability of the traditional text of the Old Testament.
• Scrolls From the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship. From the Library of Congress. Also here.
• The Great Isaiah Scroll. Images of all parts of the Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran with translation and commentary, by Fred P Miller.
• The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls. From the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. “The five Dead Sea Scrolls that have been digitized thus far include the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War Scroll … All five scrolls can be magnified so that users may examine texts in exacting detail.”
• Variants of the Isaiah Scroll Adopted by the Revised Standard Version and the Jerusalem Bible. By Dr. Paul W. Peters of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
• Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. By F.F. Bruce (1956). A popular-level book about the significance of the Scrolls. Maintains that "in general the new discoveries have increased our respect for the Massoretic Hebrew text."
• West Semitic Research Project Educational Site. From the University of Southern California. A brief introduction to biblical manuscripts and ancient texts relating to the Old Testament.
• A Brief History of the Hebrew Bible. by Debra E. Anderson, at the Trinitarian Bible Society.
• Old and New in Textual Criticism: Similarities, Differences, and Prospects for Cooperation. By James R. Adair, Jr.  A long article that compares and contrasts the methods usually employed by scholars in New Testament and Old Testament textual criticism. Also here.
• The Kimhi Family: The Emergence of Their Writings in the Reformation. By Gordon Laird (1999). Describes early editions of the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic commentaries used by Protestants in the Reformation era.
• Introduction to the Mikra'ot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible). By Dr. Eliezer Segal at Calgary University in Canada.
• The Idea of the Sanctity of the Biblical Text and the Science of Textual Criticism. By Menachem Cohen, Professor of Bible, Bar-Ilan University. Also here.
• Oxford Hebrew Bible Project. Introduction and samples of a future Oxford edition of the Hebrew Bible, with extensive text-critical notes, under the general editorship of Ronald Hendel. The sample pages online provide some good examples of how textual criticism of the Old Testament is done.

Hebrew Language

• A Handbook to Old Testament Hebrew, containing an Elementary Grammar of the Language, by Samuel G. Green (3rd ed., London, 1921).
• Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, 1907). Also here and here.
• Davidson’s ‘Analytic Hebrew Lexicon’ — Benjamin Davidson, The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon: Consisting of an Alphabetical Arrangement of Every Word and Inflection Contained in the Old Testament Scriptures, Precisely as they Occur in the Sacred Text, with A Grammatical Analysis of Each Word, and Lexicographical Illustration of the Meanings. A complete series of Hebrew and Chaldee Paradigms, with Grammatical Remarks and Explanations (London, Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1848).
• Robinson’s translation of Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon — A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament: Including the Biblical Chaldee, translated from the Latin of William Gesenius, by Edward Robinson. New Edition. (Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1844) also here and here.
• Josiah Gibbs’s translation of Gesenius’s Lexicon (1824, also here).
• Tregelles’s translation of Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon — Gesenius's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures; translated, with additions and corrections from the author's Thesaurus and Other Works, by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (London: Bagster and Sons, 1893).
• German editions of Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon — Wilhelm Gesenius’ Hebräisches und chaldäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, Neunte Auflage. Neu Bearbeitet von F. Mühlau und W. Volck (Leipzig: Vogel, 1883); Wilhelm Gesenius' hebräisches und aramäisches Hardwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, in Verbindung mit Prof. Dr. H. Zimmern, Bearbeitet von Dr. Frants Buhl. Vierzehnte Auflage (Leipzig: Vogel, 1905).
• Conant’s English translation of Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar — Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, seventeenth edition, with numerous corrections and additions, by Dr. E. Rödiger, translated by T.J. Conant, with Grammatical Exercises and a Chrestomathy, by the translator (New York: Appleton & Co., 1859). Cf. also the earlier editions of 1851 and 1856.
• Collins’s English translation of Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar — Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, as edited and enlarged by E. Kautzsch ... translated from the twenty-fifth German edition by the late Rev. G.W. Collins ... revised and adjusted to the twenty-sixth edition by A.E. Cowley (Oxford, 1898). See also the second edition (1910, “revised in accordance with the twenty-eighth German edition”) at wikisource.org.
• Gesenius-Kautzsch Hebrew Grammar, 28th edition (1909 also here); translated into English by Cowley (Oxford, 1910). This is really much more the work of Kautzsch than of Gesenius.
• Ewald's Introductory Hebrew Grammar, translated from the third German Edition by J. Frederick Smith (London: Asher & Co., 1870).
• The ‘Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance’ — The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament; Being an Attempt at A Verbal Connection between the Original and the English Translation, edited by George V. Wigram (3rd ed. London: Bagster, 1866): vol. 1; vol. 2.
• Girdlestone’s ‘Synonyms of the Old Testament’ — Synonyms of the Old Testament; their Bearing on Christian Faith and Practice, by the Rev. Robert Baker Girdlestone, M.A. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1871).
• The Study of Words and The Study of Syntax. By Dr. Allen P. Ross at Beeson Divinity School. A very helpful guide to Hebrew language resources and research methods, and a quick overview of Hebrew grammar.
• The Importance of Studying Hebrew. By Dr. Daniel Botkin. An article from Messianic Home magazine (Spring 1999) that discusses some untranslatable features of the Hebrew text.
• Ancient Hebrew Research Center. "Dedicated to teaching and promoting the study of the ancient Hebrew language, alphabet and culture in a manner that is both enjoyable and educational."
• Biblia Hebraica. Thirty-one interactive lessons containing notes and quizzes; Most lessons include a Hebrew to English/English to Hebrew vocabulary quiz. The quizzes are multiple choice and advance by themselves when the correct answer is selected.
• Hebrew for Christians. By John Parsons in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An attractive site that gives a brief introduction to the Hebrew language, with vocabulary, basic grammar, exercises, and other helps. Also presents some interesting "Messianic Jewish" material which illustrates traditional Jewish methods of handling Scripture.
• Learn Hebrew Verbs. By Jacob Richman. Three hundred Hebrew verbs fully conjugated.
• Consonants and Vowels In the Hebrew Script. By Helmut Richter.
• Hebrew script. By Simon Ager. A good presentation on the Hebrew alphabet, points, and styles of script on Ager's Omniglot site.
• Publications of David J.A. Clines, at the University of Sheffield. Many articles on Hebrew philology.

Introductions and Surveys

• Theological and Homiletical Introduction to the Old Testament, by Johann Peter Lange, translated by Tayler Lewis and A. Gosman. Moderately conservative.
• Davidson’s Introduction to the Old Testament — Samuel Davidson, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, 1862): vol 1; vol. 2. Somewhat liberal for its time.
• Old Testament Exegesis. By Dr. Allen P. Ross at Beeson Divinity School. A series of long and interesting lectures at the seminary level. Includes lessons on the study of words, poetics, textual criticism, syntax, biblical theology, and practical exegetical exposition in the different genres of the Hebrew Bible. Some knowledge of Hebrew is required to fully understand the lessons, but students without Hebrew can follow most of it.
• The Bible History, Old Testament. By Alfred Edersheim. This older work (published 1890) is essentially a detailed survey of the Old Testament. Edersheim's treatment is conservative and devotional. Also here.
• Concise Old Testament Survey. By J. Hampton Keathley III. A good series of up-to-date notes and outlines (1998) from the Biblical Studies Foundation.
• Old Testament Book Studies. From the Biblical Studies Foundation. Large and detailed introductions, with outlines and bibliographies. See also the index page of studies by book.
• Old Testament Teacher's Guide. A series of outlines and other classroom handouts, provided by the Division of Student Ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
• The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament. By Charles Foster Kent (1906). A higher critical approach.
• Introduction to the Old Testament. By John Edgar McFadyen (1905). A higher critical approach.

Miscellaneous

• Website of Dr. Emanuel Tov, Professor of Bible at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. On the site are many pdf files with full text of articles written by Tov.
• Lowth’s classic treatise on Hebrew Poetry — Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews by Robert Lowth , D.D. Lord Biship of London, Translated from the original latin by George Gregory, F.A.S.; A New Edition with Notes by Calvin E. Stowe, A.M. (Andover: Crocker and Brewster, 1829).
• Herder’s ‘Spirit of Hebrew Poetry’ — The Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, by J. G. Herder, translated from the German by James Marsh. 2 vols. (Burlington: Edward Smith, 1833); vol.1; vol. 2. Also at archive.org: vol. 1; vol. 2.
• The Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry. By Isaac Taylor (1861).
• Hebrew Cantillation Marks And Their Encoding. By Helmut Richter.
• Center for Advanced Judaic Studies Library Exhibits, from the University of Pennsylvania Library. Some very interesting and informative exhibits here. Rare books from the University of Pennsylvania Library are used as a springboard for discussions of the history of the Hebrew text and its interpetation. I note especially Jewish Biblical Interpretation in a Comparative Context by Seth Jerchower, Hebraica Veritas? (Christian Hebraism between 1450 and 1750) by Stephen Burnett and Seth Jerchower, and From Written to Printed Text: The Transmission of Jewish Tradition by Rebecca Kobrin and Adam Shear.
• Scientific Refutation of the Bible Codes. By Brendan McKay, Professor of Computer Science at the Australian National University. See his index page In Search of Mathematical Miracles for more information on the subject.
• What Does Almah Mean? By William F. Beck. A detailed scholarly article on Isaiah 7:14.
• The Immanuel Prophecy, by William Brooks. MA thesis submitted to Western Conservative Baptist Seminary (1993).
• The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures. An online scholarly journal, with full text articles and book reviews. All of the material seems to be based on an historical-critical point of view.
• Rhetorical Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. By Michael Morrison.
• Early Hebrew Printing Homepage. By Michael Davidson, rare book collector in Ontario. "A Virtual Guide to the Great Jewish Libraries and Rare Book Collections On-line."
• Poetic Discourse. By Dr. Allen P. Ross at Beeson Divinity School. Describes the various literary features and forms of the Old Testament.
• Near Eastern Acrostics and Biblical Acrostics. By John F. Brug. An introduction to acrostics in the Hebrew Bible and their relationship to other ancient Near Eastern acrostics.
• Introduction to the Psalms. By Henry Wansbrough at Oxford University. This is an excellent book-length introduction to form criticism of the Psalms (and Hebrew poetry in general), by a notable Roman Catholic scholar. Wansbrough is a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and was the chief editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. See his site's index page for links to many other interesting essays and introductions. Some of these require a network password, but most are public. Unfortunately the approach is somewhat 'liberal' in places, but those who read with discretion will learn much.
• Hengstenberg's Christology of the Old Testament — Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, trans. by Theodore Meyer and James Martin. 3 vols. (edinburgh, 1854-8); vol. 1; vol. 2; vol. 3.

Bibliographies

•  LOCAL  Old Testament Bibliography. Compiled by Michael Marlowe. An annotated bibliography that focuses on textual and lexical resources.
• Annotated Old Testament Bibliography. By M. Daniel Carroll R. and Richard S. Hess, in the Denver Seminary Journal.
• Bibliographic Tools for the Study of Hebrew Bible Texts. By Marc Brettler at Brandeis University. Discusses the characteristics of the most often used critical editions, lexica, grammars, and concordances; and provides some excercises for the student. Very helpful.

Discussion

• Biblical Hebrew Mailing List (B-Hebrew). An ecumenical academic discussion list for the Hebrew Bible. Students and interested non-academics are welcome, but the list assumes a working knowledge of Hebrew.

Web Directories

• Old Testament Gateway. By Roy Nicholson.
• iTanakh. By Christopher Heard. Annotated directory of scholarly resources relating to the Old Testament.
• Okeanos: Ancient Near Easter Studies. A good web directory by Scott B. Noegel at the University of Washington.
• Hebrew Bible links compiled by Mischa Hooker. Links to editions of the Hebrew text and commentaries on the several books.

Books

"The Hebrew language is the best language of all ... If I were younger I would want to learn this language, because no one can really understand the Scriptures without it. For although the New Testament is written in Greek, it is full of Hebraisms and Hebrew expressions. It has therefore been aptly said that the Hebrews drink from the spring, the Greeks from the stream that flows from it, and the Latins from a downstream pool." --Martin Luther, Table Talk, quoted in Pinchas E. Lapide, Hebrew in the Church, trans. Erroll F. Rhodes (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1984), p. x.

• The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English. By Martin G. Abegg, Peter W. Flint, and Eugene Charles Ulrich. (Harper San Francisco, 1999). This book is useful for looking up translatable variants in the scrolls, but unfortunately the translation in it leaves much to be desired. The presentation of the variants requires a highly literal translation. "Inclusive language" in a work of this kind is really rather foolish.
• Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, by Emanuel Tov. A standard introduction.
• The JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999). ISBN 0-8276-0656-7. The Hebrew text from the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the English text from the New JPS Tanakh (1985) arranged in parallel columns. A very convenient volume for students.
• The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament by Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner. The most up-to-date and detailed lexicon, now in an affordable unabridged 2-Volume Study Edition.

NB: Hebrew 4 Christians is a maintained website with links to Hebrew tools, Hebrew audio, and Hebrew Scriptures. 

Forthcoming publication of digital scans of manuscripts from St. Catherine's Monastery

Thousands of digital scans of important manuscripts housed in the library St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai are currently being digitally scanned. Reuters announced earlier this year that the goal was for publication to begin this Fall. If anyone has an update on this, please leave a comment. 

The aim is to create the first digital archive of all 4,500 manuscripts in the library, starting with around 1,100 in the Syriac and Arabic languages, which are particularly rare. 

The task could take more than a decade, using digital cameras and computer arrays alongside sophisticated cradles designed to support the more fragile manuscripts. 

The project began last year and is being undertaken by the non-profit research organization Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL), in collaboration with the monastery and the Library of the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Library said it will start publishing the manuscripts online, in full color, from the fall of 2019.

(HT: Andy Warren-Rothlin)