Useful guide
This guide was an optional reading material for one of my BH classes. At first I wasn't sure what to make of this guide, how to use it and what's its usefulness is. But the more I read BHS and the more I use the masoretic notes and the critical apparatus, the more useful this little book is.
It covers verse divisions (soph pasuq, seder, etc.), special pointing, the Masora (it has brief notes on the Masoretes, Masora Finalis, Masora Marginalis -- both Mm and Mp, explanation of the critical apparatus and accents. In addition, there is an index of abbreviations and symbols in Mp and a useful list of Latin words used in BHS with English translations. For an interested reader, there is a pretty good bibliography so one can dig deeper if desired. I feel that for the price this is a good buy.
A Simplified Guide to Bhs: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings
Book is useful, but the 4th Edition does not have a guide to the Latin abbreviations, which I find crucial to understanding the text notes. The 3rd Edition had a key, but for some reason the editors thought it was ok to take it out. It's been a long time since I've taken Latin. Hebrew is difficult enough. Hopefully the 5th Edition will include the much needed guide.
Praising the Simplified Guide to BHS
Reading the "Simplified Guide to The Hebrew Bible" has meant a world of a difference to me. I can now grasp the meaning of all the, until now, unintelligible notes in the margin. And it is very easy to read and understand. Thank you for a very fine help to understand the Old Testament.
a good help for beginners
The "quick and dirty" of the stranger markings of BHS. For those not well-versed in Latin, German, or Aramaic, this little reference is quite handy. Scott does not bother with the history or evolution of the Tiberian Masorah or other markings, but rather simply gives what is necessary to successfully derive meaning from both the Masorah Magna and Masora Parva (but not the Masorah Finalis) as well as some of the accentation and other markings. The most useful feature of this reference work is its size - it's very small and slim, so much so that it may have a propensity to get lost frequently.
A useful tool
If one is interested in decoding the minutia around the BHS text, then this book is an invaluable resource to have available.Upon careful reading, I found the explanation of the accents in this volume to be adequate, especially when applied directly to individual verses in the BHS.
(9 reviews)
