A Guide to the
Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia

The Hebrew Bible used today primarily by Jewish communities (a.k.a the Masoretic text), is not the only version of the Hebrew Bible which ever existed or even necessarily closest to the original. Important versions of the Hebrew Bible reflecting different reading traditions exist, most of which are available today only in translation. The most important of these are the Septuagint - the ancient Greek translation of the Bible, the Peshitta - an ancient Aramaic translation of the Bible, and the Samaritan version of the Five Books of Moses (the Torah).

An association of German scholars took it open themselves to offer the world the most important of the variant readings reflected in these versions of the Bible, in an edition of the Bible known as the:

                    Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia - B.H.S

The object of this section of the website is to explain to students and laypeople the variants culled by the BHS in accessible language.

I wish to emphasize that this website is not meant to replace the BHS in any way shape or form. Rather it is meant to encourage the use of this invaluable tool.