Understanding BHS is designed as a manual to be used in conjunction with the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). This elucidating volume is dedicating to a number of goals. Firstly, it seeks to enable beginners to gain access to the language of the text apparatus of BHS and to the Masoretic apparatus as well. Secondly, it documents the apparatus language of BHS in its entirety, providing references to the Old Testament text whenever possible. Lastly, it proposes a new concept of dealing with the apparatus of BHS, advancing the science of publishing critical editions of a text.
Understanding BHS achieves these goals through a translation of the items of the apparatus of BHS into English and through a complex but clear presentation of the relevant material in “paragraphs,” figures and indexes. All translations and presentations are linked together by a structured explanation. A selected bibliography is also provided for further study in depth.