Its not difficult to find a Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament combined under one cover. Biblia Sacra has been a standard for nearly two decades and A Readers Hebrew and Greek by A. Philip Brown II, Bryan W. Smith, Richard J. Goodrich, and Albert L. Lukaszewski has been offered by Zondervan for roughly 8 years. That said, earlier this year when I found out that Hendrickson would be publishing The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible, the anticipation began to develop almost immediately.

There are a number of reasons Hendricksons The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible is a standout from the crowd. First, and probably foremost, the quality of The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible is superior even to some of the most premium original language Bibles. The printed text is sharp and well-defined with minimal bleed on the opaque off-white paper. This is especially unique at under $40 for the hardcover edition and $60 for the imitation leather edition. A Readers Hebrew and Greek is over twice that price and half as nice. Second, the choice to use the Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (BHL) edited by Aron Dotan and the 1881 edition of the Greek New Testament edited by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort (WH) is both functional and unique in the marketplace. Where most options available tend to use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and either the 27th or 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (NA), here BHL and WH offer pastors and students a reliable text that is both readable and versatile. Third, while other options may prefer the textual basis of the BHS and NA, both BHL and WH offer textual analysis where differences are present. WH includes a critical apparatus at the bottom of the page indicating when it differed from NA27 and the Byzantine text by Robinson and Pierpont. Unfortunately, BHL does not include a critical apparatus at the bottom of the page, but Dotan did include an appendix with manuscript variants. Lastly, it is worth mentioning a few stylistic features in WH, such as periscopes labeled in English, verse references to synoptic parallels, and Old Testament quotations and allusions indicated by bolded Greek text with reference at the bottom of the page. These features expand the functionality of the Greek New Testament beyond simply text on page, and allow the pastor or student room both to read and study.

The only foreseeable shortcoming of Hendricksons The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible is a lack of attention to consistency with regards to the functionality of BHL. Apart from Qere forms in the margins and the corresponding unpointed Kethiv forms in the main text, there is little effort to offer the reader anything other than a reading experience. There isnt anything wrong with this approach. But, as readers turn to the New Testament, the bells and whistles found in WHs critical apparatus and stylistic features are evident. It seems that the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament were edited separately before being bound together, and a consistency check was lacking. As mentioned above, Dotan does include a number of appendixes in BHL with helpful material. But, it would have been nice to have at the bottom of the page like WH.

Hendricksons The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible is a phenomenal new resource at a very attractive price. The quality far exceeds the sticker-price! Both the Hebrew and Greek text are crisp and readable, and the binding is well-constructed. It opens flat with no issues and should last a very long time. Apart from the shortcoming mentioned above, I can think of no reason that pastors and students shouldnt jump at the opportunity to own this volume. Its easily the best option on the market for the price, and comes highly recommended!

A review of this volume must be taken in two parts, given the text of the Old and New Testaments are different and is represented here as different scholarly editions bound together. The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible is essentially the binding into a single volume two scholarly editions of the Hebrew and Greek texts: Dotan's Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (2001) and Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in the Original Language (1885).

Dotan's Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia (BHL)

The BHL represents a recent Jewish edition of the Leningrad Codex (L), the earliest complete Hebrew manuscript in existence. The editor himself was duly qualified for this project, for he has published work, in multiple languages, on various Masoretic texts and subjects that dates back to the 1960s. The work is an attempt to improve upon the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartnesia (BHS), which is currently in its 5th corrected edition (1997), and current project of the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ), of which only a few fascicles has been released and is projected to be completed by 2020.

The editions of the BHS and BHQ represents, as referred to in scholastic circles, "diplomatic" editions of the Hebrew Bible. This means they are a complete reproduction of a single manuscript, the Leningrad Codex. In being "diplomatic" editions of L, the editors of BHS and BHQ copies precisely as possible the text of L, even the 'obvious scribal errors'. Proposed emendations or correction to these errors are given in the critical apparatus. However, the aim of precisely following the text of L is entirely inconsistent in BHS and BHQ for two reasons: (1) there are a few places where L is damaged and therefore illegible. To be consistent, BHS and BHQ ought to leave a blank in these places, but instead the editors give a reconstructed reading in the text on the basis of other Hebrew manuscripts, together with an explanation in the critical apparatus; and (2) there are places where corrections are visible in L itself. Here BHS and BHQ does not attempt to reproduce the double reading of the manuscript, but choose the reading judged to be 'valid' and reports the relevant data in the critical apparatus. If these changes were deemed necessary, why didn't the editors make corrections to the 'obvious scribal errors', some of which can be made on the basis of the high quality but incomplete Aleppo Codex? There, therefore, remains the needs for the 'obvious scribal errors' of L to be corrected.

This is what Dotan has attempted. And apart from making the necessary corrections to what he deems 'obvious scribal errors', he also standardized the vowel pointing of proper names (e.g. the Tetragrammaton is always without the holem) and smooth the inconsistencies of L (e.g. placing the double dot at the end of verses in cases where it is lacking). Some other features provided by the BHL are a liturgy adaptation of the text for Jewish worship, Masorah limited to masorah finalis, the Kethiv/Qere readings given in the margins, and no critical apparatus given at the page footer but variant readings are listed as an appendix. As for Kethiv/Qere readings, this work deviates from the practice of L and that of BHS and BHQ in that it gives the Kethiv consonants in the text without any Qere vowels and accentuation signs while listing the Qere readings in the margin with consonants, vowel pointing, and accentuations signs.

The usefulness of this edition of the Hebrew Old Testament for seminary students, instructors, and clergy will depend on the goals of their goals. If the goal is to provide a clear, readable, and affordable edition of L, then BHL is worth it. There will be problems, no doubt, since a proper exegesis of the text demands a fair treatment of variant readings, which requires the critical apparatus accompanying the text of BHS and BHQ to compare other Hebrew manuscripts or to compare the ancient versions, among other things. This cannot be done using BHL. Those who want to see the text presented with its inconsistencies, variants, possible reconstructions and emendations, all on the same page will have to wait for the complete BHQ. However, this edition can still be useful because its affordability will allow more readers to have their own copy of the Hebrew Bible and thus, to spend more time in its sacred pages. Above all else, this edition is perhaps a valuable testimony to the Hebrew Old Testament as a living text of a living religious tradition.

Westcott-Hort's The New Testament in the Original Language (WHGNT)

More than 125 years have passed since Westcott and Hort's edition of the Greek New Testament (WHGNT) appeared and a lot of text-critical studies have been undertaken since then. It is fitting, I think, that Westcott and Hort's legacy can be appreciated with the publication of their 1887 edition of the Greek New Testament alongside that of Dotan's Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia in this valuable, beautiful and affordable volume Hendrickson has published. Truly, since the Biblia Sacra Utriusque Testamenti Editio Hebraica et Graeca (German Bible Society: Stuttgart, 1994) and Zondervan's A Readers Hebrew and Greek by A. Philip Brown II, Bryan W. Smith, Richard J. Goodrich, and Albert L. Lukaszewski, I have never heard nor seen another volume which seeks to bind the Hebrew OT and the Greek NT under one cover.

In his foreword to the WHGNT, text-critic Eldon J. Epp provides four reasons we should use WH text in our times: (1) WH text must be in consort with the current volumes of Nestle-Aland's text and the United Bible Societies' text; (2) WH text should be read in the light of Hort's Introduction; (3) knowledge of manuscript discoveries since their time makes their text appropriate to use; and (4) the rewards of the vast arrays of historical and methodological studies will be far richer for those who understand WH's theoretical foundations.

The text is the same as its 1887 original (see xxvi). An apparatus, although not a critical one, is given at the foot of each page. This provides the textual differences of the current scholarly NA28 and Robinson and Pierpont's Byzantine priority text.

As for other features, the Greek font is clear and readable. One can observe, though, its difference with the font of the major modern critical editions (NA28 and UBS5). Nonetheless, the font is easy to read. There are sectional headings provided in English along with alternative pericopes of the sections references in parenthesis. Furthermore, all Old Testament allusions are in boldface type with their references given on the page footer. Unlike the NA28, no marginal notes are given. The dimensions of the volume are 17 centimetres length, 7.4 centimetres wight, and 21.7 centimetres height.

I think this reprint of WH text is needed since in recent times text-critical studies of the NT have developed extensively and moved beyond WH methodology. With the advent of the coherence-based genealogical method (CBGM) and the Novum Testamentum Editio Maior, we can begin to appreciate the work of Westcott and Hort.

Hendrickson's volume of the "complete" Hebrew and Greek Bible is a valuable resource I think every pastor, student, and seminary instructor should have in their library. This is a volume I was waiting for! Its cloth-covered board and Smyth sewn-binding makes this volume durable and lasts for a lifetime. One disadvantage for some would be its heavy weight and size which would not be suitable for daily carry. Desk use would be ideal for this volume. Nevertheless, this cannot be compared with its value, a value which lies not in its features, but in the text itself.

(I thank the Hendrickson Publishers for providing a complimentary review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

As pastor-theologians, it is imperative for those in ministrywhether academic or pastoralto have access to the original languages of Scripture. Knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew illuminates one's understanding of how God has revealed himself and how Christians live in light of this revelation. However, in the realm of print Bibles, there are very few options that are accessible. Some are clunky and ponderous, taking multiple volumes; others are smaller yet expensive; others still separate the Old and New Testaments, leaving a discontent among the biblical languages. This is the problem that the editors of The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible (Hendrickson, 2017) seek to resolve. In a compact, full volume, both the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament are provided for reading the original languages.

This is neither an interlinear Bible nor a parallel Bible; there is very little annotation in this work with the exception of minor references and variant spellings. The Hebrew text is from the Biblia Hebraica Leningradensis (BHL), and the Greek text is from the Novum Testamentum Graece, ensuring a reliable and accurate reading. One interesting feature that I enjoyed in this Bible is that quotations and references to the Old Testament are highlighted in the Greek New Testament, showing the progression of revelation and the connections between the two testaments.

At first look, this is a very heavy Bible. It is a compact sizeonly about 6x8but it is incredibly thick, almost 3 in width, and, consequently, is very heavy. Nevertheless, this is comparable to most language Bibles and is albeit more portable than other large tomes. The reading experience is, overall, fantastic. The text is well-set and large enough to read easily. In Hebrew, the Masoretic vowels are able to be identified without a magnifying glass. There are wide margins and pages that do not bleed through, and the book names are provided in both English and Hebrew/Greek on alternating pages. Each testament contains many appendices outlining textual issues in the manuscripts.

As a reader of primarily the Hebrew Old Testament, I will find great value and utility in this Bible, using it for study or devotional methods, especially when I desire a reading experience that is free of distractions. When paired with a lexicon or Bible software, ones reading of the original languages is unlocked.

This text is ideal for pastors, students, and scholars with a working knowledge of the biblical languages. Since the forms are neither parsed, translated, nor assigned a concordance number, I would not recommend this for those who have not taken courses in Greek or Hebrew. Offered in hardcover and imitation leather styles, The Complete Hebrew-Greek Bible will make an excellent addition to any biblical scholars library. And, at an affordable price, reading the original texts is more accessible than ever.

(My thanks is given to Hendrickson for providing a complimentary review copy in exchange for an honest review.)