An accessible approach to critical evaluation of the Old Testament, this book includes a detailed discussion of the transmittal of the Bible during the period of the Second Temple as well as extensive information on textual and literary criticism, including the relevance of the historical context.

Emmanuel Tov is J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls publication project, and his publications include The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research (2nd ed. 1997), The Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Na.hal .Hever (DJD, 1990), The Dead Sea Scrolls on Microfiche (1992-93), and The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint (1999).

A wide range of readers, from beginning students to research scholars, will find this book accessible and indispensable. Tov offers extensive descriptions of the major witnesses to the text of the Hebrew Bible--the Hebrew text from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic text--as well as the Aramic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate, and others.

Introduction
1. Textual Witness of the Bible
2. The History of the Biblical Text
3. The Copying and Transmitting of the Biblical Text
4. The Aim and Procedures of Textual Criticism
5. The Evaluation of Readings
6. Textual Cristicism and Literary Criticism
7. Conjectural Emendation
8. Critical Editions

Journal for the Study of Judaism
"The basic reference work on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible for at least the next decade. This is a magisterial work which is badly needed and masterfully done."

Ralph W. Klein, Journal of Religion
"This book will soon be viewed as a classic of biblical studies."

Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University
"Emanuel Tov is preeminent in the world in the field of Septuagint studies. This is a solid and durable work which, given its technical character, is written in a readable way."

Lawrence Schiffman, New York University
"Nowhere else can you find such a thorough presentation of how the Bible was transmitted in Second Temple times. . . . This excellently written handbook represents a major step forward for biblical studies."

Sidnie A. White, University of Nebraska
"History will surely regard Emanuel Tov's monumental work as the definitive discussion of textual criticism of this generation. A 'must-have' for any serious scholar of the Bible!"

M A Baxter from LONDON United Kingdom
The reviews of the first edition were glowing, and rightly so because this is a superb book. Tov is a world authority in his subject, and has the ability to explain his complex technical subject with great lucidity. This second edition is, however, almost a page for page reprint of the first edition and has only a few small revisions. This is disappointing, and we look forward to a more thoroughly revised third edition in the next few years. Anyone with a first edition need not bother with this one. However, everyone else with more than a beginner's interest in the subject should buy this book now.

Peter from London United Kingdom
It is a long time since a decent book on Old Testament textual studies appeared. Classics like those by Ginsburg and B J Roberts are largely obsolete and anyway almost impossible to obtain. There are some brief introductions around, but they do not begin to match the depth and erudition of this book. Tov is a brilliant scholar, and one of the World's leading authorities on the Septuagint and the Dead Sea scrolls, so he is well qualified to write this book.