Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction

Rating:
Summary: brotzman's writing
Review: is concise enough to be understood and does lend something to the neat field of OT Text Criticism. it isnt exactly written for the expert in the field of hebrew knowledge (this is only my 4th semester of it), but the title says it all, "a practical introduction".

Rating:
Summary: Not Enough Information
Review: This book is well organized and speaks in a language that the novice can understand. Unfortunately, I have often been left with the impression that more information could have been added to the book so as to spare me a few trips to the library. I bought Brotzman's book when I was living in Germany at the same time I also bought "Textkritik der Hebräischen Bibel", the German translation of a Hebrew work by Emmanual Tov, also, I believe, translated into English as "Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible". I have to say that I prefer Tov's work. Tov provides more information on the various non-Hebrew versions, with Saadia ben Yusuf's Arabic translation being completely absent from Brotzman's book. Also, Tov's book has much more material on the Dead Dea Scrolls. Actually, Tov's book, being considerably larger, has more material on just about everything. Also, Tov's bibliographic information is more extensive and accessible, being listed with every chapter.

Brotzman's book is easier to understand (at least for me, as I was working with Tov in German), and perhaps this is why it is more commonly found in seminary bookstores than Tov's book. I would have to recommend Tov's book on account of the content, however. If you think you are too stupid to handle Tov's book, then this one is for you, but if that is the case, you'd best not meddle in Old Testament textual criticism.

I gave this book three stars because it is a complete introduction and provides all the basic information that a beginner needs to know. Beyond this, however, the book is really disappointing. I already knew pretty much everything in Brotzman's book before I read it and have never found any reason to refer back to it. Tov's book, on the other hand, though also an introduction, was a valuable reference to me long after I bought it and read it for the first time. Unfortunately, I lost that book during my move from Germany and have occasionally picked up Brotzman's book in hopes that it might answer some question that I had, only to be disappointed every time. Three stars is a generous award for this work.