This is a site designed to facilitate bible study by making it easier to access primary sources.
This site exists to help people compare different textual traditions of the bible. The Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate, Peshitta, Targumim, and Ge'ez Bible all represent different traditions of transmitting, translating, and intepreting the biblical text. Comparing them can help shed light on the meaning of a passage and on the text's development.
The comparitive study of textual versions necessitates paying attention to each word. A translation into English introduces subtle changes in meaning that detract from the value of this kind of study.
Of the languages included here, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ge'ez are Semitic languages closely related to one another, while Greek and Latin are Indo-European languages that have both significantly influenced English.
Making use of the dictionaries and translations that are linked to on the Additional Resources page, even people with very little knowledge of these languages can still find bible study valuable using the primary sources collected here.
Mainly, this is simply to add a layer of aesthetic appreciated for the transmission of these texts. However, in some cases, most notably for most of the Ge'ez biblical texts, the published editions do not adequately represent the full range of textual variants, so an in-depth study should make use of the linked manuscripts. Some texts in this collection also exist only in manuscript, making linking to digitised manuscripts necessary.
I am Jewish, and my interest is in the biblical texts which were developed by and remain sacred to the Jewish people, and to our fellow Israelite peoples (the Samaritans and the Beta Israel).
While only the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Ge'ez "Beluyat" remain in sacred use by Israelite peoples today, all of the "Old Testament" texts were initially developed and transmitted by Israelites, and represent important versions of our sacred texts.
Christians may also find this website useful for studying this portion of their Bible.
The term "Israelite" refers to all peoples whose cultures show them to be living descendants of the ancient 12 tribes of Israel.
The largest such community today is the Jewish community, descending primarily, but not exclusively, from the tribe of Judah.
The Samaritan community, today very small, claims descent primarily, but not exclusively, from the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim/Menasseh).
The Beta Israel community, who were historically known as "Falashas" and are commonly known today as "Ethiopian Jews," claim descent from various Israelite tribes. Historically, they preferred to be called "Israelites" rather than "Jews," and their biblical texts represent a different chain of transmission from that of the Jewish bible.
The Israelite biblical texts were initially written in Hebrew and Aramaic, and have been transmitted by Jews and Samaritans in these languages ever since, so all versions of the text in these languages are important for study.
The bible was translated very early into Greek, by the Jewish community in ancient Egypt. While this Greek bible is now only transmitted by Christians, it still represents an important witness to the ancient Jewish text.
The Peshitta, a version of the bible preserved in a Christian Aramaic dialect (Syriac), was also most likely originally translated by and for a Jewish community. As such, it too is an important witness to an ancient Jewish text.
The Ge'ez bible is also one of the earliest translations, and seems to be translated from Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic sources. While the role of Israelites in its translation is unclear, and it may have been translated and/or transmitted at various points entirely by Ethiopian Christians, the Ge'ez bible is now sacred to the Beta Israel community. As such, for both its role as an ancient witness and its contemporary role as an Israelite sacred text, it is a valuable source.
The Latin Vulgate is the work of a Christian scholar (Jerome), and was completed at a slightly later date than the rest of these versions. However, it was a conscious effort to translate from the texts in sacred use by the Jewish community at that time. As such, it also provides an important witness to Jewish sacred texts, and especially to the development of some non-canonised texts in the Jewish community, such as Tobit and Judith, after the time of the Septuagint's translation.
Finally, additional versions of biblical texts in Christian Aramaic dialects, Greek, Latin, and Ge'ez have been included, even when they represent Christian translation and transmission work, because they are valuable witnesses to the texts and help present a complete picture of these texts' transmission in these languages.
"Canonical" means that a particular textual version is definitely considered part of the Bible by some major contemporary group of people. (The partial exception is for the Beta Israel texts, where a 150-year-old canon list has been used, and where the "Secondary Canon," while considered sacred, is possibly not considered "part of the bible." See the Sources page for more info.)
"Deuterocanonical" is used on this website to mean that a particular textual version was formerly considered part of the Bible, and is included within the same manuscripts and/or printed collections as the canonical texts, but is today not considered definitely part of the Bible by any major group.
"Semi-Canonical" is used to mean that a textual version has a near-biblical status, but is not and has not been treated as strictly part of the bible.
"Non-Canonical" means that a given textual version is definitely not considered part of the Bible today. It may have been in the past, and may still have some sacred non-biblical status.
A text being part of a biblical canon, today or historically, proves that it has been considered sacred and reliable. It also means that the text is generally well preserved. Also, without this kind of limitation, the number of texts that could be included here would potentially be endless!
This website's collection is limited to canonical and deuterocanonical texts, as well as to closely related non-canonical texts.
No.
For one thing, some versions of the bible in these languages are simply not available online. I have done my best to note these cases, so that people so motivated can track down the relevant printed text or manuscript.
In converse, often so many similar editions or manuscripts of a text exist that I did not link to all or even most of them, simply some important ones.
Finally, there is a certain level of subjectivity regarding which early-modern versions of a text to include. Generally, only ancient and medieval versions of each text have been included, but in some cases versions originating in the modern period, generally translations from a different ancient version, have also been included, and indicated as such.
Also, I may simply have missed something.