As the name suggests, the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) represents the fifth in a series of texts of the Hebrew Bible that started in 1906. The fourth edition, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) was finished in 1977 and has remained the standard Hebrew text for scholarly research since then. The BHS followed a single manuscript, the Leningrad Codex, but introduced a new apparatus and reproduction of the Masorah. The BHQ follows suit, improving upon the text (still based on the Leningrad Codex) and addresses similar but, in many cases, more exhaustive material. In addition, the Commentary on the critical apparatus brings an extremely valuable angle to the text and decisions that lay behind its reproduction in the edition.
The Accordance edition follows in-line with this century-long tradition in promoting academic inquiry into the text of the Hebrew Bible, but in a new and exciting fashion. We discussed at length how best to weave together the various components of the BHQ in a fashion that, in the end, creates an intuitive and powerful combination not easily attained in the print edition.
This first installment includes three fascicles: Deuteronomy, Megilloth (Ruth, Canticles [Song of Songs], Qoheleth [Ecclesiastes], Lamentations, Esther), and Ezra & Nehemiah, with two more planned in the immediate future: Twelve Prophets, and Proverbs — which will be offered as a free upgrade to all who purchase it now for $149.99. Future installments will be available over time and priced accordingly.
In order to get a first-hand feel for this exciting resource, check out the following screencast.