Finding Bibles in the catalog | Finding Bibles on the shelf | Bible as subject | Finding a book/part | CD-ROM texts | Internet links | Periodical Indexes | Frequently asked questions
The HUC-JIR Library system follows the Library of Congress (LC) cataloging (subject headings) and classification (call numbers) system. Biblical texts and works about the Bible are shelved in the "BS" section.
Finding Bibles in the catalog
According to the Library of Congress (LC), "Bible" refers to the Christian
Bible made up of the Old Testament (O.T.) and the New Testament (N.T.).
LC assigns uniform titles to all Biblical texts. This means that no
matter what title appears on the book itself, all versions of the same
book will be called by the same name and shelved in the same place.
This can make finding a text easier - you don't have to know if the
book is titled Torah, Hamishah humshe Torah, Pentateuch, the Five books
of Moses, etc. - everything will be filed under: Bible. O.T. Pentateuch.
On the other hand, this system can be tricky to use, if you don't happen
to know the exact way that LC assigned a name.
Some examples:
Bible
Bible. O.T.
Bible. O.T. Pentateuch
Bible. O.T. Exodus
Bible. O.T. Isaiah
Bible. O.T. Five Scrolls
If the work is a translation, this will be reflected in the uniform
title as well.
Bible. O.T. Genesis. English
You may also find references to specific chapters and verses
Bible. O.T. Genesis XI, 1-9 (chapter is indicated by Roman numerals
and verse by Arabic)
Finding Bibles on the shelf
In general, LC will put a "whole" before a "part." Therefore, LC shelves
"whole" Bibles (O.T. and N.T.) first under BS 1-680. The next biggest
"parts" are the Old Testament (BS 701-1199) and the New Testament (BS
1901-2545). Similarly, smaller parts of the O.T. are shelved in (BS
1200-1830) after the O.T. as a whole. See below for
individual O.T. books.
Bible as subject.
You can find books about the Bible by doing a subject search
on the uniform title. You will often see subject terms with subdivisions
tacked onto the end. Some common subdivisions are:
- --Commentaries.
- --Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- --Feminist criticism.
There is sometimes confusion about the first 2 this list. A work with "Commentaries" will usually cover a whole portion of the Bible. It will look at the text verse by verse or at least chapter by chapter. A work with "Criticism, interpretation, etc." will generally take a theme and discuss how it appears in throughout the Bible (or some part). Subdivisions can appear on any of the uniform titles discussed above.
You may also find subjects of the form: <topic> in the Bible. For example: Animals in the Bible.
Bible as History.
To find books discussing the Bible as history, do a subject search under Bible
You can also search by person or topic (these may or may not be historical works)
Search also under: Jews-- History--
Finding parts
These are all in the BS section, under the number(s) given. Generally,
within a section you will find books arranged in this order: multilingual
translations, manuscripts, Hebrew editions, English editions, other
languages, early commentaries (before 1950), contemporary criticism
(1951-2000) contemporary commentaries, contemporary sermons, special
topics, and then the newest books (2001- ). Of course, we may not have
a book in every category.
Here are the locations for individual books and common groups. They are all in the "BS" section.
|
Amos 1581-1586 Apocrypha and Apocryphal books 1691-1830 Baruch 1771+ Ben Sirach 1761+ Book of Proverbs 1461-1467 Chronicles (1&2) 1341-1345.6 Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah (together) 1550 Daniel 1551-1556 Deutero-Isaiah 1520 Deuteronomy 1271-1275.6 Ecclesiastes 1471-1476 Ecclesiasticus 1761+ Esther 1371-1376 Exodus 1241-1245.6 Ezekiel 1541-1545.6 Ezra (1 Esdras) 1351-1355.6 Ezra, Daniel, Nehemiah (together) 1550 Five Scrolls 1309-1310 Former Prophets 1285.6 Genesis 1231-1235.6 Habakkuk 1631-1635.6 Haftaroth BM 670 H3 Haggai 1651-1655.6 Hoseah 1561-1565.6 Isaiah 1511-1519 Jeremiah 1521-1525.6 Job, Psalms, Proverbs (together) 1410 Job 1411-1417 Joel 1571-1575.6 Jonah 1601-1606 Joshua 1291-1295.6 Judges 1301-1305.6 Judith 1731+ |
Ketuvim 1308 Kings (1&2) 1331-1336 Lamentations 1531-1535.6 Latter Prophets 1501+ Leviticus 1251-1255.6 Maccabees 1821+ Malachi 1671-1675.6 Micah 1611-1615.6 Minor prophets 1560 Nahum 1621-1625.6 Nehemia (2 Esdras) 1361-1365.6 Nehemiah, Ezra, Danial (together) 1550 Numbers 1261-1265.6 Obadiah 1591-1595.6 Pentateuch 1221-1225.6 Poetical 1401-1405.6 Prophetic books 1501-1505.6 Prophets (Nevi'im) 1286 Proverbs 1461-1465.6 Proverbs, Psalms, Job (together) 1410 Psalms 1419-1451 Psalms, Proverbs, Job (together) 1410 Ruth 1311-1315.6 Samuel (1&2) 1321-1326 Song of Solomon 1481+ Song of Solomon 1481-1490 Tobit (Tobias) 1721+ Trito-Isaiah 1520.5 Wisdom of Solomon 1751+ Wisdom literature 1455-1456 Writings 1308 Zechariah 1661-1665.6 Zephaniah 1641-1645.6 |
CD-ROMs
The Library has many CD-ROMs with Biblical texts. Check with your local
branch for holdings and availability.
Internet Links
Here are a few sites which are helpful for Biblical study.
Jewish texts at Snunit
Includes the Hebrew texts of the Tanakh, Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud
Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi, and Mishneh Torah
http://www1.snunit.k12.il/kodesh/
Navigating the Bible II
Produced by ORT, this site shows the Torah portion, both with and without vocalization,
translation, and transliteration. The site is similar to the CD-ROM
program which is also available in the Library.
http://bible.ort.org/intro1.asp
Book-by-Book MP3 Recordings of the Hebrew Bible
Each book is read (not chanted) with the Sephardic pronounciation. The files can be streamed
or downloaded.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt00.htm
Hebrew - English Bible
According to the Masoretic Text and the JPS 1917 Edition
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0.htm
Tanach / electronic version of the Leningrad Codex maintained by the Westminster
Hebrew Institute
http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml
Prague Bible
This illuminated manuscript (1489) of the Tanach at the Yeshivah University
has been digitized and is available online.
http://www.yu.edu/libraries/pragueBible.asp
Jastrow Dictionary at Tyndale Archive of Biblical Study
Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic
Literature
http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/jastrow/
Visual Midrash
This is a searchable site on Art of the Bible. You can search by subject, artist, and portion.
http://www.tali-virtualmidrash.org.il/DefaultEng.aspx
Periodical Indexes
The three major indexes to use for Biblical studies are:
RAMBI This free Internet site is published by the Jewish National and University Library. It has articles from scholarly journals and chapters of books.
Index to Jewish Periodicals. This is available from the HUC campuses or through the Jewish Studies Portal. It includes articles from popular journals, magazines, and newsletters.
ATLA This index is available in various forms. You can access it from this page at the New York and Cincinniat campuses. At the Los Angeles campus, you can access the full database through the USC databases. It is also available through the Jewish Studies Portal. It has articles from scholarly journals and chapters of books. It focuses on Western religions with an emphasis on Bible and Christianity.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find the weekly Torah portion?
Navigating the Bible II (ORT)
http://bible.ort.org/books/cald5.asp?ACTION=DISPLAYWK
Where can I find the Tikkun?
They are generally shelved in the Reference section under BS 1222 (they
may be in the oversized (folio) section)
How can I find a specific commentary?
If you know the exact title and spelling, you can search by that (ex.
title phrase = Etz Hayim). You can also do a combination search with
the author's last name with the smallest part of the Bible that you
think is reasonable. (ex. author keyword = Rashi ; subject keyword =
pentateuch). You can use the filters screen to limit the results
by language, date or place.
If you have any further questions about finding information on this, or any other topic, ask your local HUC-JIR librarian or email us using the form on the homepage.