Adam J. Howell and Harvey E. Howell, Ruth: An Illustrated Hebrew Reader’s Edition (HA’ARETS; Wilmore, KY: GlossaHouse, 2020).
I have reviewed several of the volumes from the Hebrew Bible in the GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts Series (Genesis here and Job here). This is the first time I have reviewed a similar resource in their HA’ARETS series. For my review of the new Aramaic and Hebrew Grammar in the HA’ARETS series, see here.
Strengths of This Volume on Ruth
There are several big distinctions between this volume on Ruth and volumes I have seen in the GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts Series. First, Harvey Howell has drawn a new image for each clause. There is no large section of text that is lumped together without artistic representation. Though it should be noted that some direct speech including several sentences is placed together. Also, there is an explanation of select images at the end of the book. Thus, the artist explains why he chose to represent things in a certain way.
Second, this volume on Ruth focuses on the Hebrew text. There is no English translation attempted in the text (contra GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts Series). Hebrew lexemes or verbs appears 100 times or less are glossed at the bottom of the page. In the case of verbs, only the binyan in which the verb appears is glossed. This allows the reader to properly focus on learning through the pictures without a translation distracting them from the Hebrew text. This is a vast improvement over the GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts Series. The goal of this resource is for the student to learn as a child (i.e., associating lexemes and verbs with the images and illustrates around them).
In my opinion, the weakness of the GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts Series is that they depend on pre-drawn images instead of making new illustrations to explain the Hebrew text. This leads to many sections of the Hebrew text being unrepresented in the illustrations (cf. my concerns about the volume on Job here). Also, they use an English translation as part of the book instead of simply representing the Hebrew text with some helps (e.g., glosses of certain lexemes and verbs). If the goal is to get the student thinking in Hebrew and learning like a child, a continual dependence on an English translation will not help this process. It is akin to using an interlinear instead of reading the text.
Text Critical Notes
The dagesh in the א in Ruth 2:10 and 11 is represented in the Hebrew text of this volume. This dagesh is present in Codex Leningrad (421 verso) but absent in Codex Aleppo. It is not represented in BHS but it is present in BHQ. It will certainly strike the observant reader. This unexpected dagesh will provide a fun opportunity for discussion in the classroom and a chance to examine the manuscript evidence.
The text appears without text critical notes. For example, the end of the text of Ruth 3:15 reads וַיָּבֹא הָעִיר “he came to the city” without reference to the reading וַתָּבוֹא “she came to the city” in some medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac, and Vulgate. Thus, the reader is simply working through Ruth in Codex Leningrad without any text critical notes.
The lack of text critical notes is not a weakness. Any aspects of the text (e.g., versional evidence) can be investigated in a classroom setting or by an interested reader. This volume is committed to representing the complexities of the Hebrew text without a filter. The reader should not be hindered by the difficult aspects of the text but become familiar with them through the reading process.
Conclusion
This is the best resource I have seen in the illustrated Hebrew texts from GlossaHouse. It seeks to represent the Hebrew text without an English translation or interruptions. The illustrations are simple but focused on explaining the clauses in the book of Ruth. This would be a wonderful resource to use in a Biblical Hebrew reading course. It could also be used as a summer reader by an independent learner.
לשׁון נופל על לשׁון 