[1], 312; [1] ff., quarto, 217:135 mm., light age and damp staining, nice margins. A very good copy bound in contemporary boards, rubbed no spine.

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST HEBREW BIBLE PUBLISHED IN AMERICA

Part II of Hebrew Bible with Latin notes, Text without vowel-points or accents, based on the 1661 critical edition edited by Calvinist theologian Johannes Leusden.

After the ‘lean’ years which followed the Revolutionary War, in the early decades of the nineteenth century America was in the throes of a great religious revival. As part of its intellectual aspect, the study of the Hebrew language was renewed… Grammars, lexicons, and chrestomathies were published, as well as books on the Bible and the Holy Land. The Jewish community was wary of these activities because the same scholars and divines were also involved in missionary activity. The appearance of a work in the Hebrew language which bore approbation from both leading Christian clergymen and leading Jews marked the beginning of friendlier intellectual discourse” (Karp, Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, 291-292). In 1812, Jonathan Horowitz arrived in Philadelphia from Amsterdam with a font of Hebrew type, and proposed an edition of the Hebrew Bible— the first one to be issued in the United States. Facing competition from several others who hoped to publish an edition before his, Horowitz decided early in 1813 to transfer his right to the edition to Philadelphia publisher Thomas Dobson, and to sell his type to Dobson’s printer William Fry. Dobson’s edition, printed by Fry and published in 1814, precedes all others.

Title: Biblia Hebraica, secundum ultima meditionem Jos. Athiae, a Johanne Leusden denuo recognitam, recensita variisque notis Latinis illustrata ab Evirardo van der Hooght... Editio prima Americana, sine punctis masorethicis. Tom. I-II.

Hebrew Description

לא מנוקד.

הפנים נדפס שורה-על-שורה (בעימוד שונה) על-פי Amstelaedami et Ultrajecti 1705, עם ההערות בשולי הדפים. דף [5-8]: קטעים מהקדמת המהדיר להוצאה ההיא. ההסכמות ו"חלוף הקריאה" נשמטו.

בראש החלק הראשון ארבעה שערים, שלשה מהם חלקיים. בראש החלק השני שלשה שערים, שנים מהם חלקיים. בשער נביאים ראשונים (דף קס) ובשער נביאים אחרונים (דף א): "הוגה בעיון נמרץ. באמשטירדם. נדפס בהוצאות ובמצות השותפות (די שותפות)..." הועתק מן ההוצאה ההיא. גם לכתובים שער מיוחד (דף קמג).

התנ"ך העברי הראשון שנדפס באמריקה.

Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1470-1960 #000304972; Rosenbach American Jewish Bibliography 171; Wright Early Bibles of America 123-24; Darlow and Moule 5168a; Shaw & Shoemaker 30857; HPA #4

(Karp, Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, 291-292)