"Sha’ar Hashem He-Ḥadash:" Daniel Bomberg’s Miqra’ot Gedolot

Collection ID

BIB.003057.1-.3

Type

Bible - Printed Book

Date

1525–1526

Geography

Venice, (Italy)

Language

Hebrew

Medium

Printed on Paper

Dimensions

vol. 1: 15.75 × 11.25 × 2.5 in. (40 × 28.6 × 6.4 cm); vol. 2: 16.38 × 11.63 × 4.13 in. (41.6 × 29.5 × 10.4 cm); vol. 3: 16.31 × 7.5 × 3 in. (41.5 × 19 × 7.6 cm)

Exhibit Location

On View in The History of the Bible, Revolutionary Words

Daniel Bomberg was a Christian publisher from Antwerp who is best known for printing Hebrew texts. He established the first Hebrew press in Venice, where, in 1517, he published his first rabbinic Bible—a Bible with rabbinic commentaries printed around the biblical text. It was criticized for containing numerous errors. In response, Bomberg hired Jacob ben Ḥayyim, a Jewish scholar of the Masorah, to edit a second rabbinic Bible, represented here. Due to the efforts of Jacob ben Ḥayyim, this edition, known as a Miqra’ot Gedolot (Large Scriptures) because of the large size of the folio, became the first printed version of the Hebrew Bible to contain the entire Masorah along with the Tanakh, targumim, and rabbinic commentaries.

Printed from 1525–1526 by Daniel Bomberg in Venice, Italy.[1] Purchased by Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (formerly Rochester Theological Seminary), Rochester, New York, before 1928.[2] Purchased in 2011 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;[3] Donated in 2017 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry) under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] There is no ownership history from the time of its publication to its purchase by Rochester Theological Seminary. [2] Though the exact date of purchase is unknown, an embossed stamp on the title page and a bookplate on the front pastedown of each volume indicate that the set was in the possession of Rochester Theological Seminary library and was purchased using funds from the “Bruce Fund,” a $25,000 endowment made to the university upon the passing of Mr. John M. Bruce in 1872 (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112114014365&view=1up&seq=399). We do not know, however, from whom the set was purchased or how long it was in the university’s possession. It must have been purchased before 1928, when Rochester Theological Seminary merged with Colgate Theological Seminary. [3] Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served as intermediary for this purchase; via correspondence with Philadelphia Rare Book & Manuscripts.

Questions about our Collections?

Visit Contact Us Page

(866) 430-MOTB

To acquire permission to use this image, please visit our Rights and Reproduction page .

More From The Collections

Carey Bible, First Edition

Bible - Printed Book
1790
United States

Great Bible Portion with Carved Wooden Cover

Bible - Printed Book
Likely 1569
London, (England)

Captured Civil War New Testament

Bible - Printed Book
1862
Oxford, (England)
© Museum of the Bible 2024
Designed by PlainJoe