BYU professor will serve as editor for new edition of Hebrew Bible

PROVO, Utah — BYU professor of Hebrew Donald W. Parry has been appointed as an editor for a new edition of Biblia Hebraica Quinta, the Hebrew Old Testament.

Parry will work on the updated translation of Isaiah along with scholars of the United Bible Society and the German Bible Society. Biblia Hebraica Quinta will be used by 140 worldwide Bible organizations and translated into 140 different languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Finnish, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian and German.

\"This will benefit the entire world community of believers in the Old Testament, which includes Christians and Jews,\" Parry said.

Parry is one of about two dozen editors to work on the fifth edition of the Hebrew Bible, and one of only a few from the United States. He will compare the Hebrew Bible, also known as the traditional Old Testament, with the Dead Sea Scrolls books of Isaiah. In addition, he will compare the two Hebrew texts with the Greek translation, the Septuaginta.

\"In the book of Isaiah, there are many rare Hebrew words that we didn't understand before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls,\" Parry said. \"But that discovery has clarified a great number of rare Hebrew words that translators could only guess at before. The end user will better understand Isaiah's writings as a result of this project.\"