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.

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.

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

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

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 only. It may also be available one on CD-ROM. Ask your local librarian for access information.
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 or use the Bible section CD-ROM. It focuses on Western religions with an emphasis on 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

Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Living Torah

This site searches in the opposite direction - click on the portion and it will give you the date to read it.
http://uahc.org/torah/index.shtml

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 expert search screen to limit the results by language.

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.

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