"...The editor and his team will more than realize their aim, thereby initiating a new era in the history of rabbinic Bibles the likes of which Jacob ben Hayyim - the editor of the 1524 Venice edition that became the template for centuries of rabbinic Bibles - could never have imagined.
...in sum, it seems certain that, like Jacob ben Hayyim's work of nearly 500 years ago, Haketer will set the standard for rabbinic Bibles for decades and perhaps for centuries to come."
“...It is to the achievement of this goal that Prof. Menachem Cohen, head of the Institute for the History of Jewish Bible research at Bar Ilan University, has set himself. This first Volume, Joshua-Judges, is an impressive achievement, a tribute to the dedication and scholarship of Prof. Cohen and his team of associates. This edition sets a new standard for accuracy and accessibility which guarantees that it will become the standard text for the study of the Bible and its major commentators for the generations to come.”
“All serious students of the Bible, the Targumim, the Masorah, and rabbinic commentaries are in debt to Cohen and to Bar-Ilan University Press for this undertaking. We look forward to the appearance of subsequent volumes in the series; may they appear speedily in our day!”
“This is the first fruits of a planned re-creation of the Rabbinic Bible. it is not just a revised
edition of the original Ben Hayyim text, but a completely new version. It differs from all earlier versions in the following respects: (1) it is based on the Aleppo Codex and exactly reproduces its Masorah; (2) a very helpful explanation of the Masorah is provided on each page; (3) the Targum text and the commentaries are based on the best available manuscripts; (4) it prints a more extensive and comprehensive collection of commentaries; (5) everything is a square script - there is no rashi script; (6) within the commentaries the use of a bold font clearly marks out lemma from commentary; (7) all the material has been mounted on a computer database which will be made available for use on micro-computers with appropriate search software.”
“We must be greatful to Menachem Cohen and his team of editors and researchers for this
first volume of what promises to be an exiting new development in making the riches of
the Miqra’ot Gedolot accessible on so many different levels. It is indeed a major contribution to, and accomplishment in scholarship, no less than in technology and publicatin skills.”
“The new Bar-Ilan edition, overseen by Menachem Cohen has been completely reworked.
Not only is the biblical text based on the best available manuscript of the Bible, the Aleppo
Codex, but the commentaries are also based on manuscripts carefully edited with the most
advanced techniques of modern scholarship.”
"In this "millenial" era when products are often labeled "new and improved", it is delightfully refreshing to find someone who is working hard to leave things well enough alone. This is certainly the case with the very aptly named Bar-Ilan University series Ha-Keter - the crown…in what is definitly a crowning achievement of painstaking research and editing to produce an authoritative and mistake-free edition of the Bible.
"As old, inaccurate aditions are slowly relegated to the geniza, their place is being taken by wonderful new editions. The entire Bar-Ilan series is thus a most welcome edition to any Jewish library. Indeed it seems likely that Mikraot Gedolot ha-keter will become the rabbinic Bible used by future generations."
"… It is no exaggeration to say that by supplying punctuation and identifying the commentator's sources including the ubiquitous "some interpret," Cohen has done for medieval Hebrew exegesis of the Bible what Rashi did for the Babylonian Talmud in his famous commentary on that work. He has democratized the reading of medieval Hebrew biblical exegesis. He has literally brought order out of chaos and, in the words of Isa 9:1, he has enabled people who walked in darkness to see a great light.
This reviewer wishes Professor Cohen and his staff every success in speedily completing the task they have set for themselves to produce a modern user-friendly Rabbinic Bible for all of Hebrew Scripture. As they come off the press, these volumes must be purchased by every public and private library of Judaica and Hebraica. Every serious rabbi, synagogue, Jewish school, Hebrew Scripture specialist, and student of Hebrew Scripture must acquire the volumes of Mikraot Gedolot "Haketer" and make use of them daily. At the price which Bar-Ilan University Press charges for these handsome volumes printed on glossy paper, they are practically giving them away (cf. Isa 55:1)."
"As old, inaccurate aditions are slowly relegated to the geniza, their place is being taken by wonderful new editions. The entire Bar-Ilan series is thus a most welcome edition to any Jewish library. Indeed it seems likely that Mikraot Gedolot ha-keter will become the rabbinic Bible used by future generations."
"... משום כך שבח גדול הוא לאוניברסיטת בר-אילן, שקיבלה על עצמה להוציא מהדורה חדשה, מדעית, של מקראות גדולות על פי כתבי יד עתיקים. ושבח גדול הוא למהדיר ולעורך, פרופ' מנחם כהן, שהשקיע במהדורה זו את מיטב כשרונו והוציא מתחת ידו דבר מתוקן... אין ספק, שזו היא המהדורה היחידה של מקראות גדולות, הנקייה ומתוקנת ומדויקת בכל ארבעת הרכיבים של מקראות גדולות: מקרא ומסורה, תרגום ומפרשים".
" Finally mention must be made of the volume's alluring layout. The typography is tasteful and easy on the eye, making Bible study ? la Haketer an inviting experience."
"Not only was a tremendous amount of energy invested by Prof. Cohen in producing an
accurate a text as possible, conforming to the highest scholarly standards, but the aestetic side
of this enterprise was also given its due. The pages of the text are pleasing to the eye. The
layout is generous, the texts exceptionally readable, and the volume a pleasure to hold".
“Finally, the editor and the publisher deserved great praise for the many outstanding illustrations which accompany the introduction. The detailed treatments often are illuminated by remarkably
clear reproductions of the actual manuscripts and printed editions.”
“What makes this text so much better than the standart Rabbinic Bible is its readability and ease
of use as well as the transparency of its sources.
“...It is printed beautifully, in normal square letters, easily readable and intelligibly laid out,
making you want to know what the commentators had to say rather than groan inwardly about
the difficulty of deciphering them.”
"The hard work of Cohen and other scholars from the Bar-Ilan team pays off in a hugely rewarding biblical reading experience, especially in the books of the prophets. The text - whether regarding as holy or historical - becomes much more accessible. Indeed, it probably would not be blasphemous to say that the Bar-Ilan researches have taken that oldproduct - the Bible - and made it "user-friendly"."