I. Introducing textual criticism : 1. The expression "textual criticism" -- 2. The problems of textual criticism -- 3. The academic setting of Old Testament textual criticism : Old Testament textual criticism and theology in general ; Old Testament textual criticism, interpretation and grammar ; Old Testament textual criticism and interpretation -- 4. The distinction between Old Testament textual and literary criticism -- 5. The main types of content and their use by students. II. The transmission of the Hebrew text : 1. The transmission of texts -- 2. The alphabet in which the text was transmitted -- 3. Textual corruption in the process of transmission : Errors committed inadvertently : Sound-alike words were confused ; Look-alike letters were confused ; Consonants were switched ; Letters, words or phrases were omitted ; Letters and words were written twice ; Wrong word divisions were made ; The consonantal text was misread ; Marginal glosses were incorporated in the text. Errors committed deliberately : Simplification of the text ; Linguistic emendations ; Emendations on religious or moral grounds ; Emendations on theological grounds -- 4. The stardardisation of a consonantal text : The Massoretes ; The massora of the Massoretes : The massora marginalis ; The massora finalis ; The massora in disuse. Critical indications by the Massoretes : The large letters (literae majusculae) ; The small letters (literae minusculae) ; The floating letters (literae suspensae) ; The inverted nûn (nûn inversum) ; The unusual dots (puncta extraordinaria). The corrections by the scribes (tiqqune sopherim) ; Other typical practices of the Massoretes : The final letters (literae finales) ; The extended letter (literae dilatabiles) ; The 'Atbash ('Atbas) rule -- 5. The division of the text -- 6. The Massoretic vocalisation of the text : Vocalisation of the Massoretes of the east ; Vocalisation of the Massoretes of the west ; Excursus on Massoretic vocalisation : Punctuation and spelling ; Pronunciation ; Morphology ; Conclusions -- 7. Important manuscripts : The Qumran Bible manuscripts ; The Isaiah Scrolls ; The Samuel texts ; The Jeremiah text ; Other texts. The Ben Asher manuscripts : The Codex Cairensis ; The Codex Aleppo ; The Codex Leningradensis. Ben Naphtali manuscripts ; A pseudo-Ben Naphtali manuscript ; The Petersburg Codex of the Prophets ; The Nash Papyrus ; The Geniza texts from Cairo ; The Firkowitch Collections ; Lost manuscripts -- 8. Some printed editions of the Hebrew text : The Bomberg Bibles ; The Michaelis edition ; The Kennicott edition ; The Ginsburg edition ; Kittel's Biblia Hebraica (BHK) : BHK and B19 ; BHK and Ben Asher ; The critical apparatus of BHK ; Summary. The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.