The Pitts Theology Library of Emory University was established in 1914 to advance learning, teaching, and research in the Candler School of Theology. It supports and contributes to the academic life of Emory University and scholarly work on the international level. The acquisition of over 200,000 items from Hartford Theological Seminary in the 1970s significantly shaped the collection that focuses on the history of Christianity, Christian theology and thought, scriptural studies, and Christian ministry and life. Jewish Studies-related resources range broadly in subject, provenance, language, and date of publication. Some of the items in the collection were digitized and are available from Pitts Digital Collections.
The central texts of Jewish studies, the Hebrew Bible, the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds, responsa, commentaries, and exegetical works are available in multiple editions and translations. Some of the recent scholarly works in the collection offer readings of these texts through, for example, feminist or queer lenses. Over 500 items discuss Hebrew grammar, a subject that closely ties the modern research collection to the special collections and the work of Jewish and Christian authors: Johann Reichlin’s (1455–1522) Principium libri as well as an 1839 edition of the medieval Jewish author Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Safah Berurah ספה ברורה are held alongside twenty-first century publications on Biblical Hebrew grammar in general and linguistic analyses of different parts of the Biblical text.
The Pitts Library’s series collection include long-established prestigious scholarly journals, such as the Jewish Quarterly Review (since 1889) as well as Christian newspapers focusing on Jews and Judaism, such as the Jewish Missionary Magazine (since 1921), a key resource to students of conversion and Jewish-Christian relations in the United States. Scholarly journals published in Hebrew, from Israel, the U.S., and Europe, are also available from the Pitts Library.
The Pitts Library’s Jewish Studies Research Guide is a rich resource for research and learning about Biblical Hebrew, Judaism, and the interpretation of the Old Testament, including also online and digital sources and tools.