Img. ID: 208443
Sheepskin, II+438+II leaves (fly leaves of paper)
Measurements
Full page: 260 x (212-217)mm |
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Text space: 170 x140 mm Text space including masorah magna and parva: (213-220) x (170-175)mm |
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Column width:63 mm |
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Intercolumnar space:15 mm |
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Scribes
Two scribes:
Scribe A |
Main text |
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Scribe B |
Masorator and perhaps also vocalizer. |
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Script
Main text written in square Sephardi script in brown ink. Masorah written in micrography in square Sephardi script in light brown ink
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Number of lines
Main text written in 31 lines in 2 columns |
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Ruling
Ruling by stylus on hair side, 2+2+2 vertical and 2+31+3 horizontal lines for the text and the masorah magna.
Pricking
Discernable in the upper and lower margins.
Quires
48 quires.
29 quires are composed of 10 leaves each and 14 quires are composed of 8 leaves each (quires III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XXXVI). Except for quires I4, II6, XVI6, XXXV12, XLV12-4(4 last folios were cut off).
Catchwords
Remnants of catchwords for quires are evident on many versos (e.g., fols. 58v, 106v, 208v, 260v and 290v, 360v). Several catchwords do not correspond to the quire structure as they appear on folios other than the last verso of the quire, and may have been written by a different hand than that of the main scribe in order to serve as a catchword for the leaf (e.g., fols. 107v, 138v, 142v, 208v).
Hebrew numeration
Discernable on the top recto of most folios. Later foliation in ink and pencil which does not correspond to the Hebrew numeration. There are two types of Hebrew numeration:
A) For leaves, in Hebrew alphabetic numbers, in the left corner of the upper margins of each recto (seldom cut out), starting with the first leaf of quire II (i.e. of the beginning of the Bible text), which according to the later Arabic-ciphers numeration in ink and the current foliation in pencil is fol. 11 (e.g., fol. 11v is marked "aleph" (א) fol. 12 is marked "bet" (ב), fol. 13 is marked "gimmel" ג) ) and so forth. The pages indicated in the list of contents found in the masoratic lists on fols. 5v-10 follow this Hebrew numeration.
B) For quires, in Hebrew letters, Discernable on some folios, in the left corner of the inner margin of the last verso of each quire, and in the right corner of the upper margin of the first rectos.(e.g., fols. 27, 43, 50, 51).
Blank leaves
Fols. 1-2, 2v-4v (were originally blank but today contain a Latin text written in the 17th or 18th century), 5, 10v-11, 120-121, 312v-313, 434-438v are blank (fol. 438v now includes later inscriptions).
The decoration was executed by one artist, most probably one of the scribes, in one stage.
A. Massoratic lists (fols. 5v-10) written in a varying number of columns, surrounded by excerpts of verses from the Bible, written in large square Sephardi script in brown ink, forming a frame around the lists.
B. Many pen-work decorated parashah (e.g., fols. 21, 29v, 31v, 34, 56, 58v, 65v, 68v, 70, 73v), sidrah (e.g., fol. 24) and half-book signs (e.g., fols. 24, 68, 87, 109, 141v, 404, 407v). The parashah sign includes the abbreviation of the word "Pericope" ( פרש ), and the sidrah sign includes the letter "samech" (ס ), both written in square script in brown ink. The half-book signs have an inscription within, reading: the "numbers of verses of half the book" (חצי הספר) (e.g., fols. 24, 68, 87, 109, 141v, 404, 407v) or "half the letters of the Pentateuch" (חצי התורה באותיות) (fol. 65v).
The signs are either framed by a cartouche (e.g., fols. 21, 29v, 31v, 56, 65) or decorated above by small simple motifs (e.g., fols.)
C. Decorated masorah magna, shaped in simple designs appearing in the upper or lower margins of the page, mostly forming a zig-zag at the end of lines and continuing vertically into the outer margin (e.g., fols. 50, 149, 174) or a small triangle shape underneath the last text line of the page (e.g., fols. 179, 334v). On two facing pages (fols. 313v-314) (Need photograph) the masorah also forms three smalll circles on the top and bottom of the pages.
The Vienna Sephardi Bible is a complete Bible, copied in square Sephardi script in two columns by a main scribe who wrote the entire text of the Bible, and a second scribe who copied the text of the masorah magna and masorah parva.
The decoration program of the manuscript includes several pages of masoratic lists, preceding the text of the Bible, surrounded by verses and excerpts taken from many books of the Bible, written in large square Sephardi script, forming a frame around the lists. The manuscript also includes decorated parashah signs and sidrah signs, set in the margins or between the text columns. According to the custom of Palestine, a triennial cycle was followed in the reading of the Pentateuch in the synagogue on Sabbath, with the Pentateuch divided into 153, 155 or 167 Sedarim (sections) and the reading completed in three years. However, according to the custom of Babylon and other communities outside Palestine, an annual cycle was followed and as such the Pentateuch was divided into 54 parashot (pericopes). In our manuscript we find indications for both divisions according to both customs. The signs are either framed by a cartouche or decorated above by small simple motifs. The sidrah signs are composed of the letter "samech" (ס ) written in square script in brown ink and are decorated in a similar manner to the parashah signs. Another type of decoration in our manuscript is to be found in the writing of the masorah. The masorah magna, which appears on two lines in the upper margins, and three lines in the lower margins, is sometimes shaped to form simple designs. The masorah parva, written in the margins of the page and in between the text columns is sometimes surrounded by simple geometric shapes or cartouches.
These types of decorations are all common features found in other Sephardi Bibles of the 14th and 15th century. The ones found in our Vienna manuscript can be compared for example to those found in ???? (need comparison from Karl).
It is interesting to note that the order of the books of the Latter Prophets in the Vienna Sephardi Bible follows the order found in many manuscripts of the Middle Ages, which is also the order found in modern Bibles. The order of the books of Hagiographia however, which widely varies in manuscripts produced in the Middle Ages, follows in the case of the Vienna Sephardi Bible the same order found in several other manuscripts of the Middle Ages (e.g., the Sephardi Pentateuch and Hagiographia of the 14th century, Jewish National and University Library, Cod. Hebr. 80221), but differs from modern Bibles.
Another interesting feature, found in the Vienna Sephardi Bible is that the end of several of the books of Prophets and Hagiographa are written without punctuation. These are the opening words to the final verse of this section when it is read as the haftarah in the synagogue on Sabbath. They are, according to tradition, repeated twice, once by the reader and once by the community (e.g., fol. 406 where the opening words of the next to last verse of the portion of the book of Ecclesiastes "…the conclusion of the whole matter" (סוף דבר), are written again after the portion, without punctuation. For other examples, see e.g., fols. 237, 408).
Our manuscript also contains several folios (fols. 2v-4v) which were originally left blank, but now contain later inscriptions in Latin, describing the manuscript, the order of books, the masorah parva and magna and the writing modes employed in the writing of the manuscript. The page numbers in this text, relating to the different books of the Bible, does not follow the modern foliation, but rather corresponds to the earlier foliation, which marks fol. 11v, on which begins the text of Genesis, as the first folio. It would seem that the Latin description of the page numbers is based on the masoratic lists found on fol. 8 which indicate that Genesis is to be found on folio "aleph" (א).
The manuscript contains three later inscriptions, written on fol. 438v, which was originally a blank page. From these inscriptions one may deduce that the manuscript was written before the year 1504, which is the earliest date mentioned in the inscriptions.
Need to ask Karl how he knows that the Latin text is by M. Denis (appears in his documentation), and also for pictures of the two comparisons he brings.
Need to establish how we are dating the manuscript 14th century or the second half of the 15th century???!!!!