Text column no. 5 (sheet no. 2) surrounded by the hand-painted decoration. The roundel in the upper margin contains a bust of the king and in the frame, in the lower margin, two scenes are depicted. On the right, Bigthan and Teresh are hanged (Es. 2:23) and on the left Haman aims with an arrow at the Zodiac wheel with a large flower in the middle. In the prototype, the scene of the hanging of the chamberlains is not included.
The pillars flanking the text column are surmounted by a putto with a basket on his head.
| Cod. Levy 160
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | Haman casting the lot/Pur - Haman aiming at the Zodiac wheel (based on Midrash)
Z | Zodiac Signs
P | Putto (Putti in Plural)
B | Basket | Basket with flowers
E | Esther, Book of (following the order of the story) | *Esther's Story Characters (depicted not in narrative scenes): | Ahasuerus, the king
H | House
H | Herm(a)
P | Portrait | Portrait medallion
A | Acanthus Leaf
|
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of 4 sheets containing 16 columns of the text with 22 lines, except for col. 14 with 11 lines divided into two parts.
The text is inscribed the square Hebrew Ashkenazi script with tagim, in black ink, on parchment sheets.
The letter ח (Es. 1:6) is highlighted by its size and form (it is decorated with scrolling feet and tagim placed on both ends of the roof). The letter ת (Es. 9:29) is enlarged too. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 14.
The letters in the Tetragrammaton are marked by short strokes bent to the right.
There are some erasures and corrections in the text.
The membranes in the scroll are stitched.
None
The stickers with the name of the collection and the manuscript's number on the right edge of the first membrane are placed. There are also a calculation of the date (?) and a stamp on it.
Falk Wiesemann, Codex Levy 160, [in:] Irina Wandrey ed., Manuscript Cultures, vol. 6, 260-262.
Ernst Róth, Hans Striedl, Die Handschriften der Sammlung H. B. Levy an der Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg. Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, vol. VI, 3, Wiesbaden 1984, no. 9.
Images of the scroll are available on https://resolver.sub.uni-hamburg.de/kitodo/PPN893258369 (accessed on 24.09.2020).