Article: Sticking to the Script, by Nick Posegay
Nick Posegay's article 'Sticking to the Script: How an incredible journey of Hebrew letters helps us recall the Arabic language' has just appeared in The Scholar, an annual magazine for Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni. Nick's article tells the Genizah story to a general audience through the lens of T-S Ar.5.58, a leaf from a Bible glossary with the vocabulary for a portion of 1 Samuel:
"The scribe’s booklet was originally a much larger glossary, likely containing translations of Hebrew words from many Biblical books besides Samuel. The remaining page clearly shows that it was well-loved, bearing signs of water damage, dirt, and wear from frequent page flipping. There are also marginal notes in different handwriting, proving that multiple Arabic-speakers used this glossary to help them read the Hebrew Bible. The booklet may have changed hands many times over the years, perhaps passed from parents to children, shared among friends, or kept in a synagogue for communal reference. Whatever happened, the booklet eventually suffered irreparable damage and the surviving Samuel page was torn from its binding."
T-S Ar.5.58 (now recto but the original verso of the manuscript): a biblical glossary for 1 Samuel 17:26-19:10.
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