Our Throwback Thursday this week is taken from issue 75 of the printed edition of Genizah Fragments, published in April 2018, by the Genizah Research Unit's very own Kim Phillips.
During the first wave of Caliph al-Hakim’s intolerance towards the People of the Book, a Fustat-based scribe – Samuel ben Jacob – completed his labours on a high quality Bible codex (circa 1008–1009). No doubt he was satisfied with his work: the codex contains all twenty-four biblical books, accurately and ornately... Read Morecodex
Melonie Schmierer-Lee and Neriah Klein
on Wed 27 Apr 2022
Neriah, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on several projects at the moment. I have a position at the Hebrew University Bible Project (HUBP), where I’m preparing the apparatus of textual variations found in Medieval Hebrew manuscripts of the book of Joshua. I’m also working with Prof. Yosef Ofer on the manuscript Sassoon 1053, making an edition of the Masora magna of the manuscript, as well as working on a book based on my PhD on Chronicles, and an article about leprosy in Leviticus.
You recently published an... Read More
Has tags: Bible, codex, Genizah Fragments, masora, Q&A, vocalisation
Melonie Schmierer-Lee and Nehemia Gordon
on Wed 13 Apr 2022
Nehemia, what are you working on today?
I’m a visiting scientist at the BAM Institute in Berlin (the Federal Institute for Research and Testing). One of the techniques they’ve developed is the use of a handheld device to distinguish between carbon and iron gall ink – the Dino-Lite. So, I’ve come to Cambridge University Library to look at a large number of Genizah Bible fragments – Torah scrolls, though not only – and I’m looking to see what the ink is: iron gall or carbon.
Are you hoping to tell from this when or where the manuscripts were written?... Read More
Has tags: Bible, codex, Firkovich, Genizah Fragments, ink, Karaite, Q&A, scribe, scroll, vocalisation
Melonie Schmierer-Lee and Malachi Beit-Arié
on Wed 26 Jan 2022
Malachi, your book Hebrew Codicology is a classic of the field, and you've recently completed the most up to date version yet. Will the latest Hebrew and English versions be the final versions of the book?
Yes. The Hebrew and English versions, published by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, are now final. They are distributed by Hamburg University with the Open Access DOIs: https://doi.org/10.25592/uhhfdm.8848 (Hebrew) and... Read More
Has tags: codex, Genizah Fragments, Hebrew, palaeography, Q&A
Melonie Schmierer-Lee and Kim Phillips
on Wed 25 Aug 2021
Kim, what are you working on today?
I’m working on T-S A43.6, and its associated fragments. They are a Shorthand Bible, or a Psalter, to be more precise.
A Shorthand Bible – is this the same as a Serugin manuscript?
Sort of. For the past too-long I’ve been looking at the different ways the mediaeval Jewish community in Fustat produced Bibles (or parts of Bibles) written in abbreviated form. It turns out there are three basic ways they did it: sometimes they just wrote the initial word, or few words, of a given verse, then the same for... Read More
Has tags: Bible, codex, Genizah Fragments, Q&A, serugin