The Masorah of Elijah ha-Naqdan

An Edition of Ashkenazic Micrographical Notes

Élodie Attia

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9783110417913
• eBook ISBN: 9783110425314
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Art General

Following Levita's statement, the Masorah transmitted by medieval illuminated manuscripts was generally considered as less significant for the study of the biblical and masoretical knowledge in the Jewish world. The biblical codices produced in Ashkenaz were considerably disregarded compared to Spanish codices. Challenging this assertion, this work engages in a reflection on the link between the standard Eastern tradition and the Ashkenazic biblical text-culture of the 13 th century.

Élodie Attia provides an edition of thirteen cases taken from MS Vat. Ebr. 14, offering the oldest series of Masoretic notes written inside figurative and ornamental designs. Its critical apparatus offers an unprecedented comparison with the oldest Eastern and Ashkenazic sources to evaluate if the scribe paid more attention to aesthetic details than to the textual contents.

In an unexpected way, the Masoretic notes of Elijah ha-Naqdan, even written in figurative forms, show a close philological link with the Masorah of the eastern Tiberian sources and prove that the presence of figurative elements neither represents a loss nor a distortion of Masoretic knowledge, but rather illustrates a development in the Masoretic tradition.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Categories of Masoretic Notes According to Shape

Figure 14: Categories of Masoretic notes according to shape

Appendix 2: MS Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Ebr. 14

Codicological and Paleographical Description

Pentateuch (with Targum), Five Scrolls (with Targum) and Haftarot copied, corrected, vocalized and completed with Masorah by Elijah ben Berakhiah ben Natronai ha-Naqdan for R. Asher, a patron, [310..ff], parchment, 289 × 228 mm, place of copy not mentioned but dated from Tuesday 21st Av 99 [24th July 1239] according to colophon, f. 292r.309

The manuscript is a complete and homogenous volume except that the folios 1r–3v have been lost and replaced by an Italo-Ashkenazic hand in the 15th century. The codex contains the Pentateuch (ff. 1–242r),310 the Five Scrolls (ff. 242v–257r)311 and the Haftarot312 according to the Ashkenazic rite (ff. 257r–292r).313 The vowels and the accents are written according to the Tiberian system. The Targum is provided for the Pentateuch only, and the Masoretic notes (Masora Parva and Magna) on the Pentateuch and Five Scrolls (until f. 257v), with regular, ornamental and figurative Masorah. The foliotation is very irregular as stated in the new catalogue.314

Format, size

Vat14 is a mediumsized codex of 310 folios measuring approximately 300 × 240 mm. The written space measures approximately 185 × 165 mm.

The dimensions in f. 27r are: ([18] + 3 + [20] + 185 + [20] + 8 + [34]) x ([40] + 45 + [6+6] + 45 + [6+6] + 45 + [6] + [35]).315

Parchment

The parchment used is medium thick. Despite the shaving traces visible on both sides, it is possible, as it is common ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Prologue
• Introduction
• Edition
• Concluding Remarks
• Appendices
• Publication Bibliography
• Credits
• Endnotes