His work was hampered, though, because of the difficulty of access and uncomfortable conditions that he encountered. Prevails, the name given is תאג (a “crown”).” In Syria, Mesopotamia and Arabia, where a similar custom “The Jews call them תורה כתר “Keter Torah,” or “Crown of the Law” in Hebrew מצחף in Arabic…. He had discovered a previously unknown manuscript in the special variety referred to as a “crown.” He wrote, The manuscripts were of varied quality and condition, but some of them were clearly of great importance. In the article, Gottheil undertook documenting dozens of manuscripts housed in the historic Dar Simḥah and other local synagogues for the stated purpose of bringing these treasures to the attention of the scholarly community. It seems that the hugely important and massively sized Cairo Genizah discovered just a few years before had monopolized the interests of traveling scholars. Some of these had been referenced by travelers who had visited the city’s synagogues, but no one had made the effort to document them. In 1905, Semitic language specialist Richard Gottheil published an article in the Jewish Quarterly Review entitled, “Some Hebrew Manuscripts in Cairo,” in which he described dozens of previously unknown “ancient” manuscripts and books. This is its story.Ĭolophon (a writer or publisher’s emblem, sometimes with information about the authorship of the book) from the Zechariah b. It had originally been documented in the early 20th century, but had gone missing decades earlier. ![]() The manuscript discovered by Meital was one of those reference books. By comparing these to more ancient manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, we are able to observe the checks and controls that were utilized to ensure the fidelity of text during the pre-modern era. These complex tools give us a glimpse into the process of how the text of Genesis-Malachi was preserved and transmitted from antiquity, and the mechanics of how accuracy was maintained. It was one of the oldest and best-preserved copies of the Hebrew Bible’s third division, known as “The Writings.” Bibles of the class encountered by Meital were the actual reference works, or guidebooks for professional copyists of the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, in its original language during the late classical through medieval era. What Meital had discovered, or rediscovered, was the “crown” of Zechariah Ben Anan written almost a thousand years earlier. On the back cover of the first wrapping someone had written in Hebrew ‘Gottheil 22.’ I was utterly overwhelmed when, as I unwrapped the dusty cover, hundreds of parchments were exposed.” I noticed several packages on one of its lower shelves, wrapped in white paper, the type that is sometimes used as a table covering at inexpensive restaurants. “While trying to locate the book, I came upon a bookcase that was facing the right entrance door. Meital described the experience of the discovery in a recently published article. The historian had somehow managed to stumble upon a package bearing the name of a famous scholar who had examined and documented dozens of manuscripts in Cairo in 1905. ![]() Written on the cover of one of these in Hebrew lettering, was the phrase, “Gottheil 22.” While in the monumental Moussa Der’i Synagogue, he observed several packages wrapped in white paper and lying on the lower shelves of a bookcase. ![]() ![]() In 2017, an Israeli historian and University Professor named Yoram Meital was in Cairo as part of a project to survey and document the city’s numerous synagogues. Here, we look at Part 1 of a 2-part installment on its discovery, subsequent loss, and rediscovery 112 years later.īlessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Summary: A recent publication on the 2017 rediscovery of a Hebrew manuscript from Cairo, Egypt of a large portion of the Bible has generated excitement over recent months.
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