Manchester. The John Rylands Library, Gaster Hebrew MS 86
- Source
- Manchester Digital Collections
- Library
- The John Rylands Library
- Shelfmark
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- Gaster Hebrew MS 86
- Biblissima authority file
- Language
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- Hebrew
- Judeo-Persian
- Aramaic
- Title
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- Ketuvim (כתובים | Writings (Hebrew Bible))
- Agent
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- Preferred form
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- Jacob ben Obadiah ben Joseph ben Ezra (14..-15..?)
- Role
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- Scribe
- Original form
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- Jacob ben Obadiah ben Joseph ben Ezra
- Ya'aqov ben 'Ovadiah ben Yosef ben 'Ezrah
- יעקב בן עובדיה בן יוסף בן עזרה
- Biblissima authority file
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- Preferred form
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- Moses Gaster (1856-1939)
- Role
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- Former owner
- Original form
-
- Moses Gaster
- Gaster, Moses 1856-1939
- Biblissima portal
- Biblissima authority file
-
- Description
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- Extent:
293 ff. (ii+293+ii) Leaf height: 256 mm, width: 182 mm. Written height: 170-180 mm, width: 116-120 mm. Ruled height: 170 mm, width: 115 mm.
Binding:
Modern three-quarter brown leather binding with gold tooling on the spine reading "HAGIOGRAPHA / SAEC. XV. / WITH / PERSIAN GLOSSAR. / COD. HEBR. / GASTER 86".
Decoration:
Folio 17a: Marginal indication of parashah decorated in ink.
Folios 111b, 230a, 239b, 246a, 249b, 252b, 255b, 258b, 267b, 270a, 277b, 281a: Marginal indication of sedarim decorated in ink.
Folio 41b: Red ink geometric design.
Folios 89a, 104a, 107b, 126b, 194a: Black ink decoration that indicates the middle of the book.
Acquisition:
Acquired by The John Rylands Library from the heirs of Moses Gaster in 1954.
Layout:
Long line of between 15 and 19 written lines. There is ruling, but it is unclear whether this was created with a mistara or by hand. Unruled marginal glosses.
Collation:
Decorated diagonal catchwords placed at the bottom left of side b of each folio.
Script:
Persian semi-cursive script.The Judeo-Persian glosses are in the same hand, in Persian cursive script.
Data Source(s):
Description based on Alexander Samely's unpublished draft catalogue, revised and expanded by Stefania Silvestri and Renate Smithuis.
Subject(s):
Bible. Old Testament--Versions, Jewish; Astrology; Astronomy; Bible Commentaries
Abstract:
This manuscript contains the third part of the Hebrew Bible known as Writings (Ketuvim) with numerous marginal glosses in Hebrew and Judeo-Persian. It was copied by Jacob ben Obadiah ben Joseph ben Ezra in the school of Rabbi Mordechai in Kashan in Iran at the request of Rav Samuel ha-Levi. He completed his copy on Tuesday 2 July 1495. The order in which the Bible books appear is as follows: Psalms (folios 1b-72b), Proverbs (folios 73a-101b), Ruth (folios 102b-105b), Song of Songs (folios 105b-109b), Ecclesiastes (folios 109b-117a), Lamentations (folios 117b-121b), Esther (folios 122b-131a), Daniel (folios 131b-150a), Ezra (folios 150b-161b), Nehemiah (folios 161b-179a), Job (folios 179a-209b), 1 and 2 Chronicles (folios 209b-290b). The biblical text is vocalised and accompanied by masorah. According to Moses Gaster, this is a unique manuscript showing the vocalisation and accentuation tradition of Ben Naphtali.
Foliation:
Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals at the top outer corner of side a of each folio.
Format:
Codex
Material:
Paper
Provenance:
Folio 1a: Several ownership marks in Hebrew, mentioning such names as Judah, Isaac, Ezra.
Folios 1a, 290b and 291a: Owner's stamp in Hebrew.
Condition:
The codex was conserved (possibly at the beginning of the 20th century); reinforcing strips of paper were added both in the gutter and at the outer edges of several folios. The remaining folios have irregular edges. Folio 188 is torn at the bottom, with some text loss.
Additions:
In later hands: Folios 65b-66a: Pen trial.Folio 70a: Erased addition.Folios 124a-126b: Small additions in the margins.Folios 290b-293a: Several texts in different hands and languages. According to Gaster they contain abstracts from Rashi’s commentary to certain Psalms and folio 293a some aggadic matter referring to the kings of Judah.Folio 293b: list of zodiacal signs and of planets in Hebrew and Judeo-Persian.
Note(s):
With Tiberian vocalisation and masorah parva and magna (see for example folios 32a-37b, 39b). On folio 1a the same main hand added a note which includes (1) the order of the prophets and writings according to Maimonides, which curiously is then not followed in the manuscript, and (2) a list of biblical accents introduced by the Persian heading ("these are the names of the accents"). Folio 82b: The unvocalised text in the box (Proverbs 12.24-13.3) represents a copying mistake, as Proverbs 11.28 precedes and Proverbs 11.29 follows.
Excerpts:
Colophon: Folio 291a:נשלם זה ספר א"י כתובים בעזרת שדי שוכן / בין כרובים בתלאתה בשבא דהוא יום חד / לירח תמוז בשנת אתת"ו לשטרות במאתא / דכאשאן שבח לאל אחרון וראשון בבית מדרשו / של הרב הגדול המעוז המגדול הדיין הדרשן זרע / אברהם נין יצחק נכד יעקב מרדכי הזמן ישראל / בימיו לא אלמן אור מזרח שם אוהביו יפרח ושם / איביו ימח אור מערב שמש זרעו אל יערב הההה"ה / הרב ר׳ הש"ם הלוי זלה"ה במשרת של החכם / הנבון מלא מצוה כרמון עמו בימיו לא / אלמן בזכותו יבנה בית ארמון מנה בר / מנה נזריז בתורה המהיר בהלכה הרב / המתיר כל קשה סופר מהיר בתורת משה / הרב ר׳ שמואל הלוי יש"ל על יד הצעיר / העני עפר רגלי כל זרע ישורון 〚יעקב〛 / מתלמידיו יעקב בן החסיד עובדיה / בן הצדיק המרוחם מר' העניו יוסף / בן עזרה נעג"א הרחמן ישים / אחריתי טוב מראשיתי לקיים / והיה ראשיתך מצער ואחריתך / ישגה מאד אוי"ר / מאנכ"ח
- Extent:
- Rights
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