Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Kirk Lowery" <kelowery AT cs.com>]

On 1 Nov 2000, at 11:10, Søren Holst wrote:

> There are non-Biblical texts in the L manuscript??

Yes, indeed, although not a lot. The bulk of the ms, of course, is the 
biblical text with marginal notes on each side and top and bottom. Next in 
size are the massoretic lists, the so-called massora magna. At the end of 
the ms are two poems, one attributed to Moshe ben Asher, and the other to 
the scribe of L, Shemu'el ben Ya`aqob. Finally, there are 16 illuminated 
"carpet" pages, which contain a substantial portion of "Diqduqe ha- 
te'amim" by ben Asher, which is one of the oldest Hebrew grammatical 
works, written in very small letters (called "micography"). There is also 
a comparison of pronunciation of the Prophets and Haftorah by the 
"Westerners" and the "Easterners," yielding possible meaningful variants, 
and not simple phonological variation (some 250 places).  

Only with the publication of the facsimile has some of the details of this 
wonderful document become generally known outside a narrow circle of text 
and manuscript scholars and their students.

Blessings,

Kirk
________________________________________________________
Kirk E. Lowery, Ph.D.             Email: KELowery AT cs.com
Associate Director                Phone: 215-572-3854
The Westminster Hebrew Institute    Fax: 215-887-5404
Westminster Theological Seminary
P.O. Box 27,009
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