Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yitzhak Sapir" <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On 31/10/2007, at 12:29 AM, K Randolph wrote:

> I have heard from lectures that there was an ancient literary style
> that went out of use about early to mid second millennium BC, the
> title and author were added to the end of a document, instead of at
> the front as is modern practice (since at least the first millennium
> BC to now).

Colophons could appear at the end.  In one of the Greek versions of
Esther, there is a colophon at the end.  See for general review of these
issues here:
1) 
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=classicsfacpub

2) 
http://www.sebts.edu/current_students/academics/viewResource.cfm?ResourceID=%24%22%403%5CR%20%20%20%0A

A translation of the two Greek versions is here:
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/esther.pdf

The colophon is explicitly related to the Ptolemy and Cleopatra, so
colophons at the end of documents could be as late as the Hellenistic
period, if not later.

Yitzhak Sapir