Medieval scribal procedures for writing the Tetragrammaton
Some medieval scribes left blank spaces for the Tetragrammaton in Torah scrolls, to be filled in during a second stage of writing. Medieval rabbinic literature gives various reasons for delaying the writing of the divine name: the scribe was distracted or needed ritual immersion, or the absence of a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Journal of Jewish studies
Year: 2022, Volume: 73, Issue: 1, Pages: 65-88 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Some medieval scribes left blank spaces for the Tetragrammaton in Torah scrolls, to be filled in during a second stage of writing. Medieval rabbinic literature gives various reasons for delaying the writing of the divine name: the scribe was distracted or needed ritual immersion, or the absence of a prayer quorum. An early antecedent to this practice is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The practice is then anticipated in a baraita, which refers to writing multiple divine names. The Jerusalem Talmud, or an interpolation therein, interprets the baraita as referring to writing multiple divine appellations in a row. However, the Tosefta and Babylonian version of Soperim interpret the baraita as referring to the filling in of God’s name in noncontiguous blank spaces during a second stage of writing, attesting to this procedure during the silent years between the Dead Sea Scrolls and medieval Torah scrolls. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-6689 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Jewish studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18647/3523/jjs-2022 |