Classical Jewish Texts: from Parchment to the Internet

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Classical Jewish Texts: from Parchment to the Internet

THE ARIZONA CENTER FOR JUDAIC STUDIES THE SHAOL & LOUIS POZEZ MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP SERIES CLASSICAL JEWISH TEXTS: FROM PARCHMENT TO THE INTERNET DATE March 16, 2020 | LOCATION Tucson Jewish Community Center 7:00 pm | 3800 E. River Rd | FREE ADMISSION | OPEN TO ALL PROF. GARY A. RENDSBURG BLANCHE AND IRVING LAURIE CHAIR IN JEWISH HISTORY Ph.D. New York University Over the course of more than two millennia, Jewish texts have transitioned from scroll to codex to book, and now to the digital age. Prof. Gary Rendsburg will survey the classical Jewish sources (Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, Siddur, Haggadah, etc.) from before the age of printing, now available on the internet for the public at large to view, read, and study. His lecture will bring this old new world of Hebrew Studies scholarship to the general community in an accessible manner. He will focus both on the contents of the manuscripts (especially when they diﬀer from later printed editions) and the history of these documents, including their preservation in museums and libraries for centuries, along with the move to greater access in the current digital age. To present just one coming attraction: He will discuss various manuscripts of the Passover Haggadah with two, three, four, and even ﬁve questions! Gary A. Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. His teaching and research focus on 'all things ancient Israel' primarily language and literature, though also history and archaeology. His secondary interests include post-biblical Judaism, the Hebrew manuscript tradition, and Jewish life in the Middle Ages. Prof. Rendsburg is the author of seven books and about 180 articles. In addition, he has produced two programs for the Great Courses program, one on “The Book of Gene- sis” and on “The Dead Sea Scrolls.” Prof. Rendsburg has visited all the major archaeological sites in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan; plus he has excavated at Tel Dor and Caesarea. He previously taught at Cornell University; and he has served as visiting professor or visiting research fellow at UCLA, Colgate University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney, and the Hebrew University. His most recent book is How the Bible Is Written (Hendrickson, 2019), which pays particular attention to the skilled use of the language to create literature. The Pozez Family Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona The Arizona Center for Judiac Studies | judiac.arizona.edu | [email protected] | 520.626.5758.

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How We Got Our Bible Part Three: the Text of the New Testament
How We Got Our Bible Part Three: The Text of the New Testament I. The Nature of New Testament Manuscripts A. Early biblical manuscripts were written on papyrus. B. By the 3d century parchment (leather) became the standard paper for biblical manuscripts. C. Writing was done with pen and ink. The ink was usually brown or black. D. Initially New Testament books were written on Scrolls. E. Around the beginning of the 2d century the codex (modern book) became the main book format. II. The Styles of Writing in New Testament Manuscripts A. Cursive (minuscule) Handwriting B. All-Capitals (uncial) C. Because of the cost of parchment many documents were scraped and washed to be reused for other literature. These are called Palimpsests. They are biblical manuscripts that are written on reused parchment. Of the 263 uncial manuscripts of the New Testament 63 are palimpsests. D. In the early centuries of Christianity the gospels were divided into regular readings for services. Scribes marked the beginning and end of these readings so the lector (reader) knew where to begin and end. These manuscripts of the gospels are called lectionaries (Lindisfarne Gospels). E. The advent of monasteries created a class of monks who became scribes. They worked standing at a writing desk in a room called a scriptorium. This was difficult and tedious work. Some monks even added little sentences at the end of manuscripts such as, “The end of the book; thanks be to God.” F. The monks also added footnotes called colophons which include the name of the scribe and sometimes the date and place of writing.
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Classical Jewish Texts, from Parchment to Internet 1Qisaa
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:._:NA.:..:T:..::U:...::RE=--v.c...:o:..::L.:...::.3=21...::.8.::.c.::Mc..::AY_::._::_:_l986.::..::...._ ______SCIENTIRC CORRESPONDENCE------------ --=•=zt State of preservation of give information of a positive and precise during which collagen has changed to nature on the causes of the variations gelatin may prove to be of great value. the Dead Sea Scrolls found on Dead Sea Scroll samples (some T.B. KAHLE SIR-The article "Dead Sea Scroll parch on the same fragments) which undermine Capricornus School of Book Binding ments: unfolding of the collagen mole their study. As the authors note, we know and Restoration, cules and racemization of aspartic acid" 1 is damage has occurred, but its cause, and Berkeley, of interest since any method which will when it occurred are unknown. California 94701, USA improve on our knowledge of vellum frag Plenderleith' found during the unrolling NICCOLO CALDARARO ments is important. The study on the con of Dead Sea Scroll fragments of cave 1 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, dition and deterioration of vellum which is that certain fragments were permeated and Tiburon Archaeological known to be approximately 2,000 years with a black bituminous substance which Research Group, old is interesting in itself, although the he identified as a decomposition product 1600 Holloway Avenue, identification into goat, calf or sheep as to of the skin. During the unrolling he found San Francisco State University, origin of the material examined' ' would it necessary to dampen the Scrolls which San Francisco, California 94132, USA improve the information resulting from caused this substance to become sticky.
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What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
222 NORTH 20TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103 P 215.448.1200 F 215.448.1235 www.fi.edu PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: STEFANIE SANTO, 215.448.1152 JIMMY CONTRERAS, 267.687.0225 MATT VLAHOS, 267.687.0226 FAQS What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. How old are the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Dead Sea Scrolls date from the 3rd century before the Common Era (BCE) to the 1st century of the Common Era (CE). The scrolls contain some of the oldest-known copies of biblical books, as well as hymns, prayers, and other important writings. How many scrolls were found? Over 100,000 fragments of text were discovered, and scholars have pieced these together into over 900 separate documents. What is the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Dead Sea Scrolls are widely acknowledged to be among the greatest archaeological treasures linking us to the ancient Middle East, and to the formative years of Judaism and Christianity. Over 200 biblical manuscripts are more than a thousand years older than any previously known copies of the Hebrew Bible. In addition, there are scrolls that appear to represent a distinct form of Judaism that did not survive the Roman destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE. These "sectarian scrolls" reveal a fascinating stage of transition between the ancient religion of the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism, as well as the faith that would become the world's largest, Christianity.
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Storage Conditions and Physical Treatments Relating to the Dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls
[RADIOCARBON, VOL. 37, No. 1, 1995, P. 21-32] STORAGE CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL TREATMENTS RELATING TO THE DATING OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS NICCOLO CALDARARO Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, California 94132 USA ABSTRACT. The Dead Sea Scrolls have been analyzed by paleographic, non-destructive and destructive testing. The dates of their creation have been in dispute since their discovery. Research has established their authenticity, but a variety of con- ditions including the methods of skin preparation, variation in storage conditions and post-discovery restoration treatments could have introduced changes now affecting dating efforts. Comprehensive analyses were not possible until recently. Such analysis must be performed to establish a concrete framework for all the texts. Professor R. B. Blake told a story in response to a question of why so little remained of writing on leather. He said that on one of his expedi- tions to Asia Minor, one of his native servants exhibited proudly some chamois trousers of his own manufacture, upon which Professor Blake detected with sorrow, traces of medieval writing (Reed 1972). INTRODUCTION A recent 14C study of 14 Dead Sea Scrolls by Bonani et al. (1992) is a welcome addition to the ana- lytical literature on the Scrolls. The authors have undertaken a more comprehensive sampling than any previous study, an effort that T. B. Kahle and I proposed in an article in Nature in 1986. In that article, we commented on amino acid racemization analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls published by Weiner et al. (1980). Our comments then, as mine now, relate to the potential effects on dating results of prior storage conditions and restoration treatments.
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Marc Michael Epstein (Ed.), <I>Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts.</I> Princeton, NJ: P
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Evolution of the Book
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