Ɵ Hebrew Bible, manuscript on parchment [Near East (Egypt or Palestine), 11th/12th century]

Ɵ Substantial fragment from two closely related codices of the Hebrew Bible, with the short weekly readings from 2 Kings and the Major and Minor Prophets, in Hebrew, manuscript on parchment[Near East (most probably Egypt or Palestine), eleventh century, or just perhaps early twelfth century] 24 leaves, each with single column of approximately 13 lines in Hebrew square script, with nikkud, headings in larger version of same script or in calligraphic flourishes in margin, some more modern (probably early twentieth-century) pencil marks, scuffs and slight damage to edges of leaves, else good condition, first 4 leaves full size:185 by 130mm., and remaining leaves with upper and lower margins slightly trimmed, thus:170 by 130mm.; cloth-covered card binding (one gathering bound upside down) A substantial fragment of a remarkably early Hebrew Bible with a provenance that definitively stretches back to the celebrated Cairo Genizah; and perhaps a hitherto unrecognised part of a sister codex to that sold in our rooms on 6 July 2016 Provenance: 1. Most probably written for use by the Jewish community of Fustat, Cairo, in either the eleventh or early twelfth century. Owel David pronounced the bifolium once in the Sassoon collection as definitely from the Cairo Genizah and "not later than the 11th century" (Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the Sassoon Library, 1932, I, pp. 27-28; it had been acquired by Sassoon in Egypt in 1922).2. Thereafter most probably entering the famous Cairo Genizah, the repository of the Jewish community located in the Ben Ezra Synagogue of Fustat (on this see lot 14), and among the leaves that spilled out onto the market after the discovery of the hoard at the end of the nineteenth century until Solomon Schechter secured the bulk of it for Cambridge University. The discovery captivated public imagination in Europe in a way comparable only to the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. For half a century, until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, these were the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known.3. Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London, their MS 2083/1, acquired piece by piece in Sotheby's, 5 December 1995, lot 27; 18 June 1996, lot 41; and again 2 December 1997, lot 86. A further bifolium with readings from the Psalms, and with its borders trimmed away, was in the 5th sale of the collection of David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942) at Sotheby's, 21 June 1994, lot 1 (part 9 of a composite bound manuscript [Sassoon MS 566], and now Schøyen MS 1858/9, and thus remaining with that sammelband). Text:From a remarkably early and important Hebrew Biblical codex, used for ritual weekly readings. If this fragmentary codex dates to the eleventh century then it is among the very earliest witnesses to the Hebrew Bible. If instead it is of the twelfth century then it is a direct contemporary of Maimonides (born 1135 Spain, moved to Fustat in 1168, dying there in 1204), and certainly the codex was there when he was head of the Jewish community in Fustat, working on the Mishneh Torah. It seems very likely that he saw, and perhaps even used, these leaves.Another fragment of 127 leaves from a contemporary Hebrew Bible also from Egypt, was sold in our rooms on 6 July 2016 (lot 45, realising £86,800). That was tentatively attributed to the Cairo Genizah and of near identical measurements to the present leaves. The hands of these two sections of small codices are distinct, but extremely close, and crucially the texts do not overlap. Moreover, at least two scribes were involved in the production of the present leaves. Thus, these leaves and those sold in 2016 may well be sections of a large series of volumes once used in Fustat, and divided up after the discovery of the Genizah there. If so, the present leaves are of great importance to the whole in securely locating them in the Cairo Genizah, and it should be noted that those sold in 2016 were of significant textual importance, containing a textual tradition otherwise known from only one Yemenite sixteenth-century codex.The leaves here contain readings from: 2 Kings 5:18-20; Ezekiel 22:1-5; Hosea 2:5-15; Joshua 2:16-24; Judges 11:2-12; Micah 5:10-6:8; 1 Samuel 1:20-2:12; 3:19-20; 1 Kings 7:44-51; Isaiah 43:21; 43:27; 2 Kings 7:1-14; Zechariah 2:16-17; 3:1-10; 14:4-14; Joshua 2:14-24; Micah 5:11-14; 6:1-8; 1 Kings 18:46; 19:1-21; Jeremiah 1:1-19; 2:4-9; Isaiah 1:1-27; 1 Samuel 1:2-15; Jeremiah 2:4-19; 9:22; 30:4-22; and Isaiah 1:1.To view a video of this item, click here.