Manuscript Migration: The Multiple Lives of the Rubenstein Library's Collections

A Discarded Treasure: Hebrew MS013

Hebrew MS 013, Leaf from a Commentary-Masora Hybrid Bible (1 Samuel 13.18–14.21), Recto.

Hebrew MS 013 preserves a single page of what was once a full copy of Samuel, the third book of the Prophets. Connected, perhaps, to the Cairo Genizah (a storeroom in a Jewish synagogue where broken and antiquated manuscripts were kept in Fustat, or Old Cairo, Egypt), this page was donated to Duke by the estate of Ernest A. Muro at his death.

The manuscript’s features, script, material, and layout place it among the French and German Jewish communities of Christian Europe during the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, that is, among the Ashkenazi. Later, vowels and notes were added, perhaps so that Jews situated in the Ottoman Empire, that is, the Sephardim, could employ it for biblical study and recitation. Small clues and faint traces make it possible to trace the likely steps of this folio’s journey from northern Europe to the Ottoman Empire, to a possible genizah in Egypt, and finally, to Durham.

In 2008, this fragment was donated to Duke University by the family of Ernest A. Muro. Muro was an amateur collector with a keen interest in textual criticism; his personal records showed that he purchased the leaf from an online auction.

Research contributed by Abigail Emerson, Doctoral Student in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Duke University.

 

Hebrew MS 013, with sections labeled by Abigail Emerson.

The Masoretes, Jewish scholars from Palestine and Babylonia, added vowels and notes to aid in pronunciation and understanding. At some point, these Masoretic notes were added to Hebrew MS 013, perhaps when it was put to new use in a Sephardic synagogue. This image was created by Abigail Emerson to illustrate how the sections were labeled.

Hebrew MS 013, with damage notes by Abigail Emerson

This image created by Abigail Emerson illustrates damage from mold and water (purple), acidic ink (blue), insects (yellow), tearing (green), quire stress (red), and cutting (orange) may have led to this manuscript’s deposit into a genizah.

Letter from Jacob Jacobovits to Ernest Muro, front.

A letter from antiquarian book dealer Joshua Jacobvits to Ernest Muro upon Muro’s purchase of the manuscript. Jacobvits suggests that the folio was obtained from the Cairo Genizah.

Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info