Brill

The Hebrew Ben Asher Bible Manuscripts

Author(s): Paul Kahle
Source: Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 1, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1951), pp. 161-167
Published by: Brill
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1515858
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THE HEBREW BEN ASHER BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS
BY

PAUL KAHLE
Oxford

Dr. TEICHERrecentlypublishedan article1) in which he seriously

questions the authenticityof the four Ben-AsherBible Manuscripts.
Various leading scholars in this country and elsewhere have ap-
proachedme on thissubjectsincethatarticleappeared and have asked
me to writea reply. It seems to me that TEICHER'S articleis based
on insufficient materialand a number of inaccuratepublished state-
ments. This is particularlysurprisingas he knew that I had at my
disposal the complete material available, and I would have been
pleased to let him work on thismaterial,just as I had put the material
at thedisposal of several otherscholars.In factI showed to TEICHER
some yearsago severalofmyphotos and discussedwith him a number
of problems.I shall deal herewiththefourmanuscriptsin succession.
1-THE CAIRO CODEX OF THE PROPHETS

I have not seen the codex myself,but at my request a photo of

the codex was taken in Cairo with the kind help of the famous eye
specialistMax MEYERHOF,Dr. med. et Dr. phil. h.c. On the basis
of this photographI was able to deal with the codex quite differently
from people before me, who saw the codex under somewhat un-
favourableconditionsin the synagogue of the Karaites in Cairo, as
for instanceIbn SAPHIRwho was the firstto describethe codex, or
as GOTTHEIL, who, after having obtained a few photographs, dealt
more with the dirtinessand the superstitionof the people who sur-
rounded him when he was stayingin the synagogue than with the
codex itself.On the basis of the complete text of which I have the
photo at my disposal, I should make the-following statements:
1-The codex is not incomplete,but contains the complete text
of the Former and Later Prophets,fromthe firstto the last word.
2-The text of the codex is not writtenby differentpersons,
but by one and the same hand, from the beginning to the end,
very accurately.
1) TheJournal Studies,II (1950) pp. 17-25.
ofJewish
Vetus Testamentum I I

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162 PAUL KAHLE

3-The codex does not contain fragmentsof other texts, but

some appendices have been added by the copyisthimself,as is quite
usual in Biblical manuscripts.We find here afterthe last page of
the Biblical text (p. 581):
a) on p. 582 an enumerationof the number of verses in the books
of the Bible.
b) on p. 583 a paragraph(18 lines), headed by Sederha-Miqra,com-
posed by Moshe, laterused by Ahron b. Asheras an introduction
to his Diqduqe ha-Te'amim(? 2), afterthe blessings and benedic-
tions in ? 1. Cf. GINSBURG,Introduction, p. 983.
c) on p. 584 a list of the Prophets who prophesied on Israel, chro-
nologicallyarranged. This is
list nottakenfromSeder Olam Rabba.
4-The colophon on p. 585, (cf. Cairo Geniza, p. 110) concerning
Ya'bes, the son of the late Shelomo ha-Babli, is writtenin 18 short
lines in the middle of the page and is decorated on both sides with
designs. It is surroundedby appreciationsand blessingssuch as con-
tained in Jos i 8, Is lviii 11, lix 21. These verses formthe rectangle
in which the colophon is enclosed. Above and below the rectangle
we find small squares standingon edge, formedby the text of Ps
cxxi 7f and Deut xxviii 3f. From theseBiblical verses devoted to him
we may conclude thatYa'bes was a wealthyman,probablythe owner
of a large estate, who had been priviledged (by God) to produce
the codex for himselfin order to study in it, (with the means he
had won) by his work and the labour of his hands and the sweat
of his face, for the honour of the God of Israel ... ^3y ^:TV
;," D
IIDR nyVli 1'PE y1r7l i^nyn1i nlm^rlny10inl nwmrv
The words used here occur again in the Leningrad codex
on the first page of the manuscript,where we read: nTIZt-I^
nywiT 1'D3 PUoi 1oriny
n ^ 10^ i
nlnr no ryr...mpI3D
'DKt.These words are clearelytechnicaltermsused in the colophons
ofthattime.The meaningis in both cases the same. Justas thereis no
doubt thatthe Leningradcodex was writtenin A.D. 1008 or 1009 in
Cairo forMeborak by Shemuel b. Ya'kob, therecan be no doubt that
the Cairo codex was writtenin A.D. 895 in Tiberias for Ya'bes by
Moshe b. Asher.
5-The colophon of Moshe b. Asher with the date of the codex
(Cairo Geniga, p. 111) follows on p. 586. The pages 585 and 586
are the two sides of the same folio. The ink of the ornamentson p.
585 and a part of the scriptof p. 586 has come throughon the other

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 THE HEBREW BEN ASHER BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS 163

side. It is verylikelythatp. 585 is the recto side and p. 586 the verso
side of the folio. But this can be stated with certaintyonly afteran
inspection of the original.
6-The codex ends on p. 587 with a decorated arch. The last
page (588) has been left blank by the copyist. A later hand added
a note that this codex of the Prophets was given to the synagogue
of the Karaites in Jerusalemby Ya'bes b. Shelomo. Similar notes
are to be found on pages 582 and 583 (Cairo Geniza p. 121-4). A
note in cursive Hebrew on p. 581 (Cairo Genigap. 114) reportsthat
the present codex of the Prophets was given to the synagogue of
the Karaites in Cairo by the great lord David, son of the great lord
Yephet, known as al-Iskandari.
7-There is no reason to doubt that the codex was written,as
indicated in the colophon on p. 586, by Moshe b. Asher in the
year 827 afterthe destructionof the 'House', i.e. the Temple, which
correspondsto A.D. 895. The type of scriptused in the colophons
of ancient Hebrew manuscriptsof the Bible, unlike the practicein
later non biblical Hebrew manuscripts,is rarelythe same as that
used forthetextoftheBible itself.When Adolph NEUBAUERattempt-
ed to date the codex in the 11th century,he was followingSeligman
BAERand his 'Meteg-Setzung'.In turn,WICKES regarded BAER as a
greatauthorityand NEUBAUERdid not dare to say anythingagainst
these men. At that time there was little materialavailable for an
accurate dating of these early manuscripts.

2-THE ALEPPO CODEX

The difficultyin dealing with this codex is the fact that we have
no photo of it, except the one page published by WICKES in 1887.
Umberto CASSUTO who is preparing a new edition of the
Ben Asher text in Jerusalem,was in Aleppo a few years
ago, in
order to study the codex. He also was unable to obtain permission
to take a photo of the codex. The chiefsof the communityare
very
superstitiousand were convinced that all the curses writtenin the
book would fallupon themif theyagreed to allow such a profanation
as to photographthecodex. But CASUTTOwas able to studythe codex
thoroughlyfor a long time. He is the firstmodern scholar who had
the opportunityof doing so, and he will have been the last one if
the news of the destructionof the codex is confirmed.We are there-
fore dependent for this codex on the informationCASSUTOhas to

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164 PAUL KAHLE

give, and everythingthat has been said before on the codex has
to be regarded in the main as antiquated.
CASSUTOhas not any doubt that the Aleppo codex is a real Ben
Asher codex and he agrees with me that it has to be regarded as
one of the four codices which are to be taken as the chiefbasis for
an edition of the Ben Asher text of the Hebrew Bible. But he had
serious doubts whether this codex was the very text which has
been seen by Maimonides in Old Cairo. The traditionis fairlyold,
he says,but it is not confirmed,
and by studyingthe codex thoroughly
he came to the conclusion that it is not very likely that it is this
codex to which Maimonides refers.
There is no point in discussingthese mattersagain. We will have
to await the informationthat CASSUTOis able to give us. As for
TEICHER he writes to me: "Non sono per niente persuaso dei
ragionamentidel Dr. TEICHER nell' ultimo fascicolo del Journal
of Jewish Studies."
3-THE LENINGRAD CODEX B 19a

I have examinedthiscodex in thePublic Libraryat Leningradin the

autumn 1926, and it was sent, at my request, to Germanyfor two
years. Excellent photos were taken at Leipzig which served as the
basis for the edition of the Biblia Hebraica, and prints of these
photos are at my disposal. The suggestion that anythingin this
codex or in the colophon had been altered by FIRKOWITSCHcan
not be taken seriously.I have had a good experiencein such kind
of alterations,and HARKAVYwas a special expert in these matters.
On fol 479v, Shemuel b. Ya'kob declares in his colophon, that
he copied, vocalized and provided with Masora his text according
to the correctand clear books made by the Melammed Ahron b.
Moshe b. Asher. He does not mentionthe manuscriptor the manu-
scriptsused by him, but even if he had done so it would not have
been a great help to us since such textsare not at our disposal to-
day. But the codex shows on everyline that the copyistwas a great
expertin these matters,and therecan be no doubt thathe produced
a kind of definitivetext of the Ben Asher school which can be
claimed to be the result of the effortsof the Ben Asher familyon
the text of the Bible.
What is the genuine Ben-Asher text? CASSUTOwho has now
been preparing for many years his new edition of the Hebrew
Bible, writesto me: "II mio intentoe di ricostruireper quanto pos-

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 THE HEBREW BEN ASHER BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS 165

sibile il testo dei Ben Asher nella sua forma definitiva,attraverso

il confrontodi diversi manuscrittifra cui quello del Cairo, quello
di Aleppo, quello di Leningrado, il Londinense Or 4445, e qualche
frammento della stessa scuola." That is a basis which st -ms
to be quite reasonableforhis purposes to publish a reliable text t,L
the general public, based on critical principles, but without any
criticalnotes. For a criticaledition of the textit is necessaryto quote
occasionally various readings from other Ben-Asher texts. By
studying these texts we can see that there are little differences
between the text fixed by the fatherMoshe and the son Ahron,
and that the son Ahron himselfchanged his ideas in details during
his lifetime.That the text produced by him in his later days was
not exactlythe same as his earlier text, is proved by the book of
Mishael b. 'Uzziel on the differencesbetween Ben Asher and Ben
Naftali. I have dealt with that book in Masoretendes WestensII, p.
61*f. Lazar LIPSCHUTZ,one of my pupils in Bonn, published a part
of the book in his Thesis on the basis of the Leningrad fragments
and a Paris fragment:Ben Aser - Ben Naftali. Der Bibeltextder
tiberischenMasoreten.Eine Abhandlung desMischaelb. cUVZiel,veroffent-
lichtund untersucht, Bonn 1935. Photographs of the Leningradfrag-
ments and a complete list of the differencesbetween the two
Masoretes, made by LIPSCHUTZ from the fragmentsof the book
of Mishael are at my disposal. LIPSCHUjTZhas shown that great
parts of the book, translatedinto Hebrew, were taken over by
Yusif of Constantinoplein his book Adat Deborim,of which the
only existingcopy, dated A.D. 1207, is in Leningrad (II. Firk. 161).
This manuscriptwas sentover to Bonn at my request,and LIPSCHUTZ
was able to supplyfromit a fewsmalllacunaein Mishael's book which
were missingin the Leningrad fragments.Another pupil of mine,
Harry LEVY, made a special investigationof Adat Deborim which
unfortunately could not be finished.He pointed out thatin the book
a controversywas reportedbetween Jona b. Ganah and Moshe b.
Gikatilla. As the name of the firstwas followed by the eulogy for-
mula which was missingafterthe name of the second, he concluded
that Adat Deborim must have been composed between about A.D.
1050 and 1080. As greatpartsof Mishael's book, in a Hebrew trans-
lation,were taken over in Adat Deborim(fromfol 39r of the Lenin-
grad manuscriptonwards), the book of Mishael must have been
finishedbefore 1050, probablymuch earlier.On the other hand the
book must have been composed afterthe death of the two Maso-

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166 PAUL KAHLE

retes,whose names are always followed by the eulogy formula.So

we have as date for the composition of Mishael's book the time
betweenabout A.D. 950 and 1050, and it is verylikelythatthe book
was alreadycomposed in the second halfof the 10thcentury.Mishael
is extremelywell informedon the littledetails of theirreadingsand
he often reportsthat the two Masoretes fixedin their earlier time
a reading which they later changed to another reading.
It is clearthatin this list with some 800 variantreadingsthrough-
out the whole Bible we have an excellent test for manuscripts
vocalized by Abu Sa'id Ahron b. Moshe b. Asherand those vocalized
by Moshe b. David b. Naftali. I had asked LIPSCHtTZ to compare
the readings of the Leningrad codex in Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah
and Psalms with those indicatedin Mishael's list, and he writes on
p. 7 of his book: ,,Die Kollation hat folgendes iiberraschendeRe-
sultat ergeben. Bei 39 untersuchtenStellen in der Genesis zeigte
die HandschriftB 19a nur eine geringfiigigeVariante. Von allen
146 untersuchtenHillufim stimmtedie Handschriftin 138 Fallen
mit den Lesarten des Ben Asher nach den Angaben Mishael b.
cUzziel's iiberein.Nur in 8 Fallen waren ganz unwesentlicheVari-
anten zu verzeichnen. Im Gegensatz zu allen andern bekannten
Listen, die, wie schon GINSBURG(Introduction p. 278) gezeigt hat,
zu keiner Bibelhandschriftstimmen,decken sich die Lesarten des
Ben Asher in unserer Abhandlung mit der altesten erreichbaren
Handschriftder ganzen Bibel, die nun ihrerseitswiederdurch die
Listen in unsererAbhandlungdie Bestatigungals Ben-Asher-Rezen-
sion findet."There can reallybe no doubt that the Leningrad codex
containsa textregardedas a Ben Asher textby an expertlike Mishael
b. 'Uzziel in about A.D. 1000. This kind of text must be regarded
as the verytextused by the leading Jewishauthorsin the tenthand
the following centuries.I have already referredsome time ago to
an experience I had with the late David HERZOG, formerlya
professorat Graz University.He asked me when studying an an-
cient manuscriptof a grammaticaltreatiseof Ibn Ezra in the Bod-
leian Library,whetherI could explain to him how it was possible
that the quotations from the Bible in his manuscriptnever agreed
exactlywiththe textin our printedBibles. I suggestedthathe should
compare the Ben Asher text as published in the Biblia Hebraica.
He did so and found Ibn Ezra's quotations in exact agreementwith
that text. This experimentcan be made by anyone provided that
he studies these textsin ancientmanuscripts,because in the printed

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 THE HEBREW BEN ASHER BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS 167

editionsofthetextsthequotationsfromtheBible are generallybrought

into agreementwith the text of the printed Bibles 1).
We must suppose that many of the manuscriptsof the Hebrew
Bible writtenbetween A.D. 900 and 1100 representin the main
the Ben Asher text,and I may referto the 14 Leningradmanuscripts
of which I published facsimilesand descriptionsin Masoretendes
WestensI, p. 56f. The list of Mishael b. 'Uzziel and the text of the
Leningrad Ms B 19a are excellenttests for the investigationof such
manuscripts.
4-THE BRITISH MUSEUM CODEX OR. 4445
This manuscriptof the Tora is incompleteat the beginningand
the end, and no colophon is preserved. GINSBURG dealt with the
manuscriptunderthe misconceptionthattheBen Chaiyimtextwas on
the whole identical with the Ben Asher text, and G. MARGOLIOUTHde-
pended on GINSBURG and on the ,Meteg Setzung' of Seligman BAER.
On the margin of the manuscript,the great master Ben Asher'
is mentioned several times. As the eulogy formula is not added
to the name, we may conclude that the manuscriptwas written
before his death. Ben Asher was obviously the great authorityfor
the copyist,and that he reallycopied a Ben Asher text,is confirmed
by the book of Mishael b. 'Uzziel. Of the 'differences'(hillufim)
indicatedby him, 69 referto verses preservedin the London manus-
script.In 57 instances(includingone, Nu ix 19, on the supplemented
fol. 128 of the manuscript)the text is in complete agreementwith
the readingindicatedby Mishael as that of Ben Asher. In the other
12 instances a Meteg is added whereby the text is brought into
agreement with the reading indicated by Mishael as that of Ben
Naftali.
When dealing with Exodus xx 3, Mishael remarksthat Ben Asher
in his earlierperiod added a Meteg under the firstJod of the word
rpr",,which he later omitted. The London codex shows at this
place the reading of the earlier Ben Asher, the Leningrad codex
the reading of the later Ben Asher.
I am fullyaware that the Ben Asher manuscriptsstill offermany
problems.But I should emphasisethat any discussion of themmust
be based on the studyof the originalsand not on suggestionsmade
concerning them.
1) Some specimensofthatkindI have given in the book TheEarliestEditions
oftheHebrew Bible,byLazarusGOLDSCHMIDT, witha Treatise
ontheoldest
Manuscripts
of theBible,by Paul KAHLE.Aldus Book Company,New York, 1950, p. 48 f.

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