Scribal Secrets: Extraordinary Texts in the Torah and Their Implications
Ebook
The text of the Torah includes not only its words, but also various atypical scribal features. Prime among these are the dots over certain letters, various letters written either large or small, and the exceedingly odd placement of two inverted Hebrew letters surrounding one passage. What are these features doing there? How old are they? Do they carry meaning? How have they been interpreted over the years? James Diamond brings the reader on the journey through the Torah text in search of a response to these questions.
“In this, alas posthumous, work, the author invites his readers
to explore with him an area of Hebrew Bible studies that is often
ignored, namely that of the para-textual markings in the Torah
text: the dotted words, large and small letters, and much more. In
an engaging and non-technical style, the author guides the reader
through the multitude of explanations that have been advanced over
the years to explain these singular scribal curiosities. This book
is warmly recommended for anyone interested in the text of the
Torah and printed editions of the Hebrew Bible.”
—David Marcus, Jewish Theological Seminary
“A remarkably readable discussion of several obscure markings in
Torah scrolls and the Hebrew Bible that are overlooked by most
readers. Diamond (z.l.) has set aside the ‘numbingly technical’
analysis of these extraordinary points—dots marking ten words in
the Torah, large and small letters, inverted nuns—and guides us
through the many ways these phenomena have been interpreted by
rabbis and exegetes.”
—Harold P. Scanlin, United Bible Societies Consultant (Emeritus) on
Scholarly Editions and Helps
James S. Diamond (d. 2013) had a distinguished career in two
fields: as a Hillel rabbi on various elite U.S. campuses, and as a
teacher of Hebrew literature and comparative literature at those
same universities. His most recent position was at Princeton
University (retired 2004).
Robert Goldenberg is Professor Emeritus of History and Jewish
Studies at Stony Brook University.
Gary A. Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor
of Jewish History at Rutgers University.
Reviews
1 rating
Rob
11/16/2024
Who would have guessed that reading about scribal habits could be so engaging. You will be introduced to aspects of the written Hebrew text that cannot be translated yet may convey some hermeneutical significance. Large and small lettering, dots over words, reverse lettering, these non-phonetic or non-lexical graphemes communicate meaning in a non-verbal way and are differentiated from vowel pointing, punctuation marks, and cantillation signs added later. The author discusses extra-ordinary Hebrew texts and the scribal habits of the First Temple, Second Temple and Early Middle Ages.
