Description
Book SynopsisIn Sefer Tagin Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, Marc Michaels transcribes and recreates fragments of arguably the earliest found manuscript of the manual for sofrim (scribes) concerning the decorative tagin (tittles) and 'strange' letter forms that adorn certain words in the Torah. Comparing these found fragments against other core and secondary sources of Sefer Tagin (including several pages of a new secondary source), Michaels establishes the most likely readings to assist the reconstruction of the fragments and shed light on the original intention of the author of Sefer Tagin.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Assigned Sigla List of Figures, Tables and Reconstructions Note on Transliteration 1 Introduction 1 The ‘Strange Letters’, Visual midrash and Sefer Tagin 2 A Brief Introduction to tagin 3 Sefer Tagin—A Manual for sofrim (Scribes) 4 The Corpus of Textual Witnesses to Sefer Tagin—Core and Secondary Sources 5 Some Example Uses in Sifrey Torah 6 Adding to the Core Corpus, Oxford Bodleian MS. Heb. d. 33/3 (fol. 9), a Known Fragment from the Cairo Genizah 2 A New (Partial) Witness 1 T-S D1.42—Two New Pages from a Version of Sefer Tagin Identified from the Cairo Genizah 2 Dating and Locating T-S D1.42 3 Identifying Additional Joins, T-S AS 139.152, T-S NS 287.11 and T-S AS 139.144 4 An Additional Find, a Secondary Source T-S Misc. 24.182 from the Cairo Genizah 5 Dating T-S Misc. 24.182 3 Transcription and Analysis 1 Diacritical Conventions 2 Digital Composition and Font Construction Part 1 4 Critical Analysis of T-S D.142 1 End of Listing of Instances for the First Special Letter he Form 2 Description and Example Forms of the First Special Letter he 3 Description and Example Forms of the Second Special Letter he 4 Listing of Instances for the Second Special Letter he 5 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter vav 6 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter vav 7 Description and Example Forms of the First Special Letter zayin 8 Listing of Instances for the First Special Letter zayin 9 Description and Example Forms of the Second Special Letter zayin 10 Listing of Instances for the Second Special Letter zayin 11 Description and Example Forms of the First Special Letter ḥet 12 Listing of Instances for the First Special Letter ḥet 13 Description and Example Forms of the Second Special Letter ḥet 14 Listing of Instances for the Second Special Letter ḥet 15 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter ṭet 16 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter ṭet 17 Summary—T-S D1.42 Part 2 5 Analysis and Reconstruction of Joined Fragments 1 Reconstruction of Additional Pages of Our New Core Source 2 Continuing the Listing for the Special Letter ṭet 3 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter yod 4 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter yod 5 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter kaf 6 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter kaf 7 Description and Example Forms of the First Special Letter kaf sofit 8 Listing of Instances for the First Special Letter kaf sofit 9 Description and Example Forms of the Second Special Letter kaf sofit 10 Listing of Instances for the Second Special Letter kaf sofit 11 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter lamed 12 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter lamed 13 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter mem 14 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter mem 15 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter mem sofit 16 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter mem sofit 17 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter nun 18 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter nun 19 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter tav 20 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter tav 21 Conclusion of Sefer Tagin 22 Summary—CG Joined Fragments Part 3 6 Oxford Bodleian MS. Heb. 33/3 (fol. 9) 1 Critical Analysis of MS. Heb. d. 33/3 2 Continuing the Listing for the Special Letter nun 3 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter nun sofit 4 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter nun sofit 5 The ‘Upside Down’ nun sofit of Haran 6 Continuing the Listing for the Special Letter nun sofit 7 Description and Example Forms of the Special Letter samekh 8 Listing of Instances for the Special Letter samekh 9 Description and Example Forms of the First Special Letter ʿayin 10 Listing of Instances for the First Special Letter ʿayin 11 Summary—Oxford Heb. 33/9 Appendix 1: Transcription and Annotation of T-S Misc. 24.182 Appendix 2: Enhanced Imagery of Sefer Tagin from Sassoon 82 (JUD. 022) Bibliography
