Hebrew Bible of 1299
Type:
Bibles,
Illuminated manuscripts
Date:
1299
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Dimensions:
32.1 × 23.7 cm
Description:
This Bible (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS hébreu 7) bears an unusually informative colophon on fol. 512v:
The first pages (such as fol. 2v) contain masoretic texts under a painted arcade. These authoritative notes about the correct spelling and grammar of the biblical text were disseminated by scholars between the seventh and tenth centuries. Fol. 14r has micrography in the form of an interlaced, six-pointed star; a much later sticker proclaims later Christian ownership. Two of the fully illuminated carpet pages(fols. 12v–13r) feature golden implements and furnishings of the Temple in Jerusalem, including, at the top left on fol. 12v, the Ten Commandments inscribed on two tablets kept in the Ark of the Covenant.
Another two-page opening (fols. 11v–12r) has eye-like motifs arranged in a dense micrographic grid. These pages may evoke the "wise who are full of eyes," who penetrate the secrets of the Torah "through the garment"—phrases drawn from the Zohar, a mystical text produced in Castile (Spain) in the late thirteenth century. The Zohar is the foundational text of the Jewish esoteric literature known collectively as the Kabbalah (Cabala).
I, Solomon, son of Raphael, wrote this book for myself, and placed in it the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Hagiographers in a single volume. I finished it here, in the city of Perpignan, in the month of Sivan, the day after Shavuot in the year five thousand and fifty-nine of the creation of the world [1299 CE]. May God in His mercy fulfill for me, my descendants, and the descendants of my descendants the verse that says: 'This book of Doctrine must not leave your mouth, you shall meditate on it day and night in order to observe carefully all its contents; for only then will you prosper in your ways, only then will you be happy' [Joshua 1:8] and also the one that says: 'My son, do not forget my teaching; let your heart retain my recommendations. For they will win you long days, years of life and peace' [Proverbs 3:1-2]. Amen, amen.The Jews of Perpignan, in southern France, were strongly influenced by artistic and cultural traditions of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, known in Hebrew as Sepharad (a term adopted from Obadiah 1:20). This Iberian-Jewish culture is called Sephardic. Germany and eastern Europe are known in Hebrew as Ashkenaz, and their cultural products are called Ashkenazic.
The first pages (such as fol. 2v) contain masoretic texts under a painted arcade. These authoritative notes about the correct spelling and grammar of the biblical text were disseminated by scholars between the seventh and tenth centuries. Fol. 14r has micrography in the form of an interlaced, six-pointed star; a much later sticker proclaims later Christian ownership. Two of the fully illuminated carpet pages(fols. 12v–13r) feature golden implements and furnishings of the Temple in Jerusalem, including, at the top left on fol. 12v, the Ten Commandments inscribed on two tablets kept in the Ark of the Covenant.
Another two-page opening (fols. 11v–12r) has eye-like motifs arranged in a dense micrographic grid. These pages may evoke the "wise who are full of eyes," who penetrate the secrets of the Torah "through the garment"—phrases drawn from the Zohar, a mystical text produced in Castile (Spain) in the late thirteenth century. The Zohar is the foundational text of the Jewish esoteric literature known collectively as the Kabbalah (Cabala).
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• The whole manuscript is digitized on the Gallica website.
Image Credits:
Bibliothèque nationale de France
