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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 1027: The Western European Masoretic Tradition of the Hebrew Bible: Margins and Borders - The Figurative Masorah and Its Marginalised Knowledge

Wednesday 8 July 2020, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Organiser:Hanna Liss, 'Corpus Masoreticum' Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Moderator/Chair:Hanna Liss, 'Corpus Masoreticum' Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Paper 1027-aMasorah Figurata: Esoteric Repositories and the Boundaries of Hidden Knowledge
(Language: English)
Kay Joe Petzold, Lehrstuhl für Bibel und Jüdische Bibelauslegung Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Index terms: Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1027-bLetter Soup or Meticulous Data?: The Masorae Figuratae in British Library, MS Or. 2091
(Language: English)
Renate Smithuis, Department of Religions & Theology, University of Manchester
Index terms: Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1027-cExploring the Margins: How to Digitally Edit Masorah Figurata
(Language: English)
Clemens Liedtke, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Index terms: Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1027-dSefer Okhla we-Okhla and the Appendices of the Bible Manuscripts
(Language: English)
Sebastian Seeman, Lehrstuhl für Bibel und Jüdische Bibelauslegung Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
Abstract

The Masora forms a constituent part of the masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible. Especially in the western European textual tradition (Ashkenaz) the masranim started to shape a substantial part of the Masora Magna in the form of micrographically written decorative designs known as Masora Figurata. Currently, comprehensive digital editions of the Masora Magna of various Ashkenazi manuscripts (such as MSS London British Library Add. 21160, Add. 15282, Or. 2091 and Rome Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana ebr. 14) are being prepared in Heidelberg.

In this session we will describe some key features of the materiality and contents of the Masora Figurata of those manuscripts. Topics to be discussed are (1) the two extant Ashkenazi versions of the Sefer Okhlah ve-Okhlah; (2) the Masora Figurata of MS British Library Add. 21160 with a focus on its hidden knowledge; (3) the Masora Figurata of MS British Library Or. 2091 to demonstrate how the embellished borders of initial words and folios are substantial carriers of masoretic learning; and (4) the digital research environment BIMA 2.0 and its role in shaping analytical data models as 'knowledge graphs', visual transcription, and annotation tools.