Al-Ousta Codex

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Illuminated Frontispiece, Al-Ousta Codex

Al-Ousta Codex, also known under its library classification BnF 1314-1315, is a 14th-century

Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris
.

Although purchased in Yemen, the manuscript is not of Yemenite Jewish

Sephardic Jewish tradition of orthography. Prior to its debut in Yemen, the manuscript was in Egypt, where it was purchased by Aharon haCohen Iraqi (al-'Usṭā), the visiting minister from Yemen and minter of the king's coins.[3] Based on its colophon, one whose name was Sar-Shalom the nasi, the presumed head of the Sephardic Jewish community in Egypt and who lived in Cairo,[4] had commissioned the manuscript's writing, and who had apparently been ordained and confirmed in his office by his brother, Shelomo Nasi, the exilarch (resh galutha).[5]

Jacob Sapir's description

The Al-Ousta codex, named for its original

San'a, whose grandfather (David), in turn, had acquired it in 1795 from a certain Abraham al-Manzeli, who, in turn, purchased it from the sons of Haroun Cohen-Iraqi, the grandchild of Aharon ha-Cohen Iraqi who purchased the codex in Egypt. They were driven to do so because of their extreme privation. Abraham Firkovich
(1786–1874) mentions also the codex in his writings. Sapir heaps lavish praises on the codex:

...Also the precious Bible codex, the peculiar treasure of kings, in an extraordinarily beautiful handwriting upon parchment, which he (al-Ousta) had brought with him from Egypt or from Persia, it also was sold by his children's children in their poverty[7]

The first volume of the book is adorned with an illuminated

Hebrew: כתר שם טוב) described by bibliophile David Solomon Sassoon (see Sassoon MS. no. 82),[10] which leads to the conclusion that it may have been a standard form used at that time in codices. However, Sapir, in counting the number of generations that had passed since Sar-Shalom's ancestor, Bostanai
, reasons that the time-frame given for this man who acquired the codex would have roughly been accurate.

Date of manuscript

Page from the Book of Genesis (Al-Ousta Codex)

A date found written in the colophon has given rise to some confusion, as the date is written as a biblical verse taken from Deuteronomy 31:22: "[Herein] written and signed on this seventh day of the [lunar] month

anno mundi (corresponding with year 1023 CE).[13] The problem with these configurations is that it would put the writing of the codex much earlier than the period that is known for the style of Sephardic script used in the manuscript. This led Sapir to conclude that the date may actually refer to the time of the giving of the Masorah (Masoretic text), or to something else, but not necessarily to the writing of the codex. Most scholars agree that the manuscript was written in either the 14th or 15th century CE
.

Tradition of orthography

While most of the orthography of the text follows the Sephardic tradition in

Meir ben Todros Halevi (ca. 1170–1244), and which the Sephardic communities adhered to.[16]

Aharon haCohen-Iraqi

The codex was bought by Aharon haCohen Iraqi, the wealthy minter of the king's coins, in the early 1700s, and who bequeathed the same codex to his great grandson, Aharon (Haroun) b. Yihya b. Shalom haCohen Iraqi. This family was renowned in San'a and had received the honorable epithet "al-Ousta," meaning the "skilled artisan." They were philanthropists who built several synagogues (one bearing the name "al-Ousta') and a public bath in San'a to be used by the Jewish community there. The codex purchased by this wealthy family's ancestor subsequently passed several hands of ownership, until, eventually, it was purchased by Sapir in San'a, and taken with him to France.

References

  1. ^ Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris; Moïse Schwab, "Manuscrits du supplément hébreu de la Bibliothèque Nationale", RÉJ 37 (1898), pp. 112–113
  2. ISBN 0814805930
    .
  3. Sana'a
    and who had been the favorite of two successive kings, although demoted in 1761. (See: M. Niebuhr, Travel through Arabia and other Countries in the East, vol. 1, Edinburgh 1792, p. 408; ibid., vol. 2, Edinburgh 1792, pp. 87–88)
  4. S2CID 162847843
    ., citing Berlin MS Or. Heb. Oct. 517, f. 64b; cited also in Jacob Mann, Texts and Studies in Jewish History and Literature, vol. 2, Ktav Pub. House: New York 1972, p. 254
  5. ^ On the genealogy of these two brothers, see p. 19a in codex. Sapir also recopied the pedigree in his book, Iben Safir (vol. 1), Lyck 1866 [reprinted in Magenza (Mainz) 1874] (in Hebrew), chapter 6 (p. 18b).
  6. Jacob Sapir, Iben Safir (vol. 2), Magenza (Mainz) 1874, p. 175
    (in Hebrew)
  7. Jacob Sapir, Iben Safir (vol. 1), Lyck 1866 [reprinted in Magenza (Mainz) 1874] (in Hebrew), p. 101a
  8. ^
    Jacob Sapir
    , Iben Safir (vol. 2), Magenza (Mainz) 1874, pp. 175a–b
  9. Jacob Sapir, Iben Safir (vol. 2), Magenza (Mainz) 1874, pp. 175a–b
    (in Hebrew); cf. ibid. (vol. 1), chapter 6 (p. 18b)
  10. OCLC 912964204
    .
  11. ^ For the date, see bottom of p. 19a in manuscript.
  12. Jacob Sapir, Iben Safir (vol. 2), Magenza (Mainz) 1874, p. 175
    (in Hebrew)
  13. Jacob Sapir, Iben Safir (vol. 1), Lyck 1866 [reprinted in Magenza (Mainz) 1874], p. 18b
    (in Hebrew)
  14. Ben-Asher
    and that of Yemenite tradition who make use of a different format.
  15. ^ See pp. 125–126 in manuscript
  16. Minḥat Shai
    followed in suit and also changed the original order of the last two lines in the Song of the Sea.

External links

  • BnF 1314 - the Al-Ousta Codex (Paris), vol. 1, online viewing (color); or access web-page here (PARIS BN 1314)
    • Available also on microfilm at the National Library of Israel, in Jerusalem, Manuscript Dept. microfilm F-34248. Contains Pentateuch.
  • BnF 1315 - the Al-Ousta Codex (Paris), vol. 2, online viewing (Black & white)
    • Available also on microfilm at the National Library of Israel, in Jerusalem, Manuscript Dept. microfilm F-12325. Contains Prophets and Hagiographia.
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