CAMBRIDGE, UK – The finding could influence future translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, also known as the Old Testament, according to a news release from Tyndale House, Cambridge, which published the research.
The ancient text, known to scholars as Codex L17, contains only Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 2 Kings. Researcher Kim Phillips wrote in a Tyndale Bulletin article that he determined the author to be the scribe Samuel ben Jacob, or “Samuel, son of Jacob,” and that it was written around 975.
Samuel ben Jacob also wrote The Leningrad Codex, the first known complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, completed in the year 1008 and the basis for many modern Bible translations.
L17 was part of the Firkovich Collection of Hebrew manuscripts housed at the Russian National Library, which Phillips described as “the most important trove of manuscripts for the study of the medieval text of the Hebrew Bible.”
Using digital images of the codex published by the National Library of Israel, Phillips said he was able to identify the scribe based on similarities in letter patterns between these two texts and another partial Samuel text he discovered in 2015.
That makes sense, said Professor Gary Rendsburg, of the Laurie Chair in Jewish History at Rutgers University, because Jewish scribes at the time had different “writing techniques” or “little flowers and little symbols, jots and titles on the manuscript space.
Phillips reported that the Hebrew letters used to represent the word of God in L17 also resembled the 10th century scribal style and usage in other writings. The scholars said the find is important. “It’s always important to have an early manuscript, but the specific meaning remains to be seen,” said David Kraemer, director of libraries at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Rendsburg expects that any inconsistencies are likely to be small, such as the use of “hair” versus “hairs,” or different spellings of a word. “None of this is going to change the world,” she said. But the Rutgers scholar added that the find sheds light on the life of Samuel ben Jacob, a historical figure.
“These scribes are like our heroes who have given us these texts,” he said. “Because they wrote with such devotion, such dedication and such accuracy. … For me, the thrill is bringing to life this person that we just learned a name about, essentially.”
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