DESCRIPTION OF THE REMAINING OF THE HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS

Hebr. 97 (Or. 2065) Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza, Meqor liayyim\ philosophical commentary on the Pent., written 1368 (5128), printed Mantua 1559, etc. Binding : vellum on cardboard. Paper, two volumes, 1: 289 fols., II: (I+)309 + 1 fols. (fol. 310 is a paste-down), 280 X 205(205 X 125/132), 22 lines ruled by a pencil (Vol. I, fols. 63-72 :205 X 150). Quires are mostly indicated by a more or less heavily framed catchword on their last leaf. All these catchwords correspond with the first word of the next quire (with one exception, see below). A somewhat later European hand has also numbered the quires with Latin capitals and the leaves of each with Arabic numerals. In Vol. I this is done in a bold hand, in Vol. II it is done in a small hand, sometimes partly cut off. : Vol. 1:1+ 24VI(289). Vol. II: 16VI(192) V(202) 9VI(310). Ordinary catchwords from leaf to leaf throughout the two volumes. Marginal notes are rare. Vol. I, 19 a and II, l b omissions by homoioteleuton have been added in the margin by the scribe. In vol. I single words in a small hand often appear in the margin, headed by the abbreviation b"j. Fol. 1 of Vol. I is a flyleaf which does not belong to the original MS. The MS is written in a rather bold Ashkenasi cursive hand of the 16-17th century. Both volumes have the legend : Coll. Paris. Socie tts Jesu on their first leaf (in Vol. I the letter C is added; in Vol. II the legend is written upside down), and on their last leaf: Paraphé au désir de Varrest du 5. juillet 1763, Mesnil. In Vol. I, fol. l b there is a Latin statement about the text and its author. Fol. 2 a has the title of the work and the author in Hebrew and the introductory poem with acrostichon of the author’s name. Genesis : I, 2 b . Exodus : I, 158 a . Deuteronomy : II, 154 b . The text of the first volume ends in the middle of the commentary on the first Com mandment (Ex. 20,3). The last leaf ends with a catchword (ed. Mantua, fol. 45 b , coll. 1, line 2). The second volume begins with the commentary on Num. 1,4 (btn STS ntjab). It must therefore be concluded that there was originally another volume, now missing, which contained the middle part of the commentary.