GENIZAH FRAGMENTS IN THE CHETHAM'S LIBRARY, MANCHESTER 1

BY MEIR WALLENSTEIN, M.A., Ph.D.READER IN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN HEBREW IN THE UNIVERSITY

OF MANCHESTER

THE Cairo 2 Genizah, which has been vaguely known since the eighteenth century,3 gained some fame after having been

visited in 1888 by E. N. Adler. It was, however, the discovery by S. Schechter in 1896 of a Genizah fragment embodying the original Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) which made the Genizah renowned all over the world. Schechter himself brought from the Cairo Genizah to Cambridge University Library about 100,000 fragments, which now constitute the bulk of the famous Taylor-Schechter Collection.

Some time before Schechter's visit to Cairo as well as after, many Genizah fragments, through the agency of dealers, reached both public libraries 4 and private collectors. 5 And it was through one such collector that Genizah fragments came to the Chetham's Library. It was on 15 September 1892, that a certain Mr. George Ellis sent from his residence at 8 Bolton Road, St. John's Wood, London, a note addressed to " The Librarian,

1 The following abbreviations occur in the article : Birnbaum = The Hebrew Script, (London, 1954^7); Davidson = Thesaurus of Medieval Hebrew Poetry (4 vols., New York, 1924-33) ; Mann = The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs, (2 vols., Oxford, 1920-22); Wallenstein = Some Unpublished Piyyutim from the Cairo Genizah (Manchester, 1956).

2 Strictly speaking, old Cairo, or Fustat.3 It was visited in 1750 by Simon van Geldern and in 1864 by Jacob Safir.4 Now, a great number of libraries are known to possess Genizah fragments.

Some of these libraries, in addition to the one in Cambridge, are in Oxford, London, Berlin, Leningrad, New York, Philadelphia, Paris and Warsaw.

5 These collectors were as a rule scholars. To mention only a few of them : E. N. Adler; Dr. Neubauer; Professor Gottheil; Hacham Dr. Gaster (about 12,000 fragments of his were purchased by the John Rylands Library in 1954. See BULLETIN, xxxvii. 2-6); Professor Kaufmann (his fragments are now deposited in the Hungarian Science Academy, Budapest); and Professor Mittwoch (his fragments now form part of the Mingana Collection, Selly Oak, Birmingham. See Wallenstein, p. xii, n. 5).

159

160 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARYCollege Library 'V saying : " The enclosed (six) are from my collection of old manuscripts. If wanted they are at your service at your own valuation."

These six pieces have all the properties peculiar to Genizah fragments in general, forming as it does a miscellanea drawn from various works, copied in different periods, by different hands, on a variety of writing material. They may be broadly divided into two categories, Biblical and non-Biblical. The Biblical comprises the four following fragments :

A. Genesis xliv. 30-xlv. 16. This, written in a Babylonian mashit hand of about the tenth century,2 is contained on the recto and verso of a vellum leaf, ruled by a stylus and in two columns, measuring 24-5 x28 cm. Each column contains fifteen/sixteen short lines. The text is fully vocalized and accented in the Masoretic manner but has no methegs. Raphe is indicated by a horizontal stroke above the respective HDD "TJQ letters. There is no dilation of the literae dilatabiles, DD^nX, either in the middle or at the end of lines, as is common in some similar medieval Hebrew manuscripts. Only three uncompleted words at the end of lines are rewritten in full in the respective lines following them. The maqqeph is thin and actually joins words by joining respective serifs. The diacritic point indicating the shin is placed on theright end of its middle tooth, thus Hb, a practice found in the Leningrad B 19A MS. In pointing there is only one deviation from that of the M.T. : tt^nX (xliv. 32), instead of T^SK, which may well be a slip of the pen. In spelling, however, the

1 That is, the Chetham's Library, Manchester. Here is the place to mention that suspecting that there was some additional material in Mr. Ellis's collection of old manuscripts, bought by him as it seems when it was freely offered in London (as elsewhere) for sale, and wishing to trace it, I consulted the present librarian of the Chetham's Library, Miss Hilda Lofthouse, who succeeded in identifying our George Ellis. In her letter to me of 18 January 1967, she writes : " This George Ellis made his will on June 25th, 1895 from 8 Bolton Road, St. John's Wood. He died 14th January, 1900 at 79, Belsize Road, Kilburn. Probate of his will was granted on March 8th, 1900 to Rose Moses of 17, Greville Road, Kilburn, the sole executrix, whom Ellis called his neice." Miss Lofthouse was, however, unable to trace any of the desired additional material. I take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to Miss Lofthouse and her staff for their ready assistance given to me in preparing the present article.

2 For a similar hand, cf. Birnbaum, 189.

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 161plena in TftlWZ? (xliv. 31) ; iVlp (xlv. 2) ; andVlpm (xlv. 16), as against the Masoretic defective seems to indicate a tradition other than that of the accepted Masoretic one, as does, on the other hand, the defective in IDfcOD (xliv. 31), as against the Masoretic imXID. Small circles over appropriate words which refer to marginal consonants (as is usually the case in manuscripts con­ taining the Masora marginalis parva) indicate the number of times these words occur in the Bible.

B. Genesis xliv. 32-xlvii. 24. This is contained on the rectos and versos of six vellum folios (la-6b), ruled by stylus, measuring 20 x 14.4 cm. In four of them small portions towards the bottom to the right have been eaten away, apparently by an insect in the distant past while still in the Genizah. The folios have wide margins and are sewn tightly together. The hand resembles that of the Babylonian square writing of about the thirteenth century. The size of the letters being rather large, there is an average of four words to the line, with ten lines to the page. There are neither vowel-signs nor maqqephs and no dilation of letters. Words not completed in one line are com­ pleted in the lines following them. The letters aleph and shin when they come at the end of a line appear in an abridged form, the left lower stroke being omitted in the case of the aleph and the left tooth omitted in the case of the shin. They are, as are the un­ completed words at the end of lines, rewritten in full in the lines that follow them.

The text is faithful to that of the accepted Masora, but there are a few slips: *]OD DDK "O (xlvii. 16), as against the M.T.'s *]OD DDK QK, an abvious homoiteleuton, the copyist's eye having wandered to verse 15 which ends with . . . "O ; DT1DD (xlvii. 24) as against the M.T.'s DDTQ3, the foph having perhaps dropped out owing to the relatively large number of kaphs which the copyist constantly encountered while copying this particular verse from his exemplar.

C. Deuteronomy xxvii. 3-xxviii. 43. This is contained on the rectos and versos of five paper folios, loosely fastened together, measuring 18.8x14 cm. The hand resembles that of an Egyptian mashit of about the eleventh century. The margins on the right are slightly impaired. There are fifteen lines to the

11

162 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARYfolio and five/six words to the line. The text is fully vocalized and accented Masoretically, but is not fully hyphenated. The shape of the hyphens, the indication of raphe in the HDD 13Q letters and the diacritic point of the shin are as in A. With regard to vocalization, there is a pronounced tendency towards the removal of the composite shewa from the dleph. Thus, e.g. DM3N (xxvii. 6) ; fTl1^ (ibid.) ; IJTinK (xxvii. 22); fD^ (xxviii. 4); H^DXS (xxviii. 29). Of a different category seems to be the removal of the composite shewa from the he of D' (ibid.) and the turning of the short gamez into a pathah in (xxviii. 22), pointing perhaps to a pronunciation other than that of the accepted one in this particular vowel. The pointing of *pplp (xxviii. 35) with a shewa under the second qoph, instead of the accepted composite gamez, may also point in the same direction. There is also a tendency to omit the dagesh forte. Thus, e.g. nTH (xxvii. 4) ; "1117 (ibid. 18); H^H (xxviii. 2);

I ** J *** V "* T

?H»tPn (ibid. 20); TlD^fc (ibid. 3 1). There are anomalies whichI : v T v ' ' I v T : v '

are apparently due to carelessness. Thus, e.g. IID"^ (xxvii. 8) ;pm* (xxviii. 21); THK (ibid. 25); n (ibid. 29); trr (ibid.43>-

D. Job xl. 27-xlii. 17 (end) ; Proverbs xiv. 22-xvi. 20. This is contained on the rectos and versos of two vellum folios, crudely attached to each other by a strip of parchment. Each folio, divided lengthwise into three columns with twenty lines to the column, measures 27'2 x27'5 cm. The hand is that of Egyptian square writing of the eleventh century. The lay-out of the text is not uncommon in manuscripts of this century.1

The text is fully vocalized and follows the M.T. save for maqqephs and methegs which are missing. The ink being rather pale, it is difficult to know the full number of variants. As to spelling, however, it is safe to say that the tendency, as is the case with A, is towards plena, and sometimes even towards a plena found in post-Biblical Genizah material. Here are a few examples from Job : DTlfc (xli. 8), with the retention of dagesh forte in the nun ; n^Tfc (xlii. 2), with the removal of dagesh forte from the mem. The removal of the dagesh forte is to be observed

1 See, e.g. Birnbaum, 186.

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 163sometimes also in words where there is no involvement of vocalic letters. For example : nnpn (xl. 29) ; H1?) (xli. 5) ; 170& (ibid. 18). There are also omissions of dagesh lene* e.g. ''WTpn (ibid. 3) ; 1DDH3 (ibid. 20). Similar examples are to be found also in Proverbs.

Of some interest is the order in which the texts appear. It does not follow the order now accepted amongst Jews, Job pre­ ceding Proverbs.1 Of some additional interest is the rather wide margins of the folios. These, at a time when there must have been a paucity of writing-material, seem to have been destined for commentary and notes on the text. And in this respect it is interesting to note that the bottom margin in Proverbs is larger than that in Job, which, unlike Proverbs, happens to contain substantial pieces of simple prose.

The non-Biblical comprises two manuscripts, E and F. I shall pass over E which deals with natural sciences 2 and enlarge on F. This comprises two elegies, one which we will call (a) and the other (b), contained on the rectos and versos of four paper folios, measuring 12*6 x9 cm. It is in a few places incorrectly copied, and has partial vowel-signs which are also incorrect in some instances, showing that the copyist did not always understand the text. The copy, which is in a slipshod Egyptian cursive hand, was probably made in the thirteenth century. The original elegies, however, seem to have been composed much earlier, say, about the eleventh century. This conjecture may be supported by the language of these pH/t/uf/m-like compositions. It em­ bodies a few unmistakable characteristic ingredients prevalent in the few centuries preceding and succeeding that time in kindred piyyutim composed by oriental poets. These peculiar linguistic

1 There are, in Biblical manuscripts, varying sequences of the Hagiographa (see Ginzburg's Table as given in The Jewish Encyclopedia, iii. 144) which, however, may be reduced to two main types, the one being the Talmudic (see Baba Bathra 14b) and the other the Masoretic. The Talmudic sequence differs in a few respects from that of the Masoretic, one of these being with regard to the order of Job and Proverbs. Our manuscript, then, follows the Talmudic sequence, ignoring the accepted Masoretic one.

2 Mention is made here of substances, such as copper, glass and sulphur. This manuscript is contained on the recto and verso of two paper folios, written in Hebrew-transliterated Arabic in an Egyptian cursive hand of about the twelfth century. It measures 18'8x 13.9 cm.

164 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARYcomponents, which are fully dwelt upon in notes on the text,1 relate to elongated infinitives, hapax legomena, rare words and expressions, emblematical terms and new coinages. The way in which Talmudic notions are incorporated in the elegies 2 has also something in common with that period.

The structures of the compositions, too, do not seem to exclude the date suggested. Written, as it seems, by a hazzan well-acquainted with the genre of liturgical compositions of his time, the compositions contain some features of the framework of similar compositions of that period.3 Starting with the first composition, with elegy (a). It is contained in a fragment which consists of fourteen stanzas. The whole elegy, however, before it was fragmented, seems to have consisted of nineteen stanzas embodying an alphabetical acrostic. The first twelve of the surviving stanzas have the lines beginning with the letters toaw—pe and the last two with the letters zade—taw. Each stanza is made up of four non-metrical lines, usually fairly long, the last of which is a Biblical passage which invariably contains the \/Q3n, signifying wisdom, which, as we shall see later, constitutes much of the theme of the composition. Each stanza rhymes independently and the last one, which rhymes with reth, contains the elegist's name, D1*712? 4 in its first line and pTPl 5 in its third line. At the end of the composition are two unrhymed lines written basically in Aramaic, after which we have the words "1311 ntt2T Onitt, which is likely to be the opening of a short consoling piece to be recited at this juncture. It would appear that this piece was well-known at the time of the composition, but since forgotten. 6

1 In (a), which is by far larger than (b), see nn. 14, 16,24, 26, 30,3], 43, 44, 47, 48, 51, 60, 63, 68, 71, and in (b), nn. 78, 84.

2 See in (a) nn. 5, 15, 16,21, 23, 25, 29,33, 34, 35, 70, and in (b), nn. 80, 83.3 See Mann, ii. 27-29, where eleventh-century elegies with structures resembling

in some ways those of ours are recorded.4 It is hard to identify him. Poets bearing his name, alone or along with

additional names, abound. See Davidson iv. 446-7.5 This word, addressed by the elegist to himself for the sake of encouragement,

is common in paytanic literature.6 This unlike '111 "lixn of elegy (b) (see further) which is evidently not a

Biblical passage, is also found in an elegy of the eleventh century on the demise in Egypt of Meborak Nagid's wife (Oxford, Bodl. MS. Heb. e 74, fols. 57-58; see

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 165In the first part of the elegy extant there is profuse praise for

scholars who possess wisdom.1 They, engaged in wisdom and possessed of humility and the capacity to extract good from evil, will be greatly rewarded.2 Only souls truly yearning for wisdom will be favoured and distinguished. 3 They will gradually acquire a natural acumen to grasp it. 4

After the praise given to wisdom and its possessors in general, the elegist proceeds to lament the demise of a particular anony­ mous scholar endowed with great virtues. 5 And to the interest one may find in the fragment thematically, linguistically and structurally, is thus added another one an interest in a com­ position couched in paytanic forms to be delivered, wholly or in parts, as the occasion may require, on the demise of a scholar as a funeral oration. This type of composition seems to be unusual in the diversified Genizah fragments. The anonymous scholar, referred to three times in the elegy 6 by the adjective TI^D, 7 is said to be a rabbi who finds his substance in manual work 8 ; he disseminates his knowledge freely 9 to a great number of students 10; and cares for the community by checking lawless­ ness u virtues, according to Talmudical sources, to be possessed by a scholar.12 The second line of the stanza beginning with kflph, and perhaps also the second line of its following stanza,13 which speaks of the anonymous scholar as living in Egypt, may

Mann, ii. 257). There, too, the words 'ill n»2T DHIE come at the end of the elegy. Mann, in a note, expecting here the recital of a Biblical verse, says : " There is no such verse ; the reference is probably to Zech. vi. 12." However, no record of this piece is found in Davidson. Furthermore, Professor H. Schirmann, who was good enough to examine for me the card-index of the Research Institute for Hebrew Poetry, Jerusalem, in which is recorded a vast number of poems still in manuscript, including a goodly part of the old Taylor- Schechter Collection in Cambridge, informed me that there, too, no record of such a piece is to be found.

1 The elegist, following a Talmudical notion (see Sabbath 116a), seems to identify wisdom with the Torah. 2 First five lines of elegy.

3 First and third lines of stanza beginning with heth.4 Stanza beginning with teth. 5 Stanzas beginning with 'am pe and zade. 6 See preceding note. 7 See n. 57.8 First two lines of stanza beginning with yodh.9 First two lines of stanza beginning with k<*t>h.

10 First two lines of stanza beginning with lamed. u First line of ibid. 12 See nn. 23, 28, 29, and 34. 13 See n. 36.

166 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARYsuggest that Dl^tf, the writer of the oration,1 also lived in Egypt. And if the date suggested above be accepted, then the period embracing the end of the caliph al-Hakim's reign, which saw the results of the foundation, through the inspiring influence of the Four Captives,2 of the numerous flourishing Talmudical colleges in Egypt, would be the most apt for nurturing compositions of this type.

Elegy (£>), which may have or may not have been composed by the same paytan, 01*7127, was, if one follows its pattern as exhibited in the fragment, which comprises only its first stanza followed by the greater part of its second, originally made up of twenty two alphabetical lines. The fourth line of the first stanza is, as is the case with elegy (a), a Biblical passage on the theme of consolation. The fourth line of the second stanza, however, does not seem to have been made up of a Biblical passage,3 and thus did not fully follow the scheme of elegy (a). It is of the Zidduq ha-Din type, being an acknowledgement of the justice of the Divine Judgment. This is evident from the words '131 "TlSn (= " the Rock etc."), which come at the end of the first stanza, indicating that at this juncture the Deuteronomic verse " He is the Rock, His work is perfect . . . just and right is He " (xxiii. 4) is to be recited.4

The following are the elegies reproduced in their artistic forms, 5 vocalized, annotated and translated.

1 See p. 164. 2 See Mann, i. 27 fi.3 In order to have here a Biblical passage, a line beginning with the letter heth,

containing the -\/QTtt, and rhyming with the syllable 757 is required a passage not found in the Bible.

4 For compositions of this type in the seventeenth century, see Wallenstein's " Caster Hebrew MS. 4 in the John Rylands Library ", BULLETIN, xlv. 511-14.

5 The acrostics are indicated by small circles above the appropriate letters and the verbs DSn and Dftt, by horizontal lines.

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 167 Elegy (a)

tab t.issn niun ftrr: :T • -r ' r- r-s-r

at i» by »3 TOXJT • ~ ' -'#!

T : • • T-;

• •:

^o»D?ff »na.T jroo'i JjatK nun it) •T*: »j • -? T : :T "•

« »»mtmt r»»

n^> ft n»^y ixw'^ba ^DI 10T: *:*2 •: • T VT -^»v •: T:rA 1nt nn isnt'^aT : ":*5 •-••/; :• T

•*

nosy

V -5 T 7* " V T V**; •

Jinn JilK3njin^aomflV*1}ia»n 2a is

168 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY

inrifflx -fasra [^D*] !?DT s:v vv; L TT J T -T

fiK'Tl Jinx ^»SK miU X1?!

20-T Tt -T-: "5*

T;T: TTHDTT :•

5l namT:V

TKD^ 25T -T ,

T "wr-

•* f • T

T TT

30tr: *-» -••- T-;

T * T

aon -npo yaia Vna TJ T r ; — *

• » »•

v" T:

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 169

35'

nor*S.-T «?;• •» - % *«• V '

cfany

a V: '•;• T:T

fa KXI^

in

45-T

»•«•» r «• •»

«••>• »••*• » * sT » •» **

o^ ntaib nain na»» -• » -• V

*T~ *f

a*] flaxyso*:— 5 T » * • -r ry

naw ^Vn HHK nw opaa TT ***' T* '/•»* r r*

T * * • *

1 70 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY

r:—

to in 53'

[OK- s T TT • v?-; rrr •/$ "

:T

T -> s • T-:

Elegy

»•»•«»•• • • • • r

DH I ••

._ . ._._ _ .- f -^^ . .££ \\tf ff• 9 »

no ^>y D^D— : T : -' -

- -? r:' 'DTTT

«• • ar •

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 171

Elegy (a) And who is able to assess the reward of the Lord's servants who

employed Her in their work? No eye has ever seen what there is in store for them—for them

who have indeed worked and laboured (in studying Her). It may be said of them that having forgone the honour due to

them THEY WILL INHERIT THE GLORY OF THE WISE.

They remove the vile from the precious, and raise up the founda­ tions of the generations

In order to allot to them good fortune. Make, therefore, your blocked ears a receiver (and) INCLINE THEM TO LISTEN TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE WISE.

The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in the hand of him whosesoul desires Her

And no weapon forged against Her shall ever prevail. He who perseveres in studying Her will enjoy long life and his

offspring and the offspring of his children will be marked fordistinction,

FOR (GOD) HAS BESTOWED WISDOM ON HIM THAT PLEASES HIM.

A good (man) will obtain favour (of the Lord), so that (Wisdom)furnishes him with self-growing strength

To come into Her chambers, porches and niches, Enter Her orchard and take shelter under Her leaves,FOR THE REWARD OF KNOWING WISDOM IS THAT IT SUSTAINS

THEM THAT POSSESS IT.

He toiled all [his life] using his ten fingers. He also studied the Law,

But did not use Her even once for selfish ends—this is well known!He will therefore inherit everlasting life as was his heart's desire.(His) LIPS (WERE THOSE) OF THE WISE THAT DISSEMINATE KNOW­

LEDGE.

172 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARYHis (assembly of scholars) was indeed superior to that of others in

learning and in numbers, and (it was because) he did not with­ hold his " grain "

That all (the people) of the land came to Egypt, surrounded him and joined him.

May (also) peace come to the house of his resting-place.WHO is LIKE (THIS) WISE MAN AND WHO CAN EXPLAIN THINGS

(THE WAY HE EXPLAINED THEM)?

He spread the (study of) the Law exceedingly; fenced up abreach

And planted numerous cedars in the Valley of the Verdict. May he find mercy in the way of all the earth to which he has

gone so soon— (HE) WHO GREATLY PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE TO SILVER.

My loins are shaken because of him ; the city is now left desolate. Spirits are fainting and souls are drawn near to the grave Because of the departure of (his) spirit and (its going) to dwell

in the Silent Land— (A SPIRIT WHICH WAS) A FLOWING STREAM, A FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM.

I fainted and was sick and there was no peace in my troubled,weak bones

When (I encountered) Lebanon opening her door and (saw) thewithering of high cedars.

I became too feeble to swallow down (my) spittle on seeing theinscription in bold letters, (saying) :

THAT THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WISE AND THEIR WORKS ARE INTHE HAND OF GOD.

No liquor is drunk ; joy ceased and great is the mourning Because the mighty was assaulted and his college destroyed. His pupils trembling, stricken and greatly troubled, are unable to

sleep, (FOR THEY HAVE LOST) WISDOM THAT IS BETTER THAN WEAPONS OF

WAR.

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 173My soul is grieved because of the passing away of the wise.Where (shall I go) and what place shall I search (in order to find)

a person of his stature?He was taken from me—and this is a calamity which has over­

taken meBEFORE i APPLIED MY HEART TO WISDOM.

Our rabbi, —, has departed from me; lament greatlyAnd call for those well-skilled in dirges and assemble the mourn­

ing women.How is it that a mouth accustomed to recite traditional law and

decisions ceased from givingWORDS OF THE WISE WHICH ARE LIKE GOADS?

You, our rabbi, —, have deprived yourself (of wordly enjoyments)because of your meditation on the Torah.

You have studied and restudied and revised your study so thatit became faultless.

You will (therefore) find love and delight in the place to whichyou are going—

(IN THE PLACE WHERE THERE is) NO WORK, NOR DEVICE, NORKNOWLEDGE, NOR WISDOM.

Peace will not be denied you while you are on your couch ;You will find it (also) in your lodging-place, and your righteous­

ness, like the angels, will precede you,Announcing incessantly in your presence the wealth of your

merits,[FOR SINCE] YOU HAVE ACQUIRED [FOR YOURSELF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

WISDOM,] THERE IS A REWARD (FOR YOU) AND YOUR HOPE WILL COME TRUE.

Everything dies ; everything perishes, but You live and existfor ever.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and Your dominionlasts from age to age.

" May the Comforter come forth etc."

174 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY

Elegy (b)

Another (dirge) for mourners. To those mourners who sit grieved, Full of bitterness and with closed lips—Reveal the Consolation Epoch and make them hear from heaven KlND AND COMFORTING WORDS.

" The Rock etc."

(Fortify) those who cry trembling three days over the dead And lament them while sitting together for seven days— Fortify them and strengthen them so that they do not slip.

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 175Notes on Hebrew text

1. Something like a yodh is superposed over it, a usage common in Cenizah fragments.

2. The reference seems to be to Wisdom. For VsJD followed by ... 3, cf. Job xxxv. 6. Here, however, the meaning is different.

3. For translation of "O here and in line 21, cf Is. vii. 9.4. Prov. iii. 35.5. MS., senselessly, 11». For the last few words, cf. Baba Mez. 85a on Jer.

xv. 19, where it is referred to a scholar teaching the son of an ignoramus.6. Cf. Is. Iviii. 12.7. Cf. Ps. xvi. 6.8. Cf. Hullin 89a and Ps. Ixviii. 5. Masc. (D^IBX), instead of the fern., for

the sake of the rhyme.9. Prov. xxii. 17. Note the variant HDn, as againt the M.T.'s DH.

10. Cf. Is. liii. 10. As to •", see note I.11. MS. VinN. My emendation is due to 11. 10-11 which suggest that the

reference is to a fern, noun—to Wisdom.12. MS. ->5.13. Cf. Is'liv. 17.14. A prolonged infinitive, common in piyyutim. Cf. e.g. Wallenstein, p. 33.15. 3ir stands, elliptically, for mTO 2ir. Cf. Ps. xcii. 15 and Ber. 8a on Ps.

vii. 34. H3, instead of 7T'l?S7, modelled after its equivalent ... 2 nin (cf. Ps. i. 2).

16. In the MS. HO ... On1?, the few indistinct letters bearing the stamp of being tampered with by the copyist who added, erroneously, in the margin HD^non1?. It seems that this word read originally nO^DOn1?, again a prolonged infinitive (see note 14) of D^O, for the meaning of which, cf. the Pual in D'HDQ DTK (" a distinguished man ") (Yer. Ber. 3, 5). Cf. also the Aramaic Ithpael in Ab. Za. 16b. For the whole line, cf. Baba Mez. 58a on Is. lix. 21.

17. Ecc.ii.26.18. Cf. Prov. xii. 2, where we have the additional word nirTQ. Hence the

translation.19. Sing. y>X, " pilaster " (see Ez. xl. 10). Here the space between two pilasters

of a wall is meant. MS., incorrectly, without yodh after the aleph.20. MS. OlDin, the yodh following the he apparently looking somewhat like a

nun in the parent MS.21. Cf. Dins1? 10131 nsmx (Toseph. Hag. II. 3), where the reference is to

wisdom in general.22. Ecc. vii. 12.23. The reference is to manual work, a virtue according to Ber. 8a.24. Emblematical term for the Torah. Cf. Ps. cxix. 77; Prov. viii. 30; 31.

Similar emblematical terms are Qalir's "]m STOBff (Qerobah for the pericope TOT) and Gabirol's D'SWSW TlD^n (in 'I 1? l»ff, Bialik-Ravinetski, II. P. 137).

25. Elliptical for ... 711730 Him N1?!. Again, according to Aboth IV 5, a moral excellence. In the MS. HHX3.

176 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY26. Instead of the more common fitfpaa. nsain, however, has a paytanic ring.

See Melilah V. p. 158,n. 11.27. Prov. xv. 7.28. See Eduyyoth I. 5.29. Viz. his knowledge. See Sanhed. 91 b with reference to Prov. xi. 26.30. An amplification of its preceding V^S? TOG?1?, for which see Job xxxviii. 10

and cf. Gen. xlii. 2.31. Niph'al rarely used in post-Biblical texts.32. Ecc. vih. 1.33. Common in the Talmudic literature. (Cf. e.g. Baba Mez. 85b ; Temurah 16a).34. MS., incorrectly, 111.35. A metaphor for scholars. Cf. Sabb. 118b.36. Cf. Joel iv. 14. Here, however, we may have an oblique reference to the

valley of the Nile. See p. 165.37. Cf. Jos. xxiii. 14.38. Prov. xvi. 16.39. For the force of V^S? here, cf. II Sam. xiv. 8. For the phrase, cf. Is. xxi. 3.40. Cf. Is.xxiv. 12.41. For the last few phrases, cf. Ez. xxi. 12 and Job xxxiii. 22.42. MS. VtfD.43. nmi (= mi) is a hapax (Jer. Hi. 23). The play here on S703 mil (Num.

xi. 31) is obvious, and the reference, euphemistically, here is the death of a scholar—a reference stated more explicitly further in the words >Q DT'tSSO?) (line 41). See note 57.

44. Lit. " hole ". Cf. Ps. xxviii. 1, where 113 is likewise used metaphorically for " grave ". However, the whole phrase in which this word is embodied echoes ^Dl nan nJDtf BBDD (Ps. xciv. 17), and perhaps the text originally read nail....

45. Prov. xviii. 4.46. Cf. Dan. viii. 27.47. Pual of H*?2 (cf. the apparent Pi el in the ketibh of Ezra iv. 4). For the

expression, cf. Ps. vi. 3 and xxxii. 3.48. naD seems to have here the meaning given to its equivalent in Arabic. See

the translation.49. For the whole line, cf. Zech. xi. 1 and Moed Qatan 25b. For the translation

of iVaxm, cf. G. R. Driver, Caster Anniversary Vol., 73 ff.50. Cf.Jobvii. 19.51. Lit. "in dazzling words". Cf. Ben Sira's DTS7 nnr. M. Z. Segal,

Sefer Ben Sira Ha-Shalem, XLII. 18 (p. 289), takes nnr as a Hiph'il.52. Ecc. ix. 1.53. Cf. Hos. iv. 18; Lam. v. 15.54. Cf. Zech. xi. 2.54a. The rhyme suggests 3in.

55. For this line, which is here translated freely, cf. Ez. xxvi. 16 ; Ps. cxxxii. 3 ; Is. xlix. 10.

56. Ecc. ix. 18.57. Abbreviation of Tl^D a shortened post-Biblical term of the Biblical

GENIZAH FRAGMENTS 177(Ruth iv. 1), which may be freely rendered here as " Mr. so

and so . The same abbreviation occurs twice more later. For a similar abbreviation in another elegy of about the same era, cf. Mann, ii. 335, I. 20.

58. Elliptical for 71X31 n»"7j?.59. Ecc. viii. 16.60. = mtfS77 "D"in. For similar oblique infinitives, cf. I Sam. ii. 3 ; Hos. i. 6 ;

Is. lii. 1 ; Lam. iii. 3 ; iv. 14 ; Prov. xxiii. 35.61. Cf.Jer.ix. 16. MS.'1™.62. Ecc. xii. 1 1 .63. rWQn is an emblematical term for the Torah (cf. Ps. xix. 8). For the notion,

cf. Jos. J. 8. For the construct state with firm qamez, cf. the hapax niiH of Ps. xlix. 4.

64. For the translation, cf. Aramaic DJT1 and Ps. xviii. 2. Here it is a fitting synonym of DS713.

65. Ecc. ix. 10.66. Cf. Is. Ivii. 2.67. A play on Gen. xliii. 21.68. Cf. Is. Iviii. 8 and Zech. xii. 8. For mtPQ as an emblematical term for angel,

cf. Ps. civ. 4. It seems to stand here as a collective noun. See n. 70.69. The spelling of this word (with the omission of the waw after the £ap/i)

suggests a reading other than that customary today. It is hardly likely, in a plena text such as the present one, to be read ?prii9DT or SpriYOT.

70. The reference is to the three groups of ministering angels which, according to Keth. 1 04a, come to meet the righteous on his death and announce good reports about him. See Sabb. 32a on Job xxxiii. 23.

71. A new coinage on the haqtel pattern.72. Prov. xxiv. 14. The MS. begins with flKXQ Following, however, the

scheme of the elegy (see p. 164), the words preceding nNSQ, in which the -\/DDn is embodied, should be restored.

73. MS., erroneously, JVNa.74. Cf. Dan. vi. 27 and note the mixture of Aramaic and Hebrew in this line.75. Cf. Dan. iii. 33. MS.76. See p. 1 64.77. Lit. " another one at (the time of) their mourning ".78. Cf. Ez. iii. 15 ; xxi. 1 1 ; Lam. iii. 5 ; and Ezra ix. 3, upon which there is

a play on tfXI.79. Cf. Prov. xvii. 28.80. Modelled after im^Dn fj? (Dan. xii. 6). For my translation of f J7, see

Vetus Testamentum, vol. IV. 2, pp. 211-13. That " the Day of Consolation is one of seven things hidden from man ", cf. Pesahim 54b.

81 . Cf. Zech. i. 13. On the bearing of this Biblical passage on the scheme of the elegy, see p. 1 64.

82. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 4 and see p. 164.83. The last two lines are a paraphrase of Moed Qatan 27b with the additional

word TSna of Ezra x. 9 which bears on it.84. A typically paytanic segolate noun on the Qatl pattern.

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