THE ART OF BIBLE REPRODUCTION BEFORE PRINTING PRESS From 500-1500 AD, there existed throughout the Jewish Diaspora a school of dedicated copyists known as the #Masoretes. The Hebrew Masoretes followed thoroughly prescribed and very rigorous methods for transcribing copies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Among other things, they had to have an authentic copy of the texts before them when copying. They could not copy anything from memory, but had to have a bona fide copy in front of them, sounding out each word before copying it. The copyist had to have the word on his lips, not just in his mind. Rules governed everything involved with the copying, even the color of the ink used, the number of lines per column of text, the preparation of the parchment skins used, etc. Strict standards were followed that governed the style of letter formation, space between letters, the handling of the pen used to copy. Care was taken not just to transfer words, but to standardize them so rigorously that the copy was as nearly a perfect replica of the original as was humanly possible. The quality of copying from this method would approach that obtained with a modern copying machine. Further, if one mistake was found on a sheet of parchment, the sheet was laid to rest and the work started over. If three mistakes were found on any one page, the entire manuscript was thrown out and copying anew. Thus, if a Masorete who was copying the entire text of the Hebrew Bible started in Genesis and got all the way to the end of II Chronicles and made three mistakes on a page, the entire document was thrown out, along with weeks of work, and started over.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:00:01 +0000
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