Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert

Emanuel Tov

Books

Available
Publication year: 2004


Series:	Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 54
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 14001 1
ISBN-10:	90 04 14001 8

Cover:	Cloth with dustjacket
Number of pages:	xxii, 422 pp. 21 Illus.

List price:	€ 156.00 / US$ 231.00

Reviews

'Das Werk ist für alle, die sich mit der Textgeschichte der biblischen Bücher beschäftigen ein unabdingbares Handwerkszeug.'
A. Lange, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft.

Readership

All those interested in Hebrew Scripture, Qumran studies, Greek Scripture, Classical Studies, papyrology, Septuagint, linguistics, librarianship.

About the author(s)

Emanuel Tov, Ph.D. (1973) in Biblical Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is J.L. Magnes Professor of Bible at the Hebrew University. He is the editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls publication project and the author of two handbooks on textual criticism and co-author of The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader (Brill, 2004).

This monograph is written in the form of a handbook on the scribal features of the texts found in the Judean Desert (the Dead Sea Scrolls). It deals in detail with the material, shape, and preparation of the scrolls; scribes and scribal activity; scripts, writing conventions, errors and their correction, scribal signs; scribal traditions; differences between different types of scrolls (e.g., biblical and non-biblical scrolls), the possible existence of scribal schools, such as that at Qumran. In most categories, the analysis is meant to be exhaustive. The detailed analysis is accompanied by tens of tables as well as annotated illustrations and charts of scribal signs. The findings have major implications for the study of the scrolls and the understanding of their relationship to scribal traditions in Israel and elsewhere.

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