The role of the colon in MS Erfurt of the Tosefta

The Erfurt manuscript of the Tosefta contains 15 places where the scribe marked one of two possible versions of the text with a double colon. While scholars have commented on individual instances of the double colon, there is no scholarly consensus as to its form and purpose. In this article I provide a comprehensive analysis of all instances of this scribal phenomenon; in each case I demonstrate the philological import of the notation, and the backdrop to the proposed alternate text. Furthermore, an analysis of these instances as a whole reveals a complex system of internal notations whereby the scribe uses a combination of colons and selective vocalization to record his emendation practices while copying the manuscript. My analysis also relates to the long-debated question of whether the scribe had access to an additional witness of the Tosefta and lends support to the claim that he did.