Abstract
For the first four orders of the Tosefta we have three full text-witnesses, representing two transmission branches: MS Erfurt, whose readings are often close to quotations of Tosefta in Rishonim of Ashkenaz; and MS Vienna and the editio princeps, whose readings are often close to those of Sepharad. MS Erfurt ends in the middle of Tractate Zevaḥim, so for the last two orders we have representatives of only one transmission branch. Saul Lieberman argued that indirect evidence can be found in quotations of Tosefta Tohorot passages in the Rishonim, for a second transmission branch for Tohorot, which, he supposed, must have existed. Important, then, are quotations of Tosefta in the writings of the Rishonim of France and Ashkenaz, which may provide such indirect evidence. The present study addresses the problems in Lieberman's argument by examining these passages in the Rishonim in the light of Tosefta fragments retrieved from the Cairo Geniza and from bookbindings known as the “European Geniza,” almost all fragments not known to Lieberman. The results do not confirm Lieberman's thesis. In fact, there does not appear to be any evidence in any of the Rishonim of a consistent reliance on a textual transmission different from that of MS Vienna and the editio princeps.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 29-54 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Hebrew Union College Annual |
Volume | 88 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2017 |
RAMBI Publications
- RAMBI Publications
- Lieberman, Saul -- 1898-1983
- Books within Books: Hebrew Fragments in European Libraries (Project)
- Tosefta -- Tohorot (Order) -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Cairo Genizah