The Montefiore Codex

Complete Tanach on parchment

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The Montefiore Codex

Complete Tanach on parchment

Iberian Peninsula, circa 1300
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The complete 24 Books of Tanach comprising all of Torah, Nevi’im, Kesuvim and five Scrolls, inscribed in 2 volumes on parchment.

Complete Handwritten Tanach on Parchment 2 Volumes, 398 Leaves.

Monumental manuscript preserved for over 700 years without a single word missing in the text!

This rare Tanach was part of Sir Montefiore's famous manuscript collection and is cataloged as  number 1 in the collection. This is rightfully so, for it is extraordinary in its antiquity, completeness, and accuracy.

As indicated in the colophon (see below) this Tanach was regarded as a complete, edited and proofread sefer that could be used as a model for writing a Sefer Torah or any of the other books of Tanach.

Complete manuscripts from the 14th century are exceptionally rare, as those that have survived 700 years are mostly missing pages at the beginning, end or both. This precious Tanach is a live witness to the Jewish courage, survival and spiritual strength, exemplifying the verse,   “The Torah will not be separated from your mouth and the mouths of your offspring forevermore."

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House Commission on this lot is 15%.

Description: Two-volume Tanach inscribed with brown ink in square Sephardic script upon parchment.

Vol. 1: 192 leaves

Vol. 2: 206 leaves

Size: 18*21 cm.

Written in 3 columns which is characteristic of 14th century manuscripts; except for Sefer Tehillim, Mishlei and Iyov which are written in 2 columns. 30 lines per column.

The text is vocalized and marked with cantillation marks, basic Mesorah text markings on margins.The beginning of each parshah is marked with a floral design, and larger flower designs mark the beginning of some sefarim.

Chapter numbers and markings of haftaros were later added. Several of the books end with colophons written in rhyme. The last page includes a list of haftaros for the entire year in Yemenite script.

Shiras Hayam (leaf 33b-34a) and Shiras Devorah (115b-116a) are inscribed according to the dictates of the rules of writing the Sefer Torah. The order of sefarim in Kesuvim follows the order of ancient Sephardic Tanachs, with Divrei Hayamim written first, compared to the contemporary practice which places it as the last of the Kesuvim.

A  colophon written a little later reads: “We shall be strong and strengthened. Twenty-four…with Nevi’im and Kesuvim… as accurate as an authentic Sefer Torah. It is worthy of being relied upon by all Jewish congregations…”

Condition: Overall in good condition. Ink slightly faded on some pages, strengthened at a later period. Leaf 200 has a minor tear in the parchment, but all text is intact. Several pages are reinforced, with stains and signs of use, mostly in the margins. New matching bindings.

For similar 14th-century scripts see: De Sefarad = Bibles of Sepharad Catalog of an exhibition held at the Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, Spain, Feb. 27-May 13, 2012.

Bezalel Narkiss. Illustrated Hebrew Manuscripts on the British Isles Vol. 2, 1982 (Boards VII-X and others).

Provenance:

- 17th-century signature: “The youth Salah Yosef ben Mori v’Rabbi Saadya Alpro”

(See manuscript description copied on his behalf in Encyclopedia L’Chachmei Teiman vol. 1 p. 488).

- Stamp of Yeshivas Ohel Moshe and Judith Montefiore. Ramsgate, 1866. Stamped several times.

See: H. Hirschfeld Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew Mss. of the Montefiore Library (London 1904)  (ms. no. 1);

C.D. Ginsburg, Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible (1897).

- The Montefiore Collection Sotheby’s 2004 Lot 6.

- Yechezkel Toporowitch Collection.

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