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DOI Artikel:Budzioch, Dagmara; Tomal, Maciej: The manuskript of the Moreh Nevuchim from the collection of the National Museum in Krakow
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31060#0155
The manuscript ofMoreh Nevuchim front the collection ofthe National Museum in Kraków
155
including 54 chapters, covers pages 326-509. The dictionary follows immediately the last
part of the work (ending at page 550). At the end of all the parts as well as at the end of the
dictionary the following formula is written: obiy bttb nb’nn obwił on [tam ve-nishlam
thila le-el olani\ “completed and finished, praise [be] the God of Eternity”. Interestingly
enough, in the ąuoted phrase three letters are marked - n W n i.e. mem, shin and he. Read-
ing from right to left they result in the name Moshe, which may refer to the name of the
author - Moshe ben Maimon. On the other hand, reading from left to right gives us the
word Ha-Shem, “The Name [of God]”.
As has been mentioned, our codex includes Ibn Tibbons colophon, the translator of
Moreh Nevuchim. This is a well known text that reads as follows:
uombi [4] yb’n nyniNn homb^pNb [3] ttn <yin by [2] jmn ~iywn dt rn^wy [l]
oy [7] dwo omw1 rrp^b nypnn [6] niw nnn wina miauRn [5] ’Knn uv di1
■jDN [9] otbwb u>nn [8] bici irpmy bN onTinn
[1] I have ńnished this chapter on [2] the ship. I am going ashore [3] [in the place] of
four miles to Aąilibia2 [4] and one and a half day journey to Tunis on my way [5] from
Alexandria in the month Tammuz in the year [6] [4] 973 from the creation [of the world].
Let Lord bring us back [7] together with our community to our City and [8] to our home
[9] Amen.
The above~quoted text is immediately fołlowed by the colophon written in the name
of the scribe and some additionał sheets that testify to the origins and history of the de-
scribed codex. They will be discussed in the next section of the present text.
Ihe origins and history of the manuscript
The detailed history of the manuscript is not known. Some information about its origins
and history is provided by the colophon written in the name of the scribe and paper sheets
added to the codex itself. As has been already mentioned, the colophon written in the
name of the scribe follows immediately, i.e. in the same column as the standard Ibn Tib-
bons colophon. The text reads as follows:
[3] wn nniTN mza pmc n"n ,-p by [2] nroi Danin nnn mmn mun nr [l]
X"1 bNim my^n [5] A>n ihin nnn umn in: by [4] nnwpn nwtpd myn nn OMbup
umpnn nin N"nnni pmc nn [7] b"T nwn i"nn n"y bNim i"nn n"zmn [6] oninN mnn
i"n om [10] bNiw1 nn bnn onnto ony non [9] Dbwn mraw bnpt omN 'n pnw [8]
yuiw nnn oyi n"y innn [12] i"nn y'1 oninN 'im yo mon [l l] pmc innmiw miM
[15] iddh ht zmn Nb ibmwp [14] myn mrpnn m^nn noiun pny 'i [13] mnn
nnu iNwm [17] iNonn mun nn nonb unr [16] vium vnm ]ynb 'n rr> nnmn
2 The Identification of the city-port Aąilibia is problematic. While S.I. Aranov (A Descriptive Catalogue
of the Bension Collection of Sephardic Manuscripts and Texts, Toronto 1979, XV, p. 158) States that it is
simply Al-Akliba, C. Sirat (A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, Cambridge 1985, p. 218)
identifies the place as Cartagena, which seems to be doubtful. On the other hand, there is the town of Ke-
libia (Qilibiyah) in Tunisia situated around 150 km from Tunis, where was located a port active no doubt
in the 13th century, when the translation was prepared.
155
including 54 chapters, covers pages 326-509. The dictionary follows immediately the last
part of the work (ending at page 550). At the end of all the parts as well as at the end of the
dictionary the following formula is written: obiy bttb nb’nn obwił on [tam ve-nishlam
thila le-el olani\ “completed and finished, praise [be] the God of Eternity”. Interestingly
enough, in the ąuoted phrase three letters are marked - n W n i.e. mem, shin and he. Read-
ing from right to left they result in the name Moshe, which may refer to the name of the
author - Moshe ben Maimon. On the other hand, reading from left to right gives us the
word Ha-Shem, “The Name [of God]”.
As has been mentioned, our codex includes Ibn Tibbons colophon, the translator of
Moreh Nevuchim. This is a well known text that reads as follows:
uombi [4] yb’n nyniNn homb^pNb [3] ttn <yin by [2] jmn ~iywn dt rn^wy [l]
oy [7] dwo omw1 rrp^b nypnn [6] niw nnn wina miauRn [5] ’Knn uv di1
■jDN [9] otbwb u>nn [8] bici irpmy bN onTinn
[1] I have ńnished this chapter on [2] the ship. I am going ashore [3] [in the place] of
four miles to Aąilibia2 [4] and one and a half day journey to Tunis on my way [5] from
Alexandria in the month Tammuz in the year [6] [4] 973 from the creation [of the world].
Let Lord bring us back [7] together with our community to our City and [8] to our home
[9] Amen.
The above~quoted text is immediately fołlowed by the colophon written in the name
of the scribe and some additionał sheets that testify to the origins and history of the de-
scribed codex. They will be discussed in the next section of the present text.
Ihe origins and history of the manuscript
The detailed history of the manuscript is not known. Some information about its origins
and history is provided by the colophon written in the name of the scribe and paper sheets
added to the codex itself. As has been already mentioned, the colophon written in the
name of the scribe follows immediately, i.e. in the same column as the standard Ibn Tib-
bons colophon. The text reads as follows:
[3] wn nniTN mza pmc n"n ,-p by [2] nroi Danin nnn mmn mun nr [l]
X"1 bNim my^n [5] A>n ihin nnn umn in: by [4] nnwpn nwtpd myn nn OMbup
umpnn nin N"nnni pmc nn [7] b"T nwn i"nn n"y bNim i"nn n"zmn [6] oninN mnn
i"n om [10] bNiw1 nn bnn onnto ony non [9] Dbwn mraw bnpt omN 'n pnw [8]
yuiw nnn oyi n"y innn [12] i"nn y'1 oninN 'im yo mon [l l] pmc innmiw miM
[15] iddh ht zmn Nb ibmwp [14] myn mrpnn m^nn noiun pny 'i [13] mnn
nnu iNwm [17] iNonn mun nn nonb unr [16] vium vnm ]ynb 'n rr> nnmn
2 The Identification of the city-port Aąilibia is problematic. While S.I. Aranov (A Descriptive Catalogue
of the Bension Collection of Sephardic Manuscripts and Texts, Toronto 1979, XV, p. 158) States that it is
simply Al-Akliba, C. Sirat (A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, Cambridge 1985, p. 218)
identifies the place as Cartagena, which seems to be doubtful. On the other hand, there is the town of Ke-
libia (Qilibiyah) in Tunisia situated around 150 km from Tunis, where was located a port active no doubt
in the 13th century, when the translation was prepared.