Abstract
This article proposes new interpretations of three terms that appear in the Tannaiticliterature in association with types of skin used for writing tefillin, mezuzot, and Torahscrolls: qəlāf, dûkhsûsṭôs, and gəwîl. Medieval rabbinic sages debated how these terms should be understood, and scholars in the modern era have also deliberated on theetymological backgrounds of the three terms. The new interpretations offered here arebased on scientific analyses – microscopic and spectroscopic – conducted in recentyears on ancient tefillin, mezuzot, and scrolls from the Judean Desert to determinethe nature of the skins from which they are made. The results of these analyses allowus – for the first time ever – to characterize the types of skin actually used for tefillin,mezuzot, and scrolls between the second century BCE and the second century CE, andtherefore also to variously identify these types of skin with the three Tannaitic terms inquestion. These identifications consequently allow us to draw more robust conclusionswith regard to the etymological origins of the three terms.
Translated title of the contribution | On the Terms Qəlāf, Dûkhsûsṭôs, and Gəwîl in the Tannaitic Literature in Light of Microscopic and Spectroscopic Analyses of Ancient Tefillin, Mezuzot, and Scrolls from the Judean Desert |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 37-66 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | מחקרי יהודה ושומרון |
Volume | ל"ג |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 2024 |
IHP Publications
- ihp
- Technology -- Religious aspects -- Judaism
- Parchment
- Tefillin
- Mezuzah
- Torah scrolls
- Scribes, Jewish
- Dead Sea scrolls
- Jewish law -- History
- Tannaim
- Hebrew language -- Terms and phrases