. 276 



with Talmudic rules, be corrected or removed. Such MSS., 

 also, as had fallen into the hands of Christians or Pagans, were 

 looked upon as having contracted an indelible stain of impu- 

 rity, and were therefore buried with the dead. To this super- 

 stition we probably owe the loss of many ancient and pre- 

 cious MSS. 



The fragment exhibited to the Academy, Dr. Todd stated, 

 coincided exactly with the Masoretic text. He had read and 

 transcribed every word of it that was legible, and he did not 

 find a single instance of deviation from the received text of the 

 Masoretic Bible. It is therefore of no value whatsoever in a 

 critical point of view, and is only to be regarded as a curious 

 specimen of a leather MS., a class of MSS. which is every day 

 becoming more rare. The modern Jewish Pentateuch rolls, 

 that is to say, those of more recent date than the fifteenth 

 century, are in general written upon parchment, and not on 

 skin or leather. The Talmudic Tract called Q*»1BD fDDB, 

 which contains directions for the writing of these MSS., per- 

 mits them to be written either on leather or parchment, and 

 gives rules for preparing the material in both cases. If writ- 

 ten on leather, the skin is to be first stripped of its hair, and 

 hardened with salt, flour, galls, &c, or else it is split into two, 

 and prepared for writing in a similar way. If split, the thicker 

 portion, which in the living animal was next the flesh, is called 

 by the Jews DltODlDpi Docsostos (a corrupt Greek word, which 

 is probably SiyaaTOQ, from gr^a^o)), and if this be used, 

 the writing must be upon the side which was next the flesh ; 

 but if the undivided skin be used (which they call Via), the 

 writing must be on the side which was under the hair. The 

 thinner membrane obtained after splitting the skin, they call 

 fpp, and in writing on this, the side next the flesh must be 

 used. These are not superstitious rules; but are adopted to 

 secure greater facility and perfection in the writing. The 

 skin of an animal which is (according to the ceremonial law) 

 unclean, is not to be used in writing the law, nor unless it be 



