Hebrew Bible (Tanakh: Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim), Spain, Toledo, December 1307 CE / Kislev 5068, Manuscript on parchment, On loan from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Friedberg MSS 5-001

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh: Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim), Spain, Toledo, December 1307 CE / Kislev 5068, Manuscript on parchment, On loan from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Friedberg MSS 5-001

This Hebrew Bible was written and decorated in 1307 in Christian-ruled Toledo at a time when Jewish life in Spain was becoming increasingly difficult, culminating in the final expulsion of Jews as well as Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Possibly commissioned for personal family use rather than for a synagogue, this manuscript is punctuated by pages of intricate and playful geometric designs, such as the rhythmic wavy lines made up of Hebrew characters seen here. Along with the exact date, the gifted scribe has included his name in the colophon: Yosef ben Yehudah ben Merwas.

Yosef ben Yehudah ben Merwas (scribe)

Dimensions: 26.8 x 23.0 x 8.7; 23.0 x 16.0 x 9.9

Material: Ink on parchment

Fisher Friedberg MSS 5-001

Spain, Toledo

Photographer credit: Courtesy of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

December 1307 CE / Kislev 5068

Hebrew

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh: Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim)