 |
 |
In the interests of accuracy, and not perpetuating (or originating?) misleading information, three points on Bill East's posting: 1. Papyrus codices were in wide use once the codex format came into use in the 2nd century ce. Folding papyrus is not itself a problem, as long as one does not need to keep folding and unfolding. Small scale papyrus codices contained a group of sheets folded in the middle and sometimes held together with stiching; large scale codices put together several such groupings (quires), usually by sewing them. For further information, see E. G. Turner, Typology of the Early Codex (1977), among others. 2. Where did the elaborate story of the filling out of the minor prophets come from? I've never heard it, in all my years in the field! I can't imagine that there is any evidence to support it -- the minor prophets were together as a roll very early, where evidence of such detail is virtually non existent. 3. As has become clear from the Dead Sea Scroll findings, Hebrew was far from dead at the turn of the era. The majority of the scrolls are in Hebrew, and date from that period. Other, less literary discoveries contemporary with the scrolls also attest the use of Hebrew as well as Aramaic. Forgive me if I tune in for the second installment, since the Greek translations of Jewish scriptures are even more up my academic alley! Please don't treat the LXX/OG materials as homogeneous in origin or in transmission! An appreciative critic, Bob -- Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania 227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827 [log in to unmask] http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%