Sefer Oklah We-Oklah
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The sefer Oklah we-Oklah (אָכְלָה וְאָכְלָה) is an old Masoretic work in which the notices and rules of the Masorah are collected; it consists of groups of rare words or of certain peculiarities of the text arranged either alphabetically, or in the order of the books of the Bible, or according to some other principle, and contains also brief rules and notes on various phenomena found in the original text of the Bible. This work, whose author is unknown, takes its title from the first two words of the opening passage, which is an alphabetical list of words occurring only twice in the Bible, in one passage without the prefixed '' waw'' and in the other with it, the first of these pairs of words being ''oklah'' (אָכְלָה ) from
1 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...
and ''we-oklah'' ( וְאָכְלָה ) from
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
. The book is first mentioned by
Jonah ibn Janah Jonah ibn Janah () or Abū al-Walīd Marwān ibn Janāḥ (), (), was a Jewish rabbi, physician and Hebrew grammarian active in al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Spain). Born in Córdoba, ibn Janah was mentored there by Isaac ibn Gikatilla and Isaac ibn ...
, not only in his lexicon, but even in his first work. Ibn Janah there calls it ''Masoret Oklah we-Oklah'', and designates it as the most correct book on the Masorah. It is quoted, however, as early as the tenth century by the Karaite lexicographer
David ben Abraham al-Fasi David ben Abraham al-Fasi () was a medieval Jewish, Moroccan lexicographer and grammarian from Fez, living in the second half of the 10th century (died before 1026 CE), who eventually settled in the Land of Israel where he is believed to have co ...
under the (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
) title of ''The Great Masorah'', and it is referred to as the ''Masoret ha-Gedolah'' by
Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
and his grandson Rabbi
Jacob Tam Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam (), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists, a leading ''halakhic'' authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi. Know ...
. It is clear, furthermore, from references in manuscripts that Rabbi
Gershom ben Judah Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960–1040) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (, "Our teacher Gershom") and also commonly known to scholars of Rabbinic Judaism by the title ''Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah'' ("Our teacher Gershom the light of the exile"), was ...
, the "Light of the Exile" (d. 1040), made a copy of this "great Masorah" (i.e., the ''Sefer Oklah we-Oklah''), and another transcript was made in the twelfth century by Rabbi Menahem of Joigny. Graetz misinterpreted the first reference to mean that Rabbi Gershom wrote the book, but by Gershom's time this work had long been known and highly valued in Spain, as the quotation from Ibn Janah shows. In the thirteenth century
David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Kimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi (, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian ...
mentioned the work, and in the fourteenth century a copy was taken from
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. When
Jacob ben Hayyim Jacob ben Hayyim ben Isaac ibn Adonijah or Jacob ben Chayyim (c. 1470 – before 1538), was a scholar of the Masoretic (𝕸) textual notes on the Hebrew Bible, exegete and printer. Born in Tunis and thus sometimes called ''al-Tunisi'' in Arabic, ...
was editing the Masorah for the Bomberg edition of the Bible (1524–25), he borrowed most of the material for the Masorah Finalis from the ''Sefer Oklah we-Oklah''.
Elijah Levita Elia Levita (13 February 146928 January 1549) (), also known as Elijah Levita, Elias Levita, Élie Lévita, Elia Levita Ashkenazi, Eliahu Levita, Eliyahu haBahur ("Elijah the Bachelor"), Elye Bokher, was a Renaissance Hebrew grammarian, schola ...
also used the work in his Masoretic studies, describing it as a book small in size but great in value. For three centuries it was supposed to be lost, until it was published by Solomon Frensdorff from a Paris manuscript (
Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...
, MS. No. 148), under the title ''Das Buch Ochlah W'ochlah'' (Hanover, 1864). This edition led to the discovery of a second manuscript of the work in the library of the
University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
, by H. Hupfeld, who described it in the "Z. D. M. G.". Graetz, comparing the Frensdorff edition with the Halle manuscript, showed that the unedited version of the work contained an earlier and more complete text, and also that the version used by Jacob ben Hayyim must have differed from the two preceding recensions. In the Halle manuscript the material is logically arranged in two orders, although this division is not observed in the edition. The manuscript, with which the passages quoted from Rabbi Gershom's copy, as well as the citations in Rashi, agree, includes more than 500 numbers instead of the 374 numbers of the edition, whence it is evident that in the course of time the ''Oklah we-Oklah'' received several revisions and amplifications, as Rabbi Jacob Tam had already pointed out when he said that various things were added to the book of "the great Masorah" which did not originally belong to it. In summing up the evidences and research to date, Bruno Ognibeni (1991) concluded that the text, in a less complete form, predates the 10th Century CE.Bruno Ognibeni in ''Tradition of the text: studies offered to Dominique Barthélemy in Celebration of his 70th Birthday'' 3525537425 9783525537428 Gerard J. Norton, Stephen Pisano 1991


References


Editions

* Solomon Frensdorff,
Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah
', Hannover, 1864; repr. Tel Aviv, 1969. Based on the Paris manuscript. Digitalisat
Frensdorff 1864
* Fernando Díaz Esteban, ''Sefer Oklah we-Oklah''. Colección de listas de palabras destinadas a conservar la integridad del texto hebreo de la Biblia entre los judíos de la Edad Media.
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas The Spanish National Research Council (, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and techn ...
, Madrid, 1975. Based on the Halle manuscript. Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah cover.jpg, Cover of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah title page Hebrew.jpg, Hebrew title page of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" by Solomon Frensdorff Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah title page German.jpg, German title page of "Das Buch Ochlah W'Ochlah" by Solomon Frensdorff


References from the Jewish Encyclopedia

* Frensdorff's introduction to his edition; * Grätz, in ''Monatsschrift'', 1887; * Winter and Wünsche, ''Jüdische Litteratur'', ii. 129. {{Jewish Encyclopedia , article=Oklah we-Oklah , url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=45&letter=O , author=
Crawford Howell Toy Crawford Howell Toy (March 23, 1836May 12, 1919), American Hebrew scholar, was born in Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated at the University of Virginia in 1856, and studied at the University of Berlin from 1866 to 1868. From 1869 to 1879 he was pro ...
and
Wilhelm Bacher Wilhelm Bacher (; , ''Benjamin Ze'ev Bacher''; 12 January 1850 – 25 December 1913)
History of the Hebrew Bible Hebrew words and phrases Hebrew language