Editing Leningrad Codex

{{short description|11th-century Hebrew Bible manuscript}}
[[File:Leningrad Codex Folio 474a.jpg|thumb|Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a)]]
{{wikt|codex}}
The '''Leningrad Codex''' ({{langx|la|Codex Leningradensis}} &#91;[[Leningrad]] Book]; {{langx|he| כתב יד לנינגרד}}) is the oldest known complete manuscript of the [[Hebrew Bible]] in Hebrew, using the [[Masoretic Text]] and [[Tiberian vocalization]].  According to its [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]], it was made in [[Cairo]] in AD 1008 (or possibly 1009).<ref>{{cite book |first1=Rud |last1=Kittel |first2=A |last2=Alt |first3=Otto |last3=Eissfeldt |first4=Paul |last4=Kahle |first5=Gerard E |last5=Weil |first6=Adrian |last6=Schenker |title ={{lang|la|Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia |nocat=yes}} |date=1977 |isbn=9783438052186 }} (in Foreword by Gérard E. Weil).</ref>  

Some have proposed that the Leningrad Codex was corrected against the [[Aleppo Codex]], a slightly earlier manuscript that was partially lost in the 20th century.  However, [[Paul E. Kahle]] argues that the Leningrad manuscript was more likely based on other, lost manuscripts by the [[ben Asher family]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kahle |first=Paul E |author-link=Paul E. Kahle |title=The Cairo Geniza |location=New York |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger Publishers |date=1959 |pages= 110{{ndash}}111}}</ref>  The Aleppo Codex is several decades older, but parts of it have been missing since the [[1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo]], making the Leningrad Codex the oldest complete codex of the Tiberian mesorah that has survived intact to this day.

In modern times, the Leningrad Codex is significant as the Hebrew text reproduced in {{lang|la|[[Biblia Hebraica (Kittel)|Biblia Hebraica]]}} (1937), {{lang|la|[[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]]}} (1977), and {{lang|la|[[Biblia Hebraica Quinta]]}} (2004–present). It also serves as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex.

==Name==
The Leningrad Codex (a [[codex]] is a handwritten book bound at one side, as opposed to a [[scroll]]) is so named because it has been housed at the [[National Library of Russia]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] since 1863 (before 1917 named Imperial Public Library). In 1924, after the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], Petrograd (formerly Saint{{nbsp}}Petersburg) was renamed Leningrad, and, because the codex was used as the basic text for the {{lang|la|Biblia Hebraica}} since 1937, it became internationally known as the "Leningrad Codex". Although the city's name was restored to the original St{{nbsp}}Petersburg after the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the National Library of Russia requested that "Leningrad" be retained in the name of the codex. Nonetheless, the Codex is occasionally referred to as the ''[[Codex Petropolitanus (disambiguation)|Codex Petropolitanus]]'', ''Petrograd Codex'', ''Codex Petersburgensis'', or ''St. Petersburg Codex''. This is ambiguous as, since 1876, these appellations refer to a different biblical codex (MS. Heb B 3) which is even older (AD 916), but contains only the [[Nevi'im#Latter Prophets|later Prophets]].

==Contents==
The biblical text as found in the codex contains the Hebrew letter-text along with Tiberian [[niqqud|vowels]] and [[Hebrew cantillation|cantillation]] signs. In addition, there are [[masoretic notes]] in the margins. There are also various technical supplements dealing with textual and linguistic details, many of which are painted in geometrical forms. The codex is written on parchment and bound in leather.

The Leningrad Codex, in extraordinarily pristine condition after a millennium, also provides an example of medieval Jewish art. Sixteen of the pages contain decorative geometric patterns that illuminate passages from the text. The [[carpet page]] shows a star with the names of the scribes on the edges and a blessing written in the middle.

The order of the books in the Leningrad Codex follows the Tiberian textual tradition, which is also that of the later tradition of [[Sephardic]] biblical manuscripts. This order for the books differs markedly from that of most printed Hebrew bibles for the books of the [[Ketuvim]]. In the Leningrad Codex, the order of the Ketuvim is: Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah. [[#Sequence of the books|The full order of the books]] is given below.

<gallery mode=packed heights=190>
File:Leningrad Codex Carpet Page closeup.jpg|Leningrad Codex Carpet Page
File:Leningrad Codex Folio 040b.jpg|Leningrad Codex folio 40 verso, Exodus 15:14b-16:3a
File:LeningradCodex text.jpg|Leningrad Codex text sample, portions of Exodus 15:21–16:3
File:Leningrad Codex Folio 371b.jpg|Page from the Leningrad Codex
File:Leningrad Codex Folio 008a.jpg|Page from the Leningrad Codex
</gallery>

==History==

According to its [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]], the [[codex]] was copied in [[Cairo]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stuhlman|first1=Daniel D.|title=The Leningrad Codex|url=http://home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/crc10.htm|publisher=Librarian's Lobby|access-date=13 October 2014|date=1 March 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326044718/http://home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/crc10.htm|archive-date=26 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> from manuscripts written by [[Aaron ben Moses ben Asher]]. It has been claimed to be a product of the ben Asher scriptorium itself; however, there is no evidence that ben Asher ever saw it. Unusually for a masoretic codex, the same man (Samuel ben Jacob) wrote the consonants, the vowels and the Masoretic notes. In its vocalization system (vowel points and [[Hebrew cantillation|cantillation]]) it is considered by scholars to be the most faithful representative of ben Asher's tradition apart from the Aleppo Codex (edited by ben Asher himself). Its letter-text is not perfect, however, and contradicts its own masoretic apparatus in hundreds of places.{{efn|On the vocalization and letter-text of the Leningrad Codex see {{cite book |first=Israel |last=Yeivin |title=The Aleppo Codex of the Bible: A Study of its Vocalization and Accentuation |location=Jerusalem |publisher= Magnes Press, Hebrew University |date=1968 |pages=357{{ndash}}359 |others=Text in Hebrew, foreword and summary in English}}}} There are numerous alterations and erasures, and it was suggested by [[Moshe Goshen-Gottstein]] that an existing text not following ben Asher's rules was heavily amended so as to make it conform to these rules.

The codex is now preserved in the [[National Library of Russia]], accessioned as "Firkovich B 19 A". Its former owner, the [[Crimean Karaite]] collector [[Abraham Firkovich]], left no indication in his writings where he had acquired the codex, which was taken to Odessa in 1838 and later transferred to the Imperial Library in St{{nbsp}}Petersburg.

==Modern editions==
===''Biblia Hebraica''===
In 1935, the Leningrad Codex was lent to the Old Testament Seminar of the University of Leipzig for two years while [[Paul E. Kahle]] supervised its transcription for the Hebrew text of the third edition of ''[[Biblia Hebraica (Kittel)|Biblia Hebraica]]'' (BHK), published in Stuttgart, 1937. The codex was also used for ''[[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]]'' (BHS) in 1977, and is being used for ''[[Biblia Hebraica Quinta]]'' (BHQ).

As an original work by Tiberian masoretes, the Leningrad Codex was older by several centuries than the other Hebrew manuscripts which had been used for all previous editions of printed Hebrew bibles until [[Biblia Hebraica (disambiguation)|Biblia Hebraica]].

The Westminster Leningrad Codex is a digital version of the Leningrad Codex maintained by the [[J. Alan Groves]] Center for Advanced Biblical Research. This is a verified version of the Michigan-Claremont text, transcribed from BHS at the [[University of Michigan]] in 1981–1982 under the direction of H. Van Dyke Parunak (of the University of Michigan) and Richard E. Whitaker (of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate University) with funding from the Packard Foundation and the University of Michigan,<ref>Introductory notes to the Bibleworks WTT text, www.bibleworks.com</ref>{{better source|reason=Insufficient information to identify source with certainty. Bibleworks.com has ceased operations|date=August 2021}} with further proofreading and corrections. The version includes transcription notes and tools for analyzing syntax.

===Jewish editions===

The Leningrad Codex also served as the basis for two modern Jewish editions of the Hebrew Bible ([[Tanakh]]):{{cn|date=February 2021}}
*The [[Aron Dotan|Dotan edition]] (which was distributed to soldiers in mass quantities as the official [[Tanakh]] of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] throughout the 1990s).
*The [[New Jewish Publication Society of America Version|''JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh'']] (Philadelphia, 1999) and the various volumes of the JPS Torah Commentary and JPS Bible Commentary use the Westminster text described above.
*[[Etz Hayim Humash|Etz Hayim]], the Torah and commentary of the Conservative Movement.<ref>{{Cite book |title=ʿĒṣ ḥayyîm: = Etz hayim: Torah and commentary |date=2001 |publisher=Jewish Publication Society |isbn=978-0-8276-0712-5 |editor-last=Lieber |editor-first=David L. |edition=First |location=Philadelphia |page=xix}}</ref>

(Contrary to popular belief as previously stated on this page, the [[Koren edition]]s of Tanakh are not based primarily on the Leningrad Codex, but on the second edition [[Mikraot Gedolot]] published by [[Daniel Bomberg]] in Venice in 1525, with changes made to the text based on a variety of older manuscripts which are not named by the publisher.<ref>Koren TaNaKh Israel Edition (Hebrew), Jerusalem, 2020, pp 3 of the Introduction</ref> It is possible, as some have claimed, that the Leningrad Codex was among those used, but it is not specifically named by the publisher.)

For minute masoretic details, however, Israeli and Jewish scholars have shown a marked preference for modern Hebrew editions based upon the Aleppo Codex.{{cn|date=February 2021}} These editions use the Leningrad Codex as the most important source (but not the only one) for the reconstruction of parts of the Aleppo Codex that have been missing since 1947.{{cn|date=February 2021}}

==Sequence of the books==
As explained in the [[#Contents|Contents section]] above, the order of the books in the Leningrad Codex follows the Tiberian textual tradition and is different from most modern Hebrew bibles:

The [[Torah]]:
: 1. [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|בראשית}} / Bereishit]
: 2. [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|שמות}} / Shemot]
: 3. [[Leviticus]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|ויקרא}} / Vayikra]
: 4. [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|במדבר}} / Bamidbar]
: 5. [[Deuteronomy]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|דברים}} / Devarim]

The ''[[Nevi'im]]'':
: 6. [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|יהושע}} / Yehoshua]
: 7. [[Book of Judges|Judges]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|שופטים}} / Shofetim]
: 8. [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] (I & II) [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|שמואל}} / Shemuel]
: 9. [[Books of Kings|Kings]] (I & II) [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|מלכים}} / Melakhim]
: 10. [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|ישעיהו}} / Yeshayahu]
: 11. [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|ירמיהו}} / Yirmiyahu]
: 12. [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|יחזקאל}} / Yehezqel]
: 13. The Twelve Prophets [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|תרי עשר}}]
:: a. [[Book of Hosea|Hosea]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|הושע}} / Hoshea]
:: b. [[Book of Joel|Joel]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|יואל}} / Yo'el]
:: c. [[Book of Amos|Amos]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|עמוס}} / Amos]
:: d. [[Book of Obadiah|Obadiah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|עובדיה}} / Ovadyah]
:: e. [[Book of Jonah|Jonah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|יונה}} / Yonah]
:: f. [[Book of Micah|Micah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|מיכה}} / Mikhah]
:: g. [[Book of Nahum|Nahum]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|נחום}} / Nachum]
:: h. [[Book of Habakkuk|Habakkuk]] {{lang|he|rtl=yes|חבקוק}} / Habakuk]
:: i. [[Book of Zephaniah|Zephaniah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|צפניה}} / Tsefanyah]
:: j. [[Book of Haggai|Haggai]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|חגי}} / Hagai]
:: k. [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|זכריה}} / Zekharyah]
:: l. [[Book of Malachi|Malachi]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|מלאכי}} / Mal'akhi]

The ''[[Ketuvim]]''
: 14. [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]] (I & II) [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|דברי הימים}} / Divrei Hayamim]

: The "Sifrei Emet," "Books of Truth":
: 15. [[Psalms]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|תהלים}} / Tehilim]
: 16. [[Book of Job|Job]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|איוב}} / Iyov]
: 17. [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|משלי}} / Mishlei]

: The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls":
: 18. [[Book of Ruth|Ruth]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|רות}} / Rut]
: 19. [[Song of Songs]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|שיר השירים}} / Shir Hashirim]
: 20. [[Ecclesiastes]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|קהלת}} / Kohelet]
: 21. [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|איכה}} / Eikhah]
: 22. [[Book of Esther|Esther]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|אסתר}} / Esther]

: The rest of the "Writings":
: 23. [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|דניאל}} / Dani'el]
: 24. [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]]–[[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] [{{lang|he|rtl=yes|עזרא ונחמיה}} / Ezra ve-Nehemiah]

==See also==
* [[Tanakh at Qumran]]

* [[List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts]]
** [[Aleppo Codex]]
** [[Codex Sassoon 1053|Codex Sassoon]]
** [[Codex Cairensis]]
** [[Codex Orientales 4445|Codex Orientales]]
** [[Damascus Pentateuch]]
** [[Codex Vaticanus]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Codex Leningradensis}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* Black and white facsimile of the [https://archive.org/details/Leningrad_Codex Leningrad Codex] at [[Internet Archive|Archive.org]] (988 pages)
* Color images of the [https://archive.org/details/Leningrad_Codex_Color_Images Leningrad Codex] at [[Internet Archive|Archive.org]] (921 pages)
* [http://tanach.us/Tanach.xml The Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex] (UXLC 2.2) is a free and updated version of the Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC) version 4.20 (25 Jan 2016) in Unicode with XML markup. The WLC morphological division markers and transcription notes have been removed. It is maintained by suggestions from viewers through a formal and automated process. Links to color photocopies of the Leningrad Codex are available for each selection of Hebrew text. Many formats are available: XML, Text, HTML, ODT, and PDF.

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