Page 225 - ginzei qedem 8

SUMMARIES

An Ancient Glossary for Seder Zera‘im
From the Area of Syria-Eretz Israel

Haim Zvi Elbaum

The genre of Mishnaic, as well as Biblical, glossaries was quite common
during the early Middle Ages, and a significant number of fragments from such
glossaries were found in the Cairo Genizah. However, only a few of them have
been published, and even fewer have been rigorously researched in order to
discover their unique features.

In this paper, a thus far-unrecognized Genizah fragment of a Hebrew-Arabic
glossary for Seder Zera‘im of the Mishnah is published and interpreted. The
fragment, catalogued as MS heb. d. 33/65-66 in the Bodleian Library of Oxford
University, includes the tractates of Demai (partial), Kilayim and Shevi‘it (partial).

The purpose of this paper, besides the publication of a fragment of an
unknown ancient treatise, is to present its estimated time and place by
researching its various features, such as the Mishnaic version reflected in
it, the Arabic spelling, and the Arabic vocabulary of plant names used to
identify the large number of plants mentioned in the tractates above.

The primary conclusions of the paper are that this fragment was written in
the geographic area of Syria-Eretz Israel, most likely during the tenth century
or even earlier. Rav Sa‘adiah Gaon, when writing his own glossary (‘Alfaz’)
on Seder Zera‘im, may have had a copy of this treatise, or at least have been
familiar with it or with its sources. In addition, some unique glosses, present

Ginzei Qedem 8 (2012)