SCRIBAL PRACTICES AND APPROACHE S ... - Emanuel Tov

34 Chapter 3: Writing and Writing Materials
left after large rectangular sheets had been cut from the hides for regular scrolls. Thus, the irregular
shape of 4QExercitium Calami C (4Q341) made it necessary for the scribe to shorten the last
lines in accordance with the slanting bottom margin (illustr. 2). Likewise, most tefillin and mezuzot
were written on small pieces of irregularly shaped leather, which were probably remnants of skin
left after rectangular sheets had been cut out. Thus in 4QPhyl J (illustr. 9) the unusual shape of
the leather necessitated the writing of long lines at the beginning of the text and very short lines at
the end.
Likewise, 4QList of False Prophets ar (4Q339) and 4QList of Netinim (4Q340) were written
on very small pieces of leather of irregular shape. The original measurements of 4Q339 were
probably 8.5 x 6.0 cm including margins on all sides. In addition, 4QPrayer of Nabonidus ar
(4Q242; large, straight, margin of 2.5 cm before frg. 1) probably constituted a separate sheet of
leather.
Scrolls consisted of sheets of leather or papyrus prepared by one or more scroll
manufacturers, not necessarily in the same way. In addition, the sheets could have been ruled by
different persons for one of several purposes. These differences account for the variations in the
number of ruled lines on the individual sheets (see the analysis of 1QpHab and 11QT a in § b
above) and in the practice of the guide rules (ch. 4a).
Sheets were ruled before being sewn together (§ b above; thus also Crown, Samaritan Scribes,
76), and after being joined, the scribe or manufacturer must have made an effort to align the
rulings on the different sheets in order to achieve a uniform appearance throughout the scroll; see,
for example, most of the fifty-four columns in 1QIsa a . However, when the columns were
positioned at slightly different heights in adjacent sheets, the lines in these sheets were often not
continuous. This practice explains the differences in height between the columns in the adjacent
sheets of the following scrolls:
• 1QS
• 4QDeut n sheets 1 (col. I) and 2 (II–VI); in this portion, the bottoms of the two sheets were cut evenly
after the two sheets were combined.
• 4QToh A (4Q274) 3 i and ii
• 4QCal Doc/Mish A (4Q320) 4 iii–vi (differences may be due to shrinkage)
• 11QtgJob VIIB and VIII, XVII and XVIII, XXXI–XXXII, XXXV–XXXVI; however, the writing on
either side of the join, at cols. XIX–XX is at the same level.
• 11QT a ; e.g. XLVIII–IL; LX–LXI
• 11QpaleoLev a
• MasSir I–V as opposed to VI–VII
Within the sheets themselves, the writing was almost always (not exclusively) at the same
level, due to the continuous ruling. One exception occurs in 4QInstruction-like Composition A
(4Q419) frg. 8 where cols. i and ii are written on a different level, and further the ink of col. i is
darker than that of col. ii.
Sheets were ruled with lines from beginning to end, often with the help of guide dots. These
lines were usually not spaced evenly, resulting in the same pattern of spacing throughout the
sheet. See below, ch. 4a.
It was convenient to inscribe sheets before they were stitched together or, in the case of
papyri, glued together (see below), and as a rule sufficient space was left for the stitching.
However, in some cases, the sheets of some scrolls must have been inscribed after being joined.
• 4QXII a : The writing in col. III at the end of the sheet is so close to the stitching that it is hard to imagine that
the sheets were stitched after being inscribed.
• 4QLevi a ar (4Q213): This scroll was inscribed to the very edge of the leather, and in one instance (1 7) also
beyond the edge, rendering it likely that these sheets had already been joined.
• 4QLevi b ar (4Q213a): It is difficult to ascertain whether the sheets were joined before or after the writing.