The Masorah Figurata (Form and Content) of MS Vat. ebr. 14 and Its Relation to the Commentaries

The Masorah parva and magna form a constituent part of the masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible and comprise the written linear annotations of the comprehensive Oriental Bible Codices. Especially in the western european text tradition (Ashkenaz) the Naqdanim and Sofrim started to shape a distinguished part of the Masorah magna as decorative designs in the form of figurative micrography. MS Vat. ebr. 14 (written in 1233 by Eliyahu ben Berakhya ha-Naqdan) offers a set of unique micrographic drawings either as part of a Biblical narrative or as mnemonic for the parasha or, respectively, its main topic. These micrographic illustrations consist of various masoretic material: ordinary numerical Masorah, extended lists of simanim, likewise Okhla-lists, and furthermore of commentaries and glosses, in which contemporary commentaries like Rashi`s or Ibn Ezra`s are referred to. The paper presents selected drawings of the Masorah figurata of Ms Vat. ebr. 14 and focuses on its form and content, as well as on their relationship towards the commentaries used.