Sans Erasure: A Counterintuitive Scribal Practice

A curious phenomenon that is attested in Mesopotamia, Ugarit, the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, medieval texts, and beyond is a scribal practice I call sans erasure--a case in which a scribe leaves an error uncorrected and proceeds to write or copy the correct letter, word, line, or verse following the error. This practice does not seem to have been treated in the literature as a practice unto itself. In this paper a number of rather clear examples are adduced from the Ugaritic texts, and a number of examples from the Hebrew Bible are proposed. Several cases would seem to be recognized in the Masoretic tradition in instances of lo` qeri (written but not read). Some of the biblical examples resolve longstanding philological cruxes. Among the examples are several from the book of Job and the last verse in Lamentations. An explanation for the practice is suggested.