Wikipedia's first sentence called it “oldest surviving complete copy of the masoretic text of the hebrew bible”. Today it says “oldest known complete manuscript of the hebrew bible in hebrew”.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Leningrad codex is the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible , dated 1008 . (The Aleppo Codex is presumably a few decades older, but parts are missing.) The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (the edition of the Hebrew Bible most widely referred to by scholars and Bible translators) is an almost exact transcript. It contains the complete text of the Hebrew Bible (though the order differs slightly from most published Hebrew Bibles in that Chronicles precedes Psalms and Job comes before Proverbs). It also has extensive Masoretic notes . According to its colophon , it was copied from manuscripts written by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher . It has been claimed to be a product of the Ben-Asher scriptorium. 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. It is believed to be the manuscript most faithful to ben Asher's tradition apart from the Aleppo Codex itself. 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 Leningrad Codex also provides an example of medieval Jewish art. Sixteen of the pages contain decorative geometric paterns that illuminate passages from the text. The Signature Page shows a star with the names of the scribes on the edges and a blessing written in the middle.1
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Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a) The Leningrad Codex (or Codex Leningradensis ) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization .It is dated 1008 (or possibly 1009) according to its colophon .The Aleppo Codex , against which the Leningrad Codex was corrected, is several decades older, but parts of it have been missing since 1947, 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 most important as the Hebrew text reproduced in Biblia Hebraica (1937) and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977).It also serves scholars as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex .The Codex Amiatinus and other manuscripts of translations are older.
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Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a) The Leningrad Codex (or Codex Leningradensis ) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization . It is dated 1008 CE (or possibly 1009 CE) according to its colophon . The Aleppo Codex , against which the Leningrad Codex was corrected, is several decades older, but parts of it have been missing since 1947, 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 Biblia Hebraica (1937) and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977). It also serves scholars as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex . There are older manuscripts of translations into other languages, such as the Codex Amiatinus in Latin.
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The opening as it stood in 2020
11th-century Hebrew Bible manuscript Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a) The Leningrad Codex (Latin: Codex Leningradensis , the " codex of Leningrad ") is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization .It is dated 1008 CE (or possibly 1009) according to its colophon . The Aleppo Codex , against which the Leningrad Codex was corrected, is several decades older, but parts of it have been missing since 1947 , 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 Biblia Hebraica (1937), Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), and Biblia Hebraica Quinta (2004-). It also serves as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex. There are older manuscripts of translations into other languages, such as the Codex Amiatinus in Latin.
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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
11th-century Hebrew Bible manuscript Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a) Look up codex in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.The Leningrad Codex ( [ Leningrad Book]; ) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization .According to its colophon , it was made in Cairo in 1008 CE (or possibly 1009).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.Kahle argues that the Leningrad manuscript was more likely based on other, lost manuscripts by the ben Asher family.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 Biblia Hebraica (1937), Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), and 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. (in Foreword by Gérard E.
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The opening as it stood in 2025
11th-century Hebrew Bible manuscript Leningrad Codex (cover page E, folio 474a) Look up codex in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. The Leningrad Codex ( Latin : Codex Leningradensis [ Leningrad Book]; Hebrew : 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 , it was made in Cairo in AD 1008 (or possibly 1009). 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. Kahle argues that the Leningrad manuscript was more likely based on other, lost manuscripts by the ben Asher family . 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 Biblia Hebraica (1937), Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), and 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. (in Foreword by Gérard E.
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “oldest surviving complete copy of the masoretic text of the hebrew bible”. Today it says “oldest known complete manuscript of the hebrew bible in hebrew”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
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Then
oldest surviving complete copy of the masoretic text of the hebrew bible
Now
oldest known complete manuscript of the hebrew bible in hebrew
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