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Carbon Dating Confirms World's Oldest Torah Scroll
National Geographic ^ | May 30, 2013 | By Diane Cole

Posted on 06/01/2013 2:50:07 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee

In 1889, an Italian librarian's faulty identification sentenced to archival obscurity an antique Torah scroll that has turned out to be the oldest complete such scroll in existence.

This week, University of Bologna Professor Mauro Perani announced the results of carbon-14 tests authenticating the scroll's age as roughly 800 years old.

The scroll dates to between 1155 and 1225, making it the oldest complete Torah scroll on record.

Like all Torah scrolls, this one contains the full text of the five Books of Moses in Hebrew and is prepared according to strict standards for use during religious services. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------snip------------------

At the end of the 12th century Maimonides [a famous rabbinic authority] set down the rules for how to copy Torah scrolls, and those fixed rules have been followed ever since. This scroll's copyist did not know of those rules. Those rules would have forbidden him from using some of the graphical elements found here, such as use of compression of letters, line justification, and which letters can have [decorative] "crowns" on top.

There is more freedom here. There are also passages whose graphical layout is identical to that of the Aleppo Codex [a Bible in book form], which dates to the 10th century. This all means that either the Torah scroll was made before the death of Maimonides, who died in 1204, or the copyist had not yet learned of those rules. Remember, there was no Internet then to spread the news immediately. . .

(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aleppocodex; bologna; epigraphyandlanguage; faithandphilosophy; godsgravesglyphs; israel; italy; judism; maimonides; mauroperani; religion; sefertorah; torah; torahscroll

1 posted on 06/01/2013 2:50:07 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
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To: SunkenCiv

Shalom: 800-year-old Torah ping - oldest known intact copy.


2 posted on 06/01/2013 2:54:43 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

WOW

how wonderful


3 posted on 06/01/2013 2:55:05 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: Brad from Tennessee

I’m probably mistaken, but I thought the Dead Sea Scrolls were much older than this... Like almost back to the time of Christ maybe. I must either be mixed up or just plain wrong I guess.


4 posted on 06/01/2013 3:01:59 PM PDT by SierraWasp ("Bitter Ender," "Bitter Clinger," Yes on both. COUNT ME IN!!! I love God and guns, but not gays!!!)
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To: SierraWasp

http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/

Estimated age: 2,000 years. However, no complete Torah found.


5 posted on 06/01/2013 3:08:11 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee
"Maimonides set down the rules for how to copy Torah scrolls, and those fixed rules have been followed ever since. This scroll's copyist did not know of those rules."

Now copyists just right click!

6 posted on 06/01/2013 3:18:51 PM PDT by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Amazing...

This must be written for a third-grader: “Remember, there was no Internet then to spread the news immediately. . .”

How trite, Diane. It might have helped if you’d explained that Algore hadn’t been born yet.


7 posted on 06/01/2013 3:20:05 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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Three Girls, Three Graves, One Torah
www.danielgordis.org (email list) | 14 May, 2004 | Daniel Gordis
Posted on 05/17/2004 6:14:33 PM PDT by Salem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1137422/posts


8 posted on 06/01/2013 3:26:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: Pollster1; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...

 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Pollster1.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


9 posted on 06/01/2013 3:27:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: SierraWasp

Older, yes. Torah, no.


10 posted on 06/01/2013 3:37:36 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: SierraWasp

The Dead Sea Scrolls do not make up a complete Torah set.


11 posted on 06/01/2013 6:51:23 PM PDT by Jabba the Nutt (.Are they stupid, malicious or evil?)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

I don’t believe it is accurate to say that Maimonides’ rules for writing a Sefer Torah are followed today.

Maimonides’ rules are based on the Jerusalem Talmud and so would be similar to Italian and maybe Yemenite usage. Most scrolls would follow rules derived from the Babylonian Talmud.


12 posted on 06/01/2013 7:08:12 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Brad from Tennessee
Remember, there was no Internet then to spread the news immediately....

Seriously?

Nice read, but that reminder was...

13 posted on 06/01/2013 7:42:18 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Funny thing happened on the way to the Constitution burning, Lefties rights were violated...)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

There’s supposed to be a Torah Scroll in Prague that was allegedly written by Ezra.


14 posted on 06/02/2013 1:37:32 PM PDT by Zionist Conspirator (Ki-hagoy vehamamlakhah 'asher lo'-ya`avdukh yove'du; vehagoyim charov yecheravu!)
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The Story Of The Jewish Torahs of Czechoslovakia
http://www.czechtorah.org/thestory.php


15 posted on 08/25/2013 5:09:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's no coincidence that some "conservatives" echo the hard left.)
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A Sefer Torah in the Bologna Library May Be the Oldest Known Torah Scroll
Noah Wiener
05/30/2013
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/a-sefer-torah-in-the-bologna-library-may-be-the-oldest-known-torah-scroll/


16 posted on 08/25/2013 5:13:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's no coincidence that some "conservatives" echo the hard left.)
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