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Abbreviations Abdallah ibn Salam (1) The abbreviation of the name of God (see § (5) (above).

(2) As mnemonic signs, for a help to the factory in oral study. This latter kind of abbreviation was especially called (see Terminology, above). Instead of these representing words, they sometimes represent numbers (Mishnah, Men. xi. 4; see also R. Judah in Pesah Haggadali and Sifre,, 301). For the menmonic signs of the Talmud, compare D. Panio. "La Menazvah le Davil." Salonica, 1765 or 1795. l'inner's introduction to his German translation of lerakot, p. 22; J. Brüll. "Doresh le-Zion" (Mnemotechnik of the Talmud), Vienna. 1864; F. Lebrecht in "Hebr. Bib1," vii. 99-102; also Rapoport in "Kerem Hemed." vi. 252.

Especially numerous is this kind of Abbreviations in the Masoras and in grammatical literature. On the menmonic signs in the Masoras, compare Frens- dorff's glossary in his "Die Masora Magna"; on some of the memonic signs in grammur compare D. Rosin in Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 475-701. A complete list, both of Masoretical and grammatical mnemoniecsigns, will be found in the appendix to the writer's "Dictionary of Philological Terminology in Hebrew and Aramnic," now in preparation. Mnemonic signs are also commonly used in calendars,

(3) In vituperative language Abreviations are used for the purpose of euphemy (compare Meg. 25b; or  "the lewd woman" ). In later literature we find the frequent and habitual use of Abbreviations in the following cases:

(4) In the standing formulas for blessing, wishing. praying, and imprecation, and in standing phrases concluding a composition, which formulas frequently consist of Biblical verses or phrases. This kind of sigla. having developed different charecteristics according to various times and countries, since it was employed in epigraphis, documents, on tombstones, etc., has become an important part of Hebrew pale- ography. On this see Zunz, i.e.; Steinschneider în the "Jahresberichte der Geschichtswissenschaft," i. 43, ii. 5, v. 86; and the same, "Zur Literatur der He- bräischen Paläographie" in Centralblatt für Biblio- thekswissenschaft," 1887. pp. 158 it seg.

(5) In the quotation of names and titles of authors and especially in the books or treatises and chapters of the Talmud titles. The titles of Hebrew books are, in a sense, proper names, usually consisting of a Biblical phrase of two words, whose initial letters are used in quoting them, even without mention of the author (see TITLES).

The names of authors consist mainly of their first names with the addition of "son of" followed by the name of their father. In the Middle Ages it be- came the custom to add to the name of every author the title, abbreviated to and from this have arisen Abbreviations of the names of famous and popular authors; Moses Maimonides, Solomon ben Isaac, etc. In some cases real family names have grown out of such or similar Abbrevia- tions, especially in more modern times when the Jews were required by the various states to adopt them. Thus, the name "Brill" or "Brüll" is Ben Rabbi Judah Loch ha-Levi: Katz" is ; "Sack" is  "Segal" is =.

In Germauy and in France it was customary in the Middle Ages to abbrevinte maines so as to form a word denoting some personal quality; as, "head" for "Lack of knowledge in such matters has produced some very ridiculous mis- understandings. A list of such names is given by Steinschneider in the introduction to his "Catalogus Librorum Hebræorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana" and in his Hebräische Bibliographie,“ xvi. 6, xxi, 103, On the titles of Hebrew books compare Sehechter, "Sundies in Judaism," pp. 328-312.

(6) in the technical expressions of various disci- plines Abbreviations are frequently used according to the needs of the particular subject. They are, however, invariably made on one or other of the principles indicated above.

found enumerated in Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. I. 54-59) iv. 250- 267: H. J. Köcher. Nova Bibl. Hebr. ii. 136, et seq. Jena, 1782; Zunz, Z. G. p. 48: Steinschneider, Gab es Eine Hebr. Kurzschrift p. 8 (this is a reprint from Archiv für Stemogrpahic, 1887. Nos. 466 and 467);. Perrau, 1700 Abbreviature e Sigle Ebraicke, Chaldiche, Rabbiniche, Talmudiche... Autografia Edizione di 60 Emplari, Parma. 1882, augmented under the title Ocaeno delle Abbreviature e Sigle Ebraiche, 1883, Autogr. 2a Edizione di 60 Emplari Notevolmente Accrisriuta; and an appendix to this, Appendice all' Oceano delle Abbrevature, 1884. Autogr. Ed. di 60 Esempluri (an exhaustive review of the last two works was published by D. Kaufmann in the Göttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen, 1884, pp. 749-755); Joseph Ezekiel,  A. Handbook of Hebrew  Abbreviations with their Explanations in Hebrew and English. etc. Bombay. 1887: Philip Lederer. Hebräische und Chaladische Abbreviaturen... ins Deutsche Übersetzt und Erläutert. Frankfort-on-the-Main. 1804; C. R. Händler,  Lexion der Abbreviaturen. Anhang zum Aramäisch-Neuh brischen Wörterbuch von Gustaf H. Dalman, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, 1897 (of which the author is now preparing a revised, separate edition: A. Bernstein, Sefer dish Tebot. London, 1896.
 * The older literature en Abbreviations will be

C.L.

—In Biblical Manuscripts: The fragments of two Bible manuscripts of Egyptian origin, which were discovered by Neubauer and deciphered by Friedländer, show a manner of writing in an abbre- viated form hitherto unknown: another example was exhibited at the Oriental Congress at Rome, October, 1899, by Dr. C. D. Ginsburg. Only the first world of each verse is written out in full: of the remaining words only one letter (not necessarily the initial letter) is given. This method of abbrovi- ation seems to be what the Talmud designates by the term } (Yoma. 38a; Giṭ. 60a; according to the interpretation of Rashi), Abbreviations of the ordinary character are rarely found in Bible manuscripts. There are none, of course, in the Scrolls. In view of the Abbreviations to be found on Jewish coins ( for, etc.), the question arises whether words were abbreviated in pre-Masoretic Bible manuscripts. As positive information is obviously wanting, recourse must he had to conjecture, on the basis of variants gleaned from the ancient versions (particularly from the Septuagint) or of evident errors in the Masoretic text, which are satisfactorily explained if it is assumed that Abbreviations were customary in the manuscripus antedating the Septuagint. Thus, when the Septuagint les in Jonah. i. 9, in the place of "the servant of the Lord" (that is, ), it may be assumed that the  was taken by the translator as an abbreviation of the divine name. In Isa. xlii. 2 may originally have been an abbreviated. In his brilliant dissertation ("Analekten zur Textkritik des Alten Testaments"; see chap. i. Munich, 1895) F. Perles makes an extensive use of the assumed pre- Masoretic habit of abbreviating words. He even interprets the accentual signs and  (see Accents in Hebrew) in 1 Sam. ix. 12 (where he reads with Lagarde, in the place of our ), and in Ps. Ixxxix. 51 (where should replace the meaningless ) as remnants of the signs of abbreviation customary in rabbinical writings. While some of the emendations proposed by Perles and his predecessors are ingenious and plausible, the thesis that words were abbreviated in pre-Masoretic Bible manuscripts may perhaps still he said to be unproved. The omission of parts of words may not be due to a