{"slug":"tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","title":"Hebraici alphabeti interpretatio","title_source":"Hebraici alphabeti interpretatio","author":"Anonymous","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T05:58:28Z","cost_usd":0.001423},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp448/tmp448/tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":271,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":1182,"commentary_units":12,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":5,"work_notes":5,"external_links":2,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","abstract":"The anonymous treatise *Hebraici alphabeti interpretatio* is a brief Latin primer on the Hebrew alphabet, listing letters with their names and symbolic interpretations. Likely composed between the 12th and 13th centuries, it reflects medieval Christian interest in Hebrew as a sacred language. The text survives in a single manuscript witness, appended to a larger compilation, and shows no clear stemmatic analysis. Its interpretations often diverge from standard Hebrew lexicography, drawing instead on allegorical or mystical traditions. The work had minimal influence and is not recorded in medieval library catalogues or later florilegia.","historical_context":"The work is undated and anonymous, but its content suggests a medieval origin, probably the 12th–13th century, when Christian Hebraism flourished in Western Europe, especially in monastic and scholastic circles. The text is written in Latin and belongs to the genre of alphabet treatises, which served as primers for readers interested in biblical languages. It survives in a single manuscript, appended to a compilation, possibly associated with the Glossa ordinaria tradition. The interpretations claim derivation from Jerome but actually draw on later medieval Hebraist traditions, indicating a secondary, derivative character. The lack of external attestation in library catalogues or florilegia suggests limited circulation, perhaps within a single monastic community.","significance":"The treatise illustrates medieval Christian engagement with Hebrew as a sacred language, blending grammatical instruction with allegorical interpretation. Its non-standard glosses (e.g., alef as 'mille' or 'doctrina') reveal how Christian scholars adapted Hebrew material for theological purposes. The work is a minor but telling witness to the transmission of Hebraist knowledge in the Latin West, though its influence was minimal.","timeline":[{"date":"12th–13th c.","event":"Probable composition of the treatise, during the period of Christian Hebraism."},{"date":"Medieval","event":"Single manuscript witness copied, possibly in a monastic scriptorium."},{"date":"Undated","event":"Manuscript appended to a compilation, perhaps alongside the Glossa ordinaria."},{"date":"Modern","event":"Edition published in the ogl-pl series without critical apparatus."}],"relations":[{"work":"Glossa ordinaria","relation":"The treatise is appended in a manuscript associated with this work, suggesting a compilation context.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Jerome's works","relation":"The text claims to be excerpted from Jerome, but the content is not directly from his known writings.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Medieval Hebraist traditions","relation":"The letter interpretations derive from later allegorical and mystical traditions, not standard Hebrew lexicography.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Christian Hebraism","label":"Christian Hebraism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Hebraist","reason":"Context for the work's interest in Hebrew as a sacred language."},{"key":"wikipedia:Glossa ordinaria","label":"Glossa ordinaria","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossa_Ordinaria","reason":"The treatise is appended in a manuscript associated with this compilation."}],"cautions":["The work is anonymous and undated; the 12th–13th century attribution is conjectural based on content.","The single manuscript witness may contain scribal errors or interpolations; no stemmatic analysis is available.","The superscript numbers in the Latin text are of unclear meaning and may indicate textual corruption or editorial annotation.","The claimed derivation from Jerome is not verifiable and likely reflects later tradition."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000361,"generated":"2026-11-15T05:58:28Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp448/tmp448/tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp448.tmp448.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":12,"english_words":271,"source_letters":1182,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is a brief treatise on the Hebrew alphabet, likely intended as a primer for Latin readers. It lists letters with names and symbolic interpretations, reflecting a medieval Christian interest in Hebrew as a sacred language.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The work is anonymous and undated. Its content suggests a medieval origin, possibly 12th–13th century, when Christian Hebraism flourished, but no external evidence confirms this.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The edition (ogl-pl) is based on a single manuscript witness. No stemmatic analysis is available; the text may contain scribal errors or interpolations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work appears in no known medieval library catalogues or later florilegia. Its influence seems minimal, though it may have circulated among monastic scholars interested in biblical languages.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition does not provide a critical apparatus or collation of other manuscripts. Variant readings or alternative attributions are not discussed.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Subnectitur in meo ms. isthaec lectu non indigna, et maximum partem ex Hieronymo excerpto, Hebraici alphabeti interpretatio, tum a quodam Symeone Judaeo exposita decem Dei nomina, quae non abs re me facturum putavi si hic adjungerem, maxime cum et illa, et aliam paulo longiorem eorumdem nominum expositionem a Martianaeo incuriosius editam tomo V, ne quid desideraretur, huc transferri, et ipsa scriptionis indoles, et institutus a nobis in hac digerenda collectione ordo postularet.\n\nHEBRAICI ALPHABETI INTERPRETATIO.\n\nAlef, mille, vel doctrina 1.\n\nBeth, domus.\n\nGimel, retributio, vel plenitudo.\n\nDeled, pauper, vel tabulae, sive janua.\n\nHe, ipsa, vel ista, sive suscipiens.\n\nVau, et, ipse, sive haec.\n\nZain, oliva, vel fornicatio, haec.\n\nHeth, vita, vel vivacitas.\n\nTheth, bonum.\n\nJod, scientia, vel principium, aut dominator.\n\nChaf, manus, palma 2, vel vola. Lamed 3, doctrina, sive disciplina.","english":"In my manuscript there is appended this reading not unworthy, and for the most part excerpted from Jerome: the interpretation of the Hebrew alphabet, together with ten names of God expounded by a certain Jew named Symeon, which I thought I would not be wrong to add here, especially since both these and another somewhat longer exposition of the same names, rather carelessly edited by Martianaeus in volume V, were to be transferred here, lest anything be lacking, and the character of the writing itself and the order we have established in arranging this collection demanded it.\n\nINTERPRETATION OF THE HEBREW ALPHABET.\n\nAlef, thousand, or doctrine 1.\n\nBeth, house.\n\nGimel, retribution, or fullness.\n\nDalet, poor, or tablets, or door.\n\nHe, herself, or that, or receiving.\n\nVav, and, he himself, or this.\n\nZayin, olive, or fornication, this.\n\nHet, life, or liveliness.\n\nTet, good.\n\nYod, knowledge, or beginning, or ruler.\n\nKaf, hand, palm 2, or hollow of the hand. Lamed 3, doctrine, or discipline.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"Subnectitur in meo ms. isthaec lectu non indigna","severity":"info","text":"The editor notes that this text is appended in his manuscript, indicating a compilation or anthology context. The reference to 'Martianaeus' (likely the editor of the Glossa ordinaria) suggests a late medieval or early modern transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ex Hieronymo excerpto","severity":"info","text":"The interpretation claims to be excerpted from Jerome, but the content (Hebrew letter meanings) is not directly from Jerome's known works; it likely derives from later medieval Hebraist traditions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Alef","severity":"info","text":"Alef is glossed as 'mille' (thousand) or 'doctrina' (doctrine). The numerical value of alef is 1, not 1000; 'mille' may be a confusion with the letter's shape or a symbolic interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Gimel","severity":"info","text":"Gimel is glossed as 'retributio' (retribution) or 'plenitudo' (fullness). These meanings are not standard in Hebrew lexicography; they likely reflect allegorical or mystical interpretations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Zain","severity":"info","text":"Zain is glossed as 'oliva' (olive) or 'fornicatio' (fornication). The Hebrew word 'zayin' means 'weapon'; the glosses here are non-standard and may derive from homophony or symbolic re-interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Lamed 3","severity":"caution","text":"The superscript numbers (1, 2, 3) in the Latin text likely refer to marginal notes or variant readings in the manuscript; their meaning is unclear and may indicate textual corruption or editorial annotation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'Symeon Judaeus' is uncertain; he may be a fictional or legendary figure.","The source of the letter interpretations is not directly Jerome, despite the claim; the tradition is likely medieval.","The superscript numbers (1, 2, 3) in the Latin text are unexplained."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Mem, ex quo, vel ex ipsis, sive aqua.\n\nNun, fetus 4, vel piscis, sive sempiternum.\n\nSamech, firmamentum, licet quidam erectio-\n\nnem, vel adjutorium, sive fulturam putant.\n\nAin, fons, sive oculus.\n\nPe, imo Fe, os ab ore, non ab osse, sive la-\n\nqueus, vel decipula.\n\nZadi, regio, sive justitia.\n\nCof, vocatio.\n\nRes, caput.\n\nSin, dentes.\n\nThaf, signum, vel 5....\n\nSYMEONIS JUDAEI DECEM DEI NOMINUM EXPOSITIO.\n\nSabaoth, id est, Dominus virtutum, Dominus militiarum, Dominus omnia tenens.\n\nEloi, Deus.\n\nSaddech, Justus.\n\nAdonai, Dominus.\n\nEl, Fortis.\n\nElyon, Excelsus.\n\nConeacol, Omnipotens.\n\nAia 6, Qui erat, et qui erit.\n\nBarucabba, Benedictus pater.\n\nBaruc, Benedictus.","english":"Mem, from which, or from themselves, or water.\n\nNun, offspring, or fish, or everlasting.\n\nSamech, firmament, though some think it means erection, or help, or support.\n\nAin, fountain, or eye.\n\nPe, or rather Fe, mouth from the mouth, not from bone, or snare, or trap.\n\nZadi, region, or justice.\n\nCof, calling.\n\nRes, head.\n\nSin, teeth.\n\nThaf, sign, or ....\n\nTHE EXPOSITION OF THE TEN NAMES OF GOD BY SYMEON THE JEW.\n\nSabaoth, that is, Lord of hosts, Lord of armies, Lord holding all things.\n\nEloi, God.\n\nSaddech, Just.\n\nAdonai, Lord.\n\nEl, Strong.\n\nElyon, Most High.\n\nConeacol, Almighty.\n\nAia, Who was, and who will be.\n\nBarucabba, Blessed father.\n\nBaruc, Blessed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage is divided into two sections: the Hebrew alphabet interpretations and the ten divine names by Symeon the Jew. The alphabet entries follow a consistent pattern of Hebrew letter, Latin gloss, and alternative readings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Mem","severity":"info","text":"The Hebrew letter Mem is glossed with three possibilities: 'ex quo' (from which), 'vel ex ipsis' (or from themselves), and 'sive aqua' (or water). The last corresponds to the Hebrew word mayim (water).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Nun","severity":"info","text":"Nun is glossed as 'fetus' (offspring), 'piscis' (fish), or 'sempiternum' (everlasting). The fish meaning reflects the Aramaic nuna; the other two are less standard.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Samech","severity":"info","text":"Samech is given as 'firmamentum' (firmament), with alternative readings 'erectio' (erection), 'adjutorium' (help), or 'fultura' (support). The variety suggests a contested tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Pe","severity":"info","text":"Pe (or Fe) is glossed as 'os ab ore' (mouth from the mouth), distinguishing it from 'os ab osse' (bone), and also as 'laqueus' (snare) or 'decipula' (trap). The latter meanings are unusual for the letter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The list of ten divine names includes 'Coneacol' (Almighty), a Latin transliteration of Hebrew kol-yakhol, and 'Barucabba' (Blessed father), a hybrid of Hebrew barukh and Aramaic abba. These reflect Jewish mystical traditions transmitted in Latin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The final entry for Thaf is incomplete: 'signum, vel 5....' — the numeral 5 may indicate a lacuna or a marginal note.","The source of the alphabet interpretations is attributed to Jerome in the preceding passage, but the exact relationship is unclear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}