The Lailashi Codex: The Crown of Georgian Jewry
Manuscripts in Interfaith Contexts – Oxford Interfaith Forum
The Lailashi Codex is the greatest nearly complete Masoretic Pentateuch. This ancient witness to a scribal tradition known as vavei ha’amudim (each leaf of the manuscript begins with the letter vav except for the six cases defined by a scribal school) is lavishly adorned with exquisite micrographic designs and calligrams.
The codex emerged into the Western world awareness from Dr Thea Gomelauri’s book The Lailashi Codex: The Crown of Georgian Jewry published in October 2023. Author Dr Thea Gomelauri and three distinguished scholars of Semitic Languages, Illuminated Jewish Art, and Hebrew Manuscripts, will discuss the fascinating history and content of the Lailashi Codex, and its significance to Biblical scholarship and Jewish Studies.
