Textbook of Aramaic, Hebrew and Nabathean Documentary Texts from the Judean Desert and Related Material

Among the numerous texts in Jewish script from the Judean desert, only a small number, mostly non-literary texts, are written in a cursive hand, and to this day their script has not been systematically studied. These documents are presented in this collection together with comparative epigraphical material. Three main characteristics of the cursive script make its decipherment particularly difficult: The many variant forms of each letter on one hand, and the resemblance in form of different letters on the other. Ligatures of letters or words often lacking the characteristic features of the individual letters. And the omission of strokes or the change in their form as a result of rapid writing.
Due to these difficulties, decipherment is often based on context. Reading texts in cursive script is only achieved through experience and practice, and requires a systematic analysis of the letterforms as well as a thorough examination of their components.