Resumen

VOLLI, Ugo. What is a Book for the Book of Books?. Tóp. Sem [online]. 2009, n.22, pp.75-103. ISSN 2594-0619.

Just as the name itself says, the Bible (from the Greek ta biblia, or rather, the books) or in Hebrew ha-mikrà (which means reading), is considered in its translation as the book par excellence. But, what is a book for the book par excellence? The word used in the original Hebrew language is sefer, which means book in this case but also scroll (which in Latin is translated by volume, from the verb volvere, to roll up) which includes any document sufficiently big to be kept rolled up, like a treaty or a letter. However, there is a more complete meaning that emerges coherently from the biblical use: a sefer is the fruit of the act of memory that precedes a teaching that should be publicly proclaimed. In this article, we will state the different biblical acceptations of the term and we will try to clarify their meaning.