I have elsewhere noted that a horn could be used as a
k'lee (vessel) to hold ink for a scribe. This is evinced in
Ezekiel 9:
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth
toward the north, every man with his weapon of destruction in his hand;
and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's
inkhorn on his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen
altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub,
whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house; and He called to the
man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn on his side.
The bolded words are translated from קֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר -- a term that also appears in verse 11 -- and means "simply a round vessel or cup for
containing ink, which was generally worn by writers in the girdle. The word 'inkhorn' was used by the translators, because in former times in this country horns were used for containing ink." (
Easton's Bible Dictionary) קֶסֶת is related to
כּוֹס, the word for cup, so the phrase has the meaning of "scribe's cup".
The practice of using inkhorns survives in Ethiopia, and may provide a model for ancient Hebrew scribal arts. See
http://larkvi.com/mss/eth/production/index.php 2012-06-11.* Here are images from the site:
 |
| Inkhorns, made from horns
of sheep or oxen, store ink when it is being used. This one was made by
Qes Felege, Bahir Dar, a scribe and craftsman. The sharp point allows it to be
driven into the ground; the ring gives a visual cue to the user
regarding the depth of the well. Collected 2009.
|
 |
Inkstand: Scribes have no fixed place of work; inkhorns may be pressed into the ground, but many scribes use inkstands made of mud and straw, wood, or other materials, which make it easier to move around and to keep their tools in one place. In the image above, a modern bottle stores the red ink, whereas the black is in the traditional horn.
|
*Based upon an exhibit, Ethiopic Manuscript Production, at the John M. Kelly Library at the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto. It arose from the thesis research of Sean Winslow, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Medieval Studies, and was produced under the auspices of the Collaborative Program in Book History and Print Culture, directed by Professor David Galbraith.
 |
| Frater Rufillus of Weissenau self-portrait in decorated initial from 12th Century manuscript shows a stand with four inkhorns. |
In contrast to the simple inkhorns above, the image below shows the height of the horner's craft:
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I asked Benjamin Martin, an accomplished sofer stam (Torah Scribe) about horns being used in our tradition for ink pots. Here is his reply (2012-June-18):
I have never heard, or read of any Jewish use of inkhorns per se. The
oldest Jewish inkwells I am aware of were found in the Judean desert and
are made of terracotta. I suspect that the insides may have been
sealed with pitch or wax to make them waterproof. These are from around
the First Century.
This appears to be the most ancient tradition. The word in Hebrew is
qeset (quf, sin, tav). It is mentioned in the bible, see Sefer
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 9. 2-3: "With them was a man clothed in linen with the inkwell
of a scribe at his side."
The word qeset itself seems to mean pot, or jug. It is also the
word used for the vessels in which the various drink offerings were made
in the Holy Temple, see Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers), 4.7: "Over the table of the
Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put
on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings;
the bread that is continually there is to remain on it."
I use a variety of inkwells, most of them are made of glass or stone. I have one clay inkwell.
Most
of the times the word horn, qeren, is mentioned in the Bible, it refers
to a thing, an animal's, a person's, or even a country's glory. The
one instance, that I can think of, of a horn being used as a vessel, is
the case of the prophet Shmuel, who stored the anointing oil for the
kings of Israel in a horn. I suspect this is because the horn is a
symbol of exaltation as is the anointing.
I also asked about the similarity between "shofar" and "sofer" and whether they had a link. His reply:
Sofer comes from
the word to count, probably because originally those who could write
were employed to keep accounts. It may also come from the fact that
sofrim count the verses, words and letters of the texts we write to
ensure absolute accuracy.
The word shofar specifically means a ram's horn, it's probably related to the Assyrian word shapparu which means a wild goat.
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