Mishneh Torah, Venice, 1524 - Many Glosses and a Signed Colophon - "Proofread Book" According to the "Aleppo ...

Mishneh Torah, Venice, 1524 - Many Glosses and a Signed Colophon - "Proofread Book" According to the "Aleppo Manuscript", Which was Signed by the Rambam "Proofread from my Book, I, Moshe Son of R. Maimon"
Mishneh Torah L'HaRambam, Vol. 2, Haflaah-Shoftim (nine of the 14 parts of Yad HaChazaka). [Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1524].
"Proofread copy" - thousands of glosses of corrections and omissions, in an ancient handwriting [from the time of printing, ca. 16th century]. Corrections that originate from the "proofread book" signed by the Rambam.Some of the glosses are singular and unknown from any other source.
The book ends (p. 763b) with a colophon in the handwriting of the proofreader, who writes that he copied his glosses from a "proofread book" of Rabbi Nissim Bibas who proofread it using the Aleppo manuscript - the proofread copy that the Rambam testified on it in his own handwriting, "Proofread from my book": "I, Avraham Ibn Reuven, have found in the possession of the sage R. Nissim Bibas a proofread book of Rabbeinu Moshe, which was proofread by the aforementioned sage from a book which is currently in Haleb, written by Rabbeinu Moshe himself. Therefore, I have requested that he give me the book which he has proofread and I have proofread this book according to his copy to the best of my ability. If I had difficulty understanding any matter which had been proofread, I did not write them until the aforementioned sage provided the explanation".
The glosses in this book were accurately copied from the glosses of R. Nissim Bibas, who proofread his book according to the Aleppo manuscript. This copy was produced during the lifetime of R. Nissim Bibas, and the writer notes in his colophon that he copied his manuscript while actually studying and clarifying the corrections with R. Nissan Bibas himself.
The sources of these glosses are in the Aleppo (Haleb) Manuscript, on which the Rambam himself signed that it was proofread from his own copy: "Proofread from my book". In the 16th century, the Aleppo Manuscript was famed as the most accurate manuscript of Rambam's books and this is mentioned in the books of the greatest Achronim (later sages) such as the Radvaz, the Mabit and the Mahari Korkus (see following article). One of the famous copiers of the Aleppo manuscript is R. Nissim Bibas, from whom the writer of the manuscript offered here copied his glosses (the copy with the original glosses of R. Bibas remains undiscovered). Other copies of the Aleppo manuscript are known, including that of R. Berachot son of Yosef HaCohen (see following article).
In our times, editing of the Rambam's work has been done using the remnants of the "proofread books" of the leading sages of previous generations, which were proofread according to the Aleppo Manuscript and according to the notations of Egyptian sages. The better known editions are the Shabtai Frenkel edition and the Rambam Meduyak edition by R. Yitzchak Shilat. Used in producing these editions were remnants of the original Aleppo manuscript [which are in the Oxford Bodleian Library] and copies of the manuscript.
Some of the glosses in this manuscript are the only source of the text of the Aleppo proofread book, which did not reach the aforementioned editions from other sources (in his introduction, R. Shilat notes the existence of these glosses, but he laments the fact that he did not manage to use them at the time he published his work, see enclosed material). Some of the glosses in this book are singular and unknown from any other source.
Description of the content of the glosses of this book: The book contains numerous glosses. Thousands of corrections (including erasures. A line and a half of the Rambam's text is erased on p. 513b - Hilchot She'ar Avot HaTum'ot, end of Chapter 6) in the margins and between the lines. Virtually all the leaves containing the text of the Rambam have corrections (some corrections are noted in lengthy glosses, with additions of entire sections which were omitted during printing, for example, pp. 491b, 509b). The margins of some of the longer glosses are trimmed.
In some places in which the Rambam writes "and this is its form", the proofreader added illustrations [apparently, an early copy of illustrations which appeared in the reliable manuscripts he was using], see: pp. 429a, 453a, 453b, 494a.
Long handwritten glosses appear on p. 406a and on p. 416b: "Question 11 posed by Lunel sages" and "Question 12… Lunel sages to our rabbi" [the Rambam's responsa to the Lunel sages was first printed in the 18th and 19th centuries, in the books Pe'er HaDor, Kovetz Teshuvot HaRambam, Maase Roke'ach, etc. Here is an early copy from the 16th century].
Other inscriptions: On p. 581a are two ancient, dated inscriptions: "…I, Yosef son of R. Yehuda Tali have wed the daughter of R. Yafet Yadia abu Sha'ara on Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Nissan 1558 in Egypt"; "The two brothers died… notables, with none other like them… Died on Monday… Tishrei 1558…".
On p. 546a is a gloss in another handwriting, a scholarly notation on the words of the Magid Mishneh. A gloss in another handwritten appears on p. 757a [Yemen?, 17th century?].
401-764 leaves, [leaf 766]. (Originally: [1], 394-767 leaves. Lacking 10 leaves: the title page and leaves 394-400, 765, 767). Varying fair condition. Detached leaves, without binding, placed in a binder, in plastic sleeves. Stains and wear. Slight worming. Several leaves at beginning and end are repaired with paper.