[13]

The various sources 1 9 which refer to the mnemonic of ,ח״שד ש״דש ,ק׳׳רא ,ע״ונ indicate that it is par t of a larger w o r k k n o w n as Pesikta.

Mos t , if not a l l , of the Piskoth in this un i t are found in al l the manuscripts described above, except ק which only has t w o versions of הב וש. Nevertheless, this un i t is not the same in the six manuscripts and the differences between them are of sig­ nificance. Manusc r ip t s כ and 3א 2 0 have the complete un i t , a long w i t h the rest of the Pesikta. M a n u s c r i p t פ includes on ly this uni t , w i t h one va r i a t ion . I t is ש״ש ק״רא ער נ ח׳ ׳שד; the ושרד א ק ס פ is missing. A l t h o u g h there is a caret sign ( ‸ ) in the marg in between שישא שוש and הבוש, ind ica t ing tha t something is missing, this may have been the work of a later hand.