Copying of a biblical scroll

In this paper the procedures for the copying of biblical scrolls followed in the last few centuries bce and the first centuries ce are scrutinised. The procedures involved in and various technical preparations made for the copying, the identity of the ancient scribes, the copying itself, the production of the scroll after the completion of the writing, and the question of whether or not the production of biblical scrolls differed from that of non-biblical scrolls are discussed. Continued analysis of these procedures on the basis of the finds from the Judean Desert further illuminates aspects of the transmission of ancient texts.