Before its arrival at the Burgerbibliothek in 1634, MS Cod. 359 passed through several Jewish hands since its production in the second half of the 15th century [f.1r: faint note with the posthumous name Israel ז''ל dated 1476 (רלו)] and until the second half of the 16th century. During this time, it appears thanks to owners’ notes, that the ha-Zarḥi family from Cologne not only owned MS Cod. 359 but also three other Hebrew manuscripts preserved at the Bodleian Library in Oxford (MSS [Neubauer 2103], [1796/5] and [643]) (J. Prijs, 2018, p. 405). These notes help identify the family members, such as in MSS Neubauer 2103 and 1796/5, which bear the name of Hosea ben Avraham of Cologne, clearly identifying the father-son relation between Hosea Raphael (f. 1v of MS Cod. 359) and Avraham ha-Zarḥi (f. 1r of MS Cod. 359). Furthermore, a note in MS Cod. 359 goes on to explain that Hosea Raphael (son of Avraham), inherited the manuscript in August 1519, when dividing the collection of Avraham’s books with his brother Isaac, after the presumed passing of their father (f.1v: Which has arrived to my destiny, Hosea Raphael (may he see his descendance and may his days be lengthened amen), when I divided the books with my brother Itsḥaq from Cologne August 279 1519 C.E.
). It is also known that Cod. 359 had been acquired previously by Avraham ha-Zarḥi, because of the latter’s note on the previous page (f. 1r): To ha-Shem belongs the earth and all it contains, financial acquisition of Avraham of Cologne ha-Zarḥi
. Lastly, as further evidence to ha-Zarḥi family members, MS Neubauer 643 contains an owner’s note with the names of Avraham ha-Zarḥi’s descendants, Solomon and Avraham ha-Zarḥi, sons of Mordekhai from Cologne, living in Vadiana, Lombardy, during the second half of the 16th century, under the rule of Guilliemo of Gonzaga, duke of Mantua (1550-1587).
Before this manuscript was in Hortin’s possession, a Latin note on the back cover of the volume attests its ownership to Theodore de Bèze (1519-1605), the famous Genevan Calvinist theologian and Professor, and the latter’s gift to one of his disciples and colleagues, Antoine Chevalier (1507-1572), the first Professor of Hebrew language at the Académie de Genève. A subsequent Hebrew note, situated above the Latin one, was probably written by Chevalier. The proof of this possession testifies to the private ownership of medieval Hebrew manuscripts, mostly of biblical nature, by prominent Genevan religious leaders and Professors of the 16th century, who used them as vehicles to improve their understanding of the Old Testament. It is noteworthy to mention that the first preserved inventory of that library, dated 1572 (Ganoczy, 1969), only encloses a list of Hebrew printed books, suggesting that this library probably also held Hebrew manuscripts, but that their inventory was either lost or never even made. Indeed, the first Hebrew manuscript mentioned in a preserved list produced by the Académie library, can be found in a register for the years 1626 to 1666 (Arch. BPU Dd 1), where it specifies a commentary by Rashi on the Five Megillot ([BGE, MS heb. 7]), bequeathed in 1661 by Antoine Léger (1596-1661), a pastor and Professor of the Académie de Genève (Isserles, 2016).