Weinberg, BH. 2010. Citation, Obliteration, and Plagiarism, as Discussed in Ancient Jewish Sources. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 61 (11): 2337-2364

[Eugene Garfield]

Weinberg, BH. 2010. Citation, Obliteration, and Plagiarism, as Discussed in 
Ancient Jewish Sources. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR 
INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 61 (11): 2337-2364.

Author Full Name(s): Weinberg, Bella Hass
Language: English
Document Type: Article
KeyWords Plus: INDEXES

Abstract: The preface to a 16th-century Hebrew book entitled Devek Toy, a 
supercommentary on the Pentateuch, includes an apology by the author for not 
citing all his sources. In his defense, he cites a passage in the Jerusalem 
Talmud that discusses the obliteration phenomenon. Following the trail of 
Jewish sayings on the importance of citation leads to a discussion of stealing 
ideas, i.e., plagiarism. Details of the search process, cataloging issues, 
incomplete indexes, and descriptions of complex locator systems found in 
Hebrew texts, concordances, and full-text databases are included. This 
detective work led to the discovery that Devek Toy was itself obliterated by 
incorporation into a later commentary on the Pentateuch.

Addresses: St Johns Univ, Div Lib & Informat Sci, Queens, NY 11439 USA
Reprint Address: Weinberg, BH, St Johns Univ, Div Lib & Informat Sci, 8000 
Utopia Pkwy, Queens, NY 11439 USA.

ISSN: 1532-2882
DOI: 10.1002/asi.21392
URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.21392/abstract