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Jewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewi…
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Investigate this subjectJewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach and also some modern translations into English with notes are listed.
Jewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach and also some modern translations into English with notes are listed.
The complete Tanakh in Hebrew, with commentaries by Rashi, Radak, Ramban, and Ralbag was printed in 1517 by Daniel Bomberg and edited by Felix Pratensis under the name Mikraot Gedolot.
The Tanakh was handed down in manuscript form along with a method of checking the accuracy of the transcription known as mesorah. Many codices containing the Masoretic Text were gathered by Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah and were used to publish an accurate text. It was published by Daniel Bomberg in 1525. Later editions were edited with the help of Elia Levita. Various editions of Mikraot Gedolot are still in print.
A Targum is a translation of the Bible into Aramaic. The classic Targumim are Targum Onkelos on the Chumash (a Torah in printed form), Targum Jonathan on Nevi'im (the Prophets), and a fragmentary Targum Yerushalmi. There is no standard Aramaic translation of the Ketuvim.
Targum Onkelos is the most often consulted literal translation of the Bible with a few exceptions. Figurative language is usually not translated literally but is explained (e.g., Gen. 49:25; Ex. 15:3, 8, 10; 29:35). Geographical names are often replaced by those current at a later time (e.g., Gen. 10:10; Deut. 3:17).
According to the Talmud, the Torah and its translation into Aramaic were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, because Egyptian slaves spoke Aramaic. After the Babylonian exile, the Targum was completely forgotten. Onkelos, a Roman convert to Judaism, was able to reconstruct the original Aramaic. Saadia Gaon disagrees and says the Aramaic of Onkelos was never a spoken language. He believed that Onkelos's Aramaic was an artificial construct, a combination of Eastern and Western dialects of Aramaic.
The major commentary on Targum Onkelos is Netinah LaGer ("a gift to the Convert" נתינה לגר) written by Nathan Marcus Adler.
According to some scholars, Targum Jonathan's Chumash was not written by Jonathan ben Uzziel and thus they refer to it instead as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, internal evidence shows that it was written sometime between the 7th and 14th centuries CE. For example, Ishmael's wife's name is translated into Aramaic as Fatima (who was Mohammed's daughter) and therefore Targum Pseudo-Jonathan must have been written after Mohammed's birth. The classic Hebrew commentators would turn this argument around, and say that Mohammed's daughter was named after Ismael's wife. Both sides will agree, however, that stylistically Jonathan's commentary on the Chumash is very different from the commentary on Nevi’im. The Targum Jonathan on Nevi’im is written in a very terse style, similar to Onkelos on Chumash, but on the average Targum Jonathan on Chumash is almost twice as verbose.
Adler produced a commentary here also - Ahavat Yonatan ("Jonathan's Love" אהבת יונתן).
The Jerusalem Targum exists only in fragmentary form. It translates a total of approximately 850 verses, phrases, and words. No one knows who wrote it. Some speculate that it was a printers error. The printer saw a manuscript headed with "TY" and assumed it was a Targum Yerushalmi when actually it was an early version of Targum Yonathan. Others speculate that it was written by a R. Yosef or R. Hoshea (Yihoshua).
For comparing one verse to another, see Talmudical hermeneutics
For understanding one verse, see Pardes (Jewish exegesis)
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki; 1040–1106) is the most influential Jewish exegete of all time. He is the preeminent expounder of Peshat. Rashi wrote, "I, however, am only concerned with the plain sense of Scripture and with such Aggadot that explain the words of Scripture in a manner that fits in with them." There have also been many super-commentaries written on Rashi's basic commentary, including:
Be'er Mayim Chaim, by Chaim ben Betzalel (1515–1588), the older brother of Judah Loew ben Bezalel
Amar Nekeh, by Obadiah ben Abraham Bartenura (c. 1440–1516), a leading rabbi of Italy and Jerusalem, best known for his commentary on the Mishnah
Divrei David, by David HaLevi Segal (1586–1667), a Polish rabbinical authority known as the Taz for his classic commentary on the Shulchan Aruch
Gur Aryeh al haTorah, by the Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1526–1609), known for this work and his fundamental works on Jewish philosophy and mysticism
Maskil le-David, by David Pardo (1710–1792)
Sefer HaMizrachi, by Elijah Mizrachi (1450–1525), which itself spawned multiple supercommentaries such as Yeri'ot Shlomo by Solomon Luria and Leshon Arummim by Barzillai ben Baruch Jabez
Nachalas Yaakov
Sefer Ha-zikaron, by Abraham Lévy-Bacrat, who lived through the Spanish Expulsion of 1492
Siftei Chachamim, by Shabbethai Bass, which analyzes other supercommentaries on Rashi and is considered important enough that a shortened version, Ikkar Siftei Chachamim, is often printed with the commentary of Rashi
Rashbam (Samuel ben Meir; 1085–1158) was the grandson of Rashi and the brother of Rabbeinu Tam.
Tobiah ben Eliezer (11th century Greece) was a Romaniote scholar and paytan, who wrote the Leḳaḥ Ṭov or Pesiḳta Zuṭarta, a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot. The Talmudic passages he cites in connection with the halakhot are often interpreted according to his judgment and are different from Rashi's. Like many other Biblical commentators, he translates certain words into the language of the country where he lived, namely, Greek.
Abraham ibn Ezra (1092–1167) was a contemporary of the Rashbam. His commentary on Chumash was reprinted under the name Sefer HaYashar. He separates the literal meaning of a biblical verse from the traditional meaning, upon which the halacha is based, and from the homiletic meaning drush. He explai
Source: Jewish commentaries on the Bible (CC BY-SA)
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