^*A7 -^ 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 
 
 OF SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED 
 
 JEWISH RABBIES, 
 
 AND 
 
 
 
 TRANSLATIONS OF PORTIONS OF THEIR 
 
 COMMENTAKIES, 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHERWORKS, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE INTRODUCTIONS AND 
 NOTES. 
 
 BY SAMUEL H. TURNER, D. D., 
 
 FBOFXSSOR OF BIBLICAL LEARNING AND INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE, 
 IN THE GEN. THEO. SEM. OF THE PROT. EP18. CHURCH. 
 
 STANFORD AND SWORDS, 139, BROADWAY 
 1847.
 
 ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 
 
 STANFORD AND SWORDS, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District 
 of New-York. 
 
 Jlobart Press. 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN R. li'aOWJI, 
 CYL FULTON-BTH.T.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Biographical Notice of Jarchi i 17 
 
 " JudahHallevi .... 23 
 
 ' Aben Ezra 31 
 
 ' ' ' ' Maimonides ..... 35 
 
 " " David Kirachi 52 
 
 ' ' " Abarbanel . . . ^ 58 
 
 ' ' ' ' Saadias the Gaon .... 63 
 
 Comincntary of Jarchi on Isaiah xi 69 
 
 ' ' Kimchi 76 
 
 ' Aben Ezra ' 92 
 
 Introduction to Commentary on Isaiah lii. 13 liii. . . 98 
 
 Commentary of Jarchi *' '' . .110 
 
 < Kimchi " " . . 117 
 
 ' Aben Ezra " ' . . 134 
 
 Introduction to the Targum 152 
 
 Translation of the Targum . " ' . .160 
 
 Introduction to Commentary on Hosea i ii. 1 ... 164 
 Commentary of Kimchi *' (< . . . 168 
 
 Translation of the Targum '' '' . . .182 
 
 Commentary of Saadias on Daniel ix. 24 27 . . . 185 
 Commentary on Particular Passages . . . . .191 
 Extracts from the Yad of Maimonides ..... 205 
 Evtracts from the Moreh Nevochim of Maimonides . . 227
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 37, line 9, before to re&d familiar. 
 83, 2, for f read ). 
 96, 1, before And, read 13. 
 1TO, 12, for ultimately, read intimately. 
 112, 3, for Daniel read David. 
 117, 7, for read ft. 
 122, 12, for 1 read }. 
 143, 16, before All, read 6. 
 169, note * line 2, transpose the Hebrew words. 
 175, line 9, transpose the Hebrew words.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 AMOXG the various benevolent enterprises of the present 
 age, designed to remove the prejudices of ignorance and to 
 extend the knowledge and influence of Christianity, that 
 which aims at the conversion of the Jews is by no means 
 the least important. It has been the unhappy fate of suc- 
 cessive generations of that extraordinary people, to be 
 persecuted by all other classes of religionists. Pagans, 
 Mohammedans and Christians of every name, have vied 
 with each other, not only in exposing the Jew to every 
 species of obloquy and insult, but also in plundering his 
 property, and in mutilating, incarcerating and torturing his 
 body. While, in this way, the just providence of an of- 
 fended God has permitted the imprecation of the forefath- 
 ers to fall with heavy vengeance on the devoted heads of 
 their descendants, and the blood of the holy One crucified 
 on Calvary to be required of the children of his murder- 
 ers, the unrighteous and wicked passions of the instru- 
 ments whereby this punishment has been inflicted are not, 
 on that account, the less to be abhorred, or the persons 
 themselves the less amenable to the rightful Judge of alf 
 fhe earth. Much has Christendom to deplore, and much 
 to answer for, on account of its systematic oppression and-
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 abuse of the descendants of him who is its own progeni- 
 tor in the faith. It is time that the treatment of Abra- 
 ham's children, according to the flesh, should be in accord- 
 ance with the spirit and character of the religion of those 
 who profess to be " blessed with faithful Abraham." Anrf 
 to the really spiritual progeny of the patriarch, it is in the 
 highest degree gratifying to believe, that both in Europe 
 and America God has stirred up the hearts of his faithful 
 people, to desire the salvation of Israel, and to labor for 
 its advancement; a consummation, which was predicted 
 by the prophets, confidently expected by the apostles, and 
 for which the ancient people do seem to have been most 
 wonderfully at least, if not miraculously, preserved among 
 their brethren of mankind. 
 
 It must be obvious to every reflecting mind, that, in 
 order to insure probable success in an object so interest^ 
 ing and important, it is essentially necessary to obtain 
 some knowledge of the stale of Judaism in the world, of 
 its leading articles of religious belief, and also of the prin- 
 ciples and views developed in the works of their standard 
 authorities. The intelligent Christian missionary to the 
 Jews will not content himself with a general acquaintance 
 with his Hebrew Bible. Some knowledge of their Rab- 
 binical works is indispensable, both for his own respecta- 
 ble standing among them, and also that he may be able 
 to develop inconsistencies with the revealed law, and 
 erroneous principles, whereby prejudice is strengthened 
 and religious blindness perpetuated. And here the church 
 of Christ has generally been, and is now, in a very great 
 degree, deficient. The writings of the learned Jews are 
 sealed books to the great mass of the Christian clergy, 
 and it may be presumed that this is true also of some of 
 those whose ministrations are especially directed towards
 
 PREFACE. VJl 
 
 their conversion. As an illustration of this remark, it 
 may not be improper to mention what is stated of the 
 celebrated Legh Richmond. On one occasion of his 
 preaching to a crowded audience in behalf of the Jews, it 
 was remarked by one of his Israelitish hearers on leaving 
 the chapel, that the preacher did not understand their in- 
 terpretations of the Hebrew prophets.* The firm persua- 
 sion thai Christians rightly cherish of the general correct- 
 ness of their own exposition of the prophecies relating to 
 the Messiah, should not make them indifferent to the views 
 entertained by others, or neglectful of the method whereby 
 these views may be known, and their frequent unsound- 
 ness demonstrated. 
 
 In harmony with these considerations, and with the 
 view of facilitating, in some slight measure, an acquaint- 
 ance with Jewish commentary, this little work is now pub- 
 lished. The author is aware that his views of a neces- 
 sary preparation for successful efforts to Christianize the 
 Jews are not likely in the present day to be popular. A 
 careful reading of Jewish books, and an unintermitted 
 study of the Hebrew Bible, in connection with the Greek 
 Testament which embodies its spiritual development, fol- 
 lowed also by intelligent and earnest proclamations, prov- 
 ing that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah predicted 
 by the Hebrew prophets, is quite a different thing from 
 golden promises of national supremacy and aristocratic 
 dignity to be enjoyed in the land of Palestine. Some in- 
 dolent Jews, whose situation would probably be improved 
 by almost any change, and some also of a better class, 
 
 I regret that I cannot verify this anecdote by referring to any 
 authority, yet I am very confident of having met with it in some 
 English publication.*
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 with \varm imaginations and lively hopes, may be tcmpe- 
 rarily influenced by such representations ; but on the 
 more steady, industrious and thoughtful portion of the He- 
 brew community, influences of a very different kind must 
 be brought to bear. They must be made to feel that Ju- 
 daism, from its very nature, could not have been intended 
 for perpetuity, some of its judiciary and most of its cere- 
 monial requisitions being only compatible with ^peculiar 
 state of society ; that the views of the future which it de- 
 velopes have either already begun to open in the past ad- 
 vent of Messiah and the progress and extent of his spiritual 
 kingdom, or else are not to be hereafter expected, and conse- 
 quently its prophecies are a failure ; and, that Christianity, 
 not indeed as practically exhibited by the great body of its 
 professed advocates, but as really existing in the system of 
 our Lord and Master, and showing itself in the heavenly 
 characters of its true believers, is that new covenant and law 
 which God declared by his holy prophets, that in due time he 
 would substitute in the place of the earlier and less perfect 
 dispensation. To support such a superstructure, requires 
 a foundation not only solidly laid in deep religious charac- 
 ter and zeal, but also in sound Hebrew learning ; and the 
 author is compelled to say, that he cannot discern, in the 
 signs of the times, so far as they have come under his own 
 observation, any very clear indications of its rapid pro- 
 gress. Man's ever changeful theories are readily em- 
 braced ; but God's holy"" word, which stands immutable, 
 and shall so stand for ever, is locked up, even to multi- 
 tudes of its expounders, in dead languages which they 
 cannot undersand. 
 
 The following Biographical Notices and Translations 
 were originally made several years ago. Considerations* 
 which it is unnecessary to mention, have recently
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 fumed the author to present them to the public. If this 
 little volume should be fortunate enough to secure a pa- 
 tronage sufficient to meet the expense of its publication, 
 he will immediately put to press a Glossary of Hebrew 
 words not found in the Bible, and a table of the most usual 
 and important abbreviations, which occur in the Rab- 
 binical writings. He would wish to add the originals of 
 the portions which are here offered in an English trans- 
 lation ; thus presenting the Hebrew student with an appa- 
 ratus, although very imperfect, to aid him somewhat in 
 reading Jewish writings. He does not venture to go be- 
 yond the offer of very moderate assistance, being con- 
 scious that his own knowledge in this department of He- 
 brew Literature, is circumscribed within very narrow 
 limits. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to inform the reader, that the 
 biographies have but little claim to originality. They are 
 drawn chiefly from the following sources : namely, WOLF'S 
 Bibliotheca Hebraea ; BARTOLOCCI'S Bibliotheca magna 
 Rabbinica ; BASNAGE'S Histoire des Juifs depuis Jesus 
 Christ jusq' a present ; Biographic Universelle ; and 
 JOST'S Geschichte der Israeliten seit der Zeit der Macca- 
 baer bis auf unsre Tage, History of the Israelites from the 
 time of the Maccabees until the present. The account in 
 this last work is by far the most complete. Some time 
 after these notices were prepared, I read a biography of 
 iftaimonides, and other Jewish Rabbies, in the Hebrew 
 Review. The author has taken his materials almost en- 
 tirely from Jost, which may serve to explain the coinci- 
 dence between his account and that contained in the sub- 
 sequent pages. 
 
 In preparing the Translation, I have carefully endea- 
 vored to make it intelligible to the merely English reader,
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 although it was absolutely necessary to introduce in seve- 
 ral places the original Biblical Hebrew, particularly where 
 the Jewish commentator advocates a different view from 
 that presented in the English version. The meaning, 
 however, is always given in our own language. Owing 
 to the remarkable brevity which often characterizes these 
 Rabbinical writers, a translator is frequently compelled 
 to add a word or a phrase, in order to make the meaning 
 clear to his readers. Such supplementary clauses are 
 introduced within parentheses. While it was my aim to 
 present the precise meaning of the author, I did not think 
 it necessary to make the translation more literal than the 
 different idiom of the English language seemed to allow^ 
 For the benefit of the reader who may wish to study the 
 original writer in his own language, I have generally 
 given the literal meaning in notes. 
 
 After all the care which has been bestowed on the 
 translation, the amount of which I must leave to be deter- 
 mined by those readers who have devoted their time and 
 attention to similar pursuits, I am by no means confident 
 that I have always succeeded in perceiving the exact 
 meaning of the original. Corrections, suggested by com- 
 petent criticism, and accompanied by satisfactory proof, 
 will be gratefully acknowledged and willingly admitted ; 
 but vague and general objections, proceeding from that 
 class of persons to whom the Greek proverb, ' f *ov trn 
 f*.tvft.ttr6a.t r> fj.tp.ei<ri)at,'* applies, will be passed over with 
 that silence which is pre-eminently their due. 
 
 I have only to add, that, if the reader is disappointed, as 
 most probably he will be, at the meagre character of 
 many parts of these Rabbinical comments, I can assure 
 
 * It is easier to ridicule than to imitate.
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 him, that no part of the original has been withheld. The 
 selections contain the whole exposition, given by these 
 Jewish guides of interpretation, of the portions of scripture 
 commented on ; and the translator must not be held re- 
 sponsible for any supposed deficiency. If, however, we 
 make proper allowances for national prepossessions, for 
 the character of the times in which the writers lived, and 
 for the influence of the circumstances which excited or 
 controlled them, we shall rather be surprised at the accu- 
 racy of their philological knowledge, than disappointed at 
 the want of a full development of the meaning of the sa- 
 cred writers. And while we must lament so strong a 
 traditional bias, we cannot but admire that religious feel- 
 ing which influences a considerable portion of their inter- 
 pretations, and that comprehensive acquaintance with the 
 text and apparent meaning of God's revelation, which 
 pervades their compositions. In the concluding portions 
 especially, of this volume, Christians, in general, may find 
 materials for profitable reflection, and not a few readers, 
 for instruction.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 JARCHI. 
 
 RABBI SOLOMON BEN ISAAC is known in Jewish 
 writings by the technical word Rashi, which 
 is formed by the initial letters of his title, and of 
 his name, Solomon Jarchi ;* the latter being the 
 real, or as many think, the fictitious name of his 
 family. According to some writers, the name 
 Jarchi, analogous to the Hebrew word Jareach, the 
 moon, is derived from Lunel, (luna,) a town in 
 the western part of France, while others imagine 
 it to have been applied to the Rabbi from his 
 supposed knowledge of astronomy. Which of 
 these opinions, or whether either of them is well 
 founded, is doubtful, and of little moment. The 
 origin of the appellation, like, that of a multitude 
 of others, is involved in obscurity. 
 
 * The first letter is pronounced like y. 
 
 2
 
 18 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 The exact period of Jarchi's life is also uncer- 
 tain. According to the most respectable authori- 
 ties, he was born in Troyes, in France, in the 
 year 1030,* and lived to the age of 75, or, as 
 others say, 64 years. Of his life and history very 
 little is known, although much is related that is 
 fabulous, particularly that he spent seven years in 
 wandering about in various countries, in order to 
 atone for some sin of his father. He was brought 
 up under the superintendence of Rabbi Jacob 
 Ben Jakar, and probably also of Rabbi Ger- 
 shom, and pursued his studies in the place of his 
 nativity. 
 
 Jarchi is the author of a commentary on the 
 entire Hebrew Bible. He wrote also a commen- 
 tary on the Talmud, and on the Pirke Avoth ; also 
 some other works, a brief notice of which may be 
 found in WolPs Bibliotheca Hebraea, Vol. I. pp. 
 1067, 1068. The importance and extensiveness 
 of his works have gained for him with posterity, 
 the honor of being regarded as one of the most 
 learned Jews in the departments to which he 
 devoted himself; although he is certainly less 
 judicious in many of his expositions than some 
 others of his nation. This will appear by no 
 means surprising, when it is recollected that his 
 literary acquirements were very limited. Accord- 
 
 * Basnage places his birth in the year 1 105, and of course makes 
 him flourish in the twelfth century. See Book viii. chap. xiii. sec. 
 27, and Book ix. chap. x. i?*e. 17.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JARCHI. ^9 
 
 ing to Jost, he was unacquainted with natural 
 science, history, geography, mathematics, and 
 languages ; and yet so completely did he master 
 the common sources of Jewish learning, the Bible, 
 the Talmud, and other more recent works, as to 
 make them his own, and to explain them in gene- 
 ral to the satisfaction of his pupils. Other writers 
 however, speak of him as being acquainted with 
 ancient languages, philosophy, medicine, and as- 
 tronomy. They add, also, that with the view of 
 improving himself by foreign instruction, he trav- 
 elled into Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, 
 and Germany, visiting all the cities distinguished 
 for Hebrew literature, interrogating the profess- 
 ors, discussing with them points of difficulty, and 
 noting with exactness their various replies.* Still 
 he was not distinguished for extraordinary talents 
 or remarkable perspicacity ; neither was he exci- 
 ted by any dominant inclination to triumph in ar- 
 gument over an antagonist, or to produce some- 
 thing novel. His ruling desire was, to seize upon 
 the simple sense of the sources of religious know- 
 ledge, in the hope of illustrating their true meaning. 
 With this object in view, he entered upon his la- 
 borious undertaking. He endeavored to explain 
 the more important passages, sometimes gram- 
 matically, sometimes by paraphrasing and sup- 
 
 * Bartolocci, Part iv., p. 378, 381. Biographic Universelle, 
 Tom. 37, p. 109. Basnage calls him one of the most learned of tha 
 French Rabbles. Book viii. chap. xiii. sect. 27.
 
 20 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 plying what was supposed to be elliptical, and 
 occasionally by means of a French translation. 
 His commentaries are compiled principally from 
 the Chaldee Targum, the Talmud, and other 
 ancient Jewish authorities, the very language of 
 which is often retained. Where his predecessors 
 had introduced legendary narratives, and allego- 
 ries founded on certain expressions, he contented 
 himself with giving the statements without exam- 
 ining into their truth. Rhenferd says that Jarchi 
 is by no means given to fictions, but relates with 
 remarkable diligence and fidelity the opinions of 
 his predecessors on the more important parts of 
 scripture. By fictions, he means probably, origi- 
 nal inventions ; for Jarchi abounds with Rabbini- 
 cal conceits, drawn, with fidelity no doubt, from 
 writers of higher antiquity. To elicit the philolo- 
 gical meaning, rather than to discuss the truth of 
 the results arrived at, characterizes the commen- 
 taries of Jarchi, and the school of which he may 
 be considered as the founder. Posterity is more 
 indebted to his patience and industry, than to his 
 genius or profoundness. It is the laborious ox, 
 rather than the soaring eagle, to which this 
 Rabbi may be compared. 
 
 The style of this commentator is obscure, 
 both on account of its conciseness and the num- 
 ber of foreign words, particularly French, which 
 he introduces. Wolf informs us, that Rendtorf 
 of Hamburg prepared on the whole of Jarchi's
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JARCHI. gl 
 
 commentary, notes and observations, which might 
 serve the purpose of a lexicon and version. He 
 mentions also, the commentary of Balthazar 
 Scheid, as very useful in reading Jarchi, be- 
 cause it contains explanations of all the foreign 
 words. Vol. I. p. 1065, 1066. The commentary 
 on the Pentateuch was translated into Latin by 
 John Frederick Breithaupt, and published at 
 Gotha, 4to, in 1710, with brief and learned notes. 
 Also in 1713, the same writer published at the 
 same place, in 4to, a Latin translation of the com- 
 mentary on the greater and minor prophets, Job, 
 and the Psalms. Other portions of Jarchi's works 
 have also been translated by different persons.
 
 JUDAH HALLEVI, 
 
 Author of the Book Com. 
 
 RABBI JUDAH HALLEVI, (that is, the Levite,) 
 BEN SAMUEL, a Spanish Jew of the twelfth 
 century, was a man of uncommon talent. Well 
 versed in Rabbinical and Arabian literature, he en- 
 deavored to spread the influence of learning, and 
 a knowledge of the most important truths, by 
 means of poetry. As he was wealthy, his cir- 
 cumstances afforded him leisure to polish his 
 compositions, according to the principles of proso- 
 dy then generally admitted. In the judgment of a 
 nearly contemporaneous critic,* he drew largely 
 from the deep treasury of poetic thought and feel- 
 ing, and surpassed all the writers of his nation 
 who had attempted to build the lofty verse. His 
 hymns of praise are marked by force and ardor, 
 
 * AI Charisi, about the year 1200. This writer has laid down 
 f ome very excellent practical rules, which poets of all periods might 
 apply with advantage. They may be found in Jost's history, vol. 
 vi., p. 159, 160. Many of Judah's poems and other finished compo- 
 sition! are contained in books of prayers. Bartolocci, part iii. p. 64.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 33 
 
 while the bitterest feelings of distress, irresistibly 
 seizing upon the soul, rule in his elegiac poetry. 
 This remarkable man was not permitted to 
 die a natural death. At the age of fifty, in com- 
 pliance with the practice of the times, and prompt- 
 ed by an ardent desire to visit the country of his 
 ancestors, he undertook a journey to the promis- 
 ed land. To a poetic mind, such an enterprize 
 possessed high attraction, as a view of the condi- 
 tion of a country, the early history of \v hich had 
 exercised so important an influence on posterity, 
 was well adapted to excite the imagination to 
 strains of pensive melancholy. And in fact, the 
 scenes there presented to the eye, the depopula- 
 tion of a region once so densely inhabited, the 
 wildness and desolation of a land formerly teem- 
 ing with luxuriance, the barbarous character and 
 wretched state of the inhabitants, made a strong 
 impression on the mind of the poet. Standing 
 beneath the walls of Jerusalem, his soul was so 
 deeply afflicted with the lamentable condition of 
 his people, that he rent his garments like a mourn- 
 er, put off his shoes and went on barefoot, singing 
 an elegy, which he had himself composed, on the 
 fall of Jerusalem. A mounted Arab who was 
 near him, but unobserved, made the devotion of 
 the sorrowing Jew a subject of ridicule, and rous- 
 ed to madness by the unhappy man's ^indifference 
 and supposed obstinacy, he leaped upon him, and 
 trampled him to death under his horse's hoofs.
 
 24 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 This unfortunate Rabbi is generally regarded 
 as the author of the Book Cosri,* pronounced by 
 the high authority of De Sacy and Labouderie,t to 
 be one of the most valuable and beautiful produc- 
 tions of the Jewish school. The object of this 
 work was to defend the Hebrew religion against 
 the objections of Christians, Mohammedans, phi- 
 losophical infidels, and Karaite Jews. In order 
 to make it the more attractive, the author connects 
 his subject with the conversion of Bulan, a king 
 of the Chasars ; or, according to the representa- 
 tions of some writers, introduces a dialogue be- 
 tween a king by the name of Chosar, and a cer- 
 tain Rabbi, Isaac Sanguer, or Sangari, on the 
 prominent points of religion. In order that the 
 reader may have a clear idea of the origin and 
 design of this Jewish book, it is necessary to lay 
 before him some notices of this people, premising 
 however, that no small portion of fable has been 
 incorporated with the history. The following ac- 
 count is drawn almost entirely from the history of 
 Jost. 
 
 * The authorship of this work is much disputed by writers on 
 Jewish literature, some attributing it even to the king himself, 
 whose attachment to Judaism it is designed to confirm. Bartolocci 
 says, that Hallevi was unhesitatingly regarded as the author of the 
 Book Cosri, by the most ancient Jews, but that later investigations 
 have involved this matter in considerable doubt The more general 
 opinion, however is, that the work is rightly ascribed to him. See 
 Wolf, Vol. iv. p. 1022. 
 
 t See Biographic Universelle, Tome xxii. p. 101, 102.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 95 
 
 The' Chosars or Chasars are represented as a 
 branch of the more ancient Turkomans,* or accor- 
 ding to some old accounts, of common origin with 
 them. This, however, must be left as a matter im- 
 possible to be settled. In very early times they in- 
 habited a district of country lying on the west side of 
 the Caspian, and extending as far as the Black Sea. 
 They were incorporated by Attila with the na- 
 tion of the Huns. Afterwards they became subject 
 to the Bulgarians, but obtained their freedom, and 
 made themselves so powerful as to strike terror 
 into the Persians on the one side and the Greek 
 Empire on the other. The Persian monarch was 
 obliged to secure his country from their invasions 
 by a prodigious wall, the ruins of which excite the 
 travellers' astonishment even at the present day, 
 and the autocrat of the Greeks found it expedient 
 to court their friendship and avail himself of their 
 hardy courage. Frequent alliances were formed 
 with the Chakans or rulers, and their followers 
 were often found among the body guard of the im- 
 perial court. 
 
 The proximity of this region of country to two 
 seas, giving it at the same time the command of two 
 noble rivers, the Volga and the Don, was a nat- 
 ural encouragement to enterprise and navigation. 
 Trade flourished, and while the merchant fleets 
 
 They are mentioned as "a Turkish or Tartar colony," and as 
 "Eastern Turks," in the ancient Universal History, Book iv. chap, 
 ix. and xxx. Vol. xvii. p. 21, andxx.p. 50. 8vo. Lond. 1748. 
 2*
 
 26 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 of Persia and Greece enriched their owners with 
 the productions of the people, the Chasar cities 
 became places of business and wealth, and the 
 splendor of the nation is said to have vied with 
 that of the Califate itself. Victorious in the South 
 and North, the Chasars obtained gold and silver 
 from the more cultivated people, and from the 
 rougher, natural productions, in the way of trib- 
 ute. Encouraged by a general toleration of reli- 
 gion, Jews, Christians and Musselmans settled in 
 the country, intercourse was unrestrained, and 
 consequently business and intellectual culture 
 gradually spread, and the nation increased in 
 power and in wealth. It is not to be supposed that 
 the new settlers were disregarded by the rulers ; 
 on the contrary, they seem to have attracted con- 
 siderable notice, and their religion became of 
 course the subject of attention. There is reason 
 to believe that the Chakans often availed them- 
 selves of the services of these foreigners, in their in- 
 tercourse at the courts of the emperors and chalifs 
 as well as with inferior chiefs ; and the inclination 
 to make proselytes to their respective religions, for 
 which both Christians and Mohammedans were dis- 
 tinguished, must have been felt also in no slight de- 
 gree, by the sincere Hebrew. Every favorable op- 
 portunity would have been seized, in order to awa- 
 ken attention and conciliate regard to the system 
 of the despised and persecuted Jew. 
 
 The supposition therefore is not so extravagant
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JUDAII HALLEVI. g? 
 
 as some historians have imagined, that, in a very 
 ancient period, the throne of the Chasars may 
 have been occupied by one of this nation. Certain 
 writers, who, it must be confessed, however, do 
 not disdain to alleviate occasionally the dryness 
 of historical facts by drawing on their imagination 
 for the fabulous and extraordinary, have related, 
 that about the year 740, Bulan, or Bula, a wise 
 Chakan or king of the Chasars, having become 
 a con vert to Judaism, imposed the profession of this 
 faith as a necessary condition of obtaining the su- 
 preme authority. A succession of Jewish Kings 
 is said to have governed the nation more than two 
 centuries and a half, without imposing any re- 
 straint on the free exercise of religion. 
 
 However slight an impression, says Jost, this 
 Chasar Jewish monarchy may have made on the 
 Eastern Jews, sunk in effeminacy, it was not regar- 
 ded without interest by the learned Jews of Spain, 
 who began to be distinguished as favorites of the 
 court of Cordova. Hasdai Ben Isaac is said to 
 have addressed a complimentary letter to one of 
 the kings, named Joseph, with an introduc- 
 tion in poetry, according to the taste of the age 
 and people, and in due time to have received from 
 the monarch agracious answer, in which he informs 
 his western correspondent, that he was the twelfth 
 descendant in a regular line of succession from 
 Bulan. But the authenticity of this correspon- 
 dence in all probability rests on no better founda-
 
 28 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 tion than that of the letters, which some cred- 
 ulous ecclesiastical historians ascribe to our Savior 
 and Abgar, a king of Edessa. Indeed some wri- 
 ters of high respectability consider the Jewish 
 account of the Chasars as altogether fictitious.* 
 Bartolocci, while he states that the name is of fre- 
 quent occurrence in Jewish books, and that the Nu- 
 bian geographer places their country on the borders 
 of the Black and Caspian Seas, does not hesitate to 
 employ the following very decided language. "In- 
 asmuch as no geographical authority of any weight 
 to my knowledge, mentions this region, nor even 
 Benjamin in his Itinerary, I consider the account of 
 it, as given by the Rabbins and others who have 
 borrowed from them, as wholly without historical 
 authority." The fictitious character of the corres- 
 pondence just mentioned, and also of the colloquy 
 which forms the subject of the book Cosri, is, in the 
 opinion of the same very learned authority, indu- 
 bitable. 
 
 The value and importance of the book, howev- 
 er, is wholly independent of the historical correct- 
 ness of either the core sponde nee or the colloquy, 
 or even of the authorship of the work. The sup- 
 posed reply of the King of the Chasars sug- 
 gests to the writer the plan and subject of his 
 work Cosri, the name of which ( a Cosrite, ) 
 denotes the nation of one of the leading par- 
 
 * Basnage, Book is. chap. i. sec. 4,14. Bartoloccij Fart iii. 
 p. 62.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, JUDAH HALLEVI. 2 9 
 
 ties. The book consists of five divisions. It 
 contains a defence of Rabbinical Judaism against 
 Philosophers, Christians, Mohammedans and Ka- 
 raites. The form of the work is as follows : 
 The king repeatedly hears in a dream a voice 
 announcing, " thy views are good, but not so thy 
 conduct." In order then to ascertain what reli- 
 gion was best adapted to instruct him to do well, 
 he applies in course to an Epicurean philosopher, 
 a Christian and a Mohammedan. A philoso- 
 phical religion, he soon perceives, must rest on ar- 
 guments of mere probability, and cannot be reduced 
 to certainty. Christianity and Mohammedanism 
 recognize the divine authority of the Jewish reli- 
 gion, while they are themselves open to objections. 
 Hence he concludes to attach himself to the des- 
 pised people of the Jews, whose doctrines are di- 
 vine and uniform, however diversified their con- 
 ditions and settlements in the world.* 
 
 In order to lead to this agreeable result, he in- 
 troduces a Jew, who engages the yet doubting 
 monarch in a long conversation on the subject of 
 religion, in the course of which he lays before 
 him a sound exposition of the Hebrew doctrines 
 respecting God and the divine government of the 
 world. The general sentiments contained in this 
 
 * See Bemerkungen zum Alien Testament aus dem Bach Coeri, 
 Remarks on the Old Testament from the Book Cosri, by DR. Fa. 
 KOESTER, in the Theologische Studien, und Kritiken for 1837, N* 
 1. p. 153 SB.
 
 30 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE, &,c. 
 
 work are such as may be found in some other 
 Jewish productions of that period, and are design- 
 ed to show that the Hebrew system of religion 
 and its rites are in unison with philosophy 
 and enlightened reason. The author proves 
 the God of the Israelites to be the true God, the 
 creator and preserver of all things. He treats 
 successively, and with much eloquence, of the 
 Deity, his existence, name and attributes, of the 
 creation of the world and of angels ; of scripture 
 and its divine authority ; of Providence, divine 
 decrees, free will, the resurrection, and everlast- 
 ing life ; of divine worship, prayer, idolatry ; of 
 the dignity of the Jewish people, of the promised 
 land, the Hebrew language and sacred poetry ; 
 of the soul, its faculties and immortality ; of pro- 
 phecy, the caballa and caballistic mysteries. 
 
 This valuable work of Rabbi Judah was ori- 
 ginally written in Arabic, and the Hebrew now ex- 
 isting is a translation, which retains very considera- 
 bly the idiom of the original language. ' It was 
 rendered into Latin by the younger Buxtorf, and 
 published with notes at Basle, in 1660, 4to. In 
 the preface the translator has inserted the corres- 
 pondence ascribed to Hasdai and king Joseph. 
 Another version of the Cosri in Spanish was 
 published by Abendana, a very learned Jew, at 
 Amsterdam, in 1663, whose translation, Simon 
 prefers to that of Buxtorf.* 
 
 *Biographie Universelle, Tome xxii. p. 101.
 
 ABEN EZRA. 
 
 RABBI ABRAHAM BEN MEIR EZRA* was born in 
 Toledo, probably about the beginning of the 
 twelfth century, and descended from one of the 
 most distinguished Jewish families. He was 
 nearly related to Rabbi Judah Hallevi, their 
 mothers being sisters. But he must have been 
 considerably younger than his distinguished cous- 
 in, as he formed a still more intimate connection 
 with him by marrying his daughter, a short time 
 before her father made his pilgrimage to Jerusa- 
 lem. He is saidt to have been indebted to his 
 genius and wit for the possession of this fair and 
 wealthy heiress. Her mother had so often and 
 importunately solicited her husband to furnish 
 their daughter with a suitable partner, that Rabbi 
 Judah swore one evening (not very like a good 
 father and a wise man, it must be confessed,) to 
 
 * Or, Rabbi Abraham, son of Meir and grandson of Ezra. Aben 
 is used to denote grandson. He is also called by way of distinction, 
 the wise, and is designated by abbreviations, which may be seen in 
 Wolf, Vol. I. p. 71. 
 
 t I give this amusing account on the authority of Jost
 
 32 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 give her to the first Jew who should offer himself 
 on the following day. This was none other than 
 Aben Ezra, dressed as a traveller, whose reputa- 
 tion had not failed to reach the ear of the Rabbi, 
 although they were personally unknown to each 
 other. As might well be supposed, the mother 
 was shocked at the thought of bestowing her love- 
 ly daughter and only child on a youthful stranger 
 so meanly apparelled, but her husband very soon 
 observed that he had a young man of mind before 
 him, who gave promise of ripe scholarship, and 
 without hesitation admitted him into the number 
 of his pupils. Aben Ezra affected ignorance, and 
 employed himself in the first rudiments of knowl- 
 edge, making, as may readily be supposed, rapid 
 and satisfactory progress. On a certain evening 
 Rabbi Judah remained unusually long in his study, 
 and it was only after repeated entreaties that he was 
 prevailed on to leave it for the supper table. The 
 stranger's inquiries being unable to draw from 
 his host the true cause of his delay, the Rabbi's 
 wife went to his study and brought thence the 
 fragments of a Hebrew poem which had engaged 
 his attention, and which he had not been able to fin- 
 ish to his satisfaction. Aben Ezra ran through the 
 composition, made with his pen some corrections, 
 and finished the whole to the great delight of his 
 teacher, who, immediately on reading it, embraced 
 his pupil and exclaimed, "you are certainly the 
 celebrated Aben Ezra, and welcome to me as a
 
 JEWISH RABBI, ABEN EZRA. 33 
 
 son-in-law !" His guest then threw off the mask, 
 and the marriage was shortly after celebrated. 
 
 A few years subsequently to this event, Aben 
 Ezra made a literary tour of several countries of 
 Europe. From thence he extended his journey to 
 Palestine, where he had frequent communications 
 with the learned men of Tiberias, on the subject 
 of Masoretical text. He travelled through the Gre- 
 cian islands, and resided a long time at Rhodes, 
 where in 1194* he terminated a life of seventy- 
 five years, almost fifty of which had been spent 
 in visiting various countries, and in preparing 
 his numerous works. He wrote commentaries 
 on the whole Bible, and also various other 
 works, a particular account of which may be 
 found in Wolf, I. p. 73-86, and in the Biog- 
 raphic Universelle, Tom. I, p. 75. He was 
 thoroughly acquainted with the Hebrew and 
 Arabic tongues, conversant with the whole extent 
 of Rabbinical learning, and master of the philoso- 
 phy of his time. Bartolocci calls him an excel- 
 lent philosopher, astronomer, physician, poet, 
 grammarian, cabbalist and interpreter of scrip- 
 ture. His extraordinary acquisitions are less 
 worthy of admiration, than the powers of his mind. 
 If the appellation, hahakim, the wise, can justly 
 be applied to any Jew, it certainly belongs of pe- 
 culiar right to Aben Ezra. He is generally con- 
 
 * According to Basnage, 1174. Book ix. chap. x. eect. 3.
 
 34 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE, &c. 
 
 sidered by competent judges as the most literal 
 and judicious of Jewish expositors. The style of 
 his works is characterized by purity, and so 
 great conciseness as to occasion frequent obscuri- 
 ty. He had examined the Bible with unusual 
 penetration and care, availing himself of the as- 
 sistance, yet not unduly biased by the authority, 
 of the more ancient expositors, and he brought the 
 treasures of his knowledge, and the sharpness of 
 his wit, to expose erroneous interpretations, and 
 to settle the correct sense. He shows an attach- 
 ment to Rabbinism, although he is not without the 
 liberalism of the Karaite school,* his views being 
 often free, and his exposition of scripture simple 
 and unaffected. During his lifetime he enjoyed 
 the distinction of a most influential character, and 
 the greatest scholars did not hesitate to advance 
 him above all his predecessors. Maimonides, the 
 most distinguished of his contemporaries, earnestly 
 recommended to his own son, a careful study of 
 the works of Aben Ezra, as superior to any other 
 for intellectual force and solid learning. 
 
 * Japheth Levi, a distinguished Rabbi of this school, was in 
 early life one of Aben Ezra's instructors.
 
 MA1MONIDES. 
 
 WITH the biography of Aben Ezra is closely con- 
 nected that of his contemporary, RABBI MOSES 
 BEN MAIMON, generally called, by the Jews, 
 RAMBAM, (a word formed by the initials of the 
 preceding designation,) and by the learned in gen- 
 eral, MAIMONIDES. This distinguished person was 
 born about the year 1139,* at Cordova, which at 
 that time was subject, with a considerable portion 
 of Spain, to the emperor of Morocco. His father 
 was a learned Jew of that city, respectable, as 
 well on account of his descent from learned an- 
 cestors, as for the office of judge, which he held 
 with reputation. It is said that the birth of Moses 
 was the occasion of his mother's death, and he 
 was on that account not favorably regarded by 
 his surviving parent. His deceased wife, the 
 daughter of a butcher, was of a station in life very 
 inferior to that of her husband, and, as soon after 
 
 " This statement is found at the end of his commentary on the 
 Mishnah, in the Neapolitan edition of 1492." MENDELSSOHN'S Je- 
 rusalem, Vol. ii. p. 291. Load. 1838.
 
 36 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 her death, he married a woman of higher rank, 
 it has been thought that the son of the former 
 wife was considered by his father as a permanent 
 reproach on him for having formed such a con- 
 nection, and consequently regarded with aversion. 
 Whether the judge was influenced by feelings so 
 unworthy and unnatural, or not, is uncertain. 
 The boy's dullness, however, notwithstanding all 
 the efforts made to instruct him, either increased 
 or produced the father's dislike. On occasion of 
 some ill usage, the son left his parental home, and 
 was probably received into some other Jewish 
 family. After having devoted himself in Lucena 
 to the study of the Talmud, and arrived at the 
 age of manhood, he returned to Cordova, and, 
 avoiding his father's house, made himself known 
 to some of his friends. Through their influence, 
 permission was granted him to deliver a discourse 
 in the synagogue. While every one listened in 
 astonishment to the youthful instructor, Rabbi 
 Maimon, with no little surprise, recognized his 
 own son, embraced him, and with parental affec- 
 tion welcomed him to his home. Under his fa- 
 ther's guidance the young Moses continued to 
 prosecute his rabbinical studies, but his acquaint- 
 ance with Arabic, astronomy, mathematics and 
 medicine, was formed in the school of the famous 
 Averroes, with the learned Arabians Ebn Tophail 
 and Ebn Saig as his companions. 
 
 It would be inconsistent with the intended
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 37 
 
 brevity of this notice, to enter into any biographi- 
 cal details of the life and character of Averroes, 
 otherwise known by the title of Abdallah Moham- 
 med Ebn Omar Ebn Roshd. The erudition and 
 profound abilities which distinguished him, the 
 dignities to which he was advanced, and the per- 
 secutions he was obliged to sustain in consequence 
 of the charge of having abandoned the Moslem 
 faith for natural religion, are matters of history to 
 every reader.* In the inquisitive character of his 
 mind, not sufficiently checked, it may be, by a 
 right appreciation of the necessity of divine reve- 
 lation to ascertain and establish religious truth, 
 Maimonides most probably found a congeniality 
 with his own. A freedom of thought, worthy of 
 all praise when restrained within proper limits, 
 marks the productions of this learned Jew. He 
 felt the fetters of Rabbinism, and struggled to set 
 himself free, not with the view of overturning the 
 Jewish system, but in the hope of showing that 
 its principles were in harmony with the soundest 
 philosophy. 
 
 For this purpose he began, as early as the 
 twenty-third year of his age, to prepare an expo- 
 sition of the Mishna in the Arabic language, and 
 completed it in seven years. The attempt made 
 in this work to settle and explain the principles 
 
 * It haa been said, that Maimonides himself abjured for a time 
 his religion, and professed Mohammedanism. See Basnage, Book 
 ix. chap. x. sect. 7.
 
 38 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 of particular laws on the ground of reason, inde- 
 pendently of the logomachies and appendages of 
 the Gemara, and the author's known intimacy 
 with Averroes, whose philosophical doctrines he 
 had imbibed, were quite sufficient to subject him 
 to the charge of heresy, and to oblige him to seek 
 refuge in flight from the narrow, persecuting spirit 
 of the limes, aided as it probably then was, and 
 as such a spirit has generally been, by personal 
 or political considerations. Maimonides settled 
 in Cairo, whence he derived the surname of the 
 Egyptian, and there in the favor, and under the 
 protection, of the celebrated Saladin, he prosecut- 
 ed his various literary undertakings. Of these, 
 the principal is his work on the Jewish law ac- 
 cording to the Talmud, well known under the 
 names of Yad chazakah, and Mishneh Thorah. 
 The latter title describes it as a repetition of the 
 law, a sort of Deuteronomy, and the former, mean- 
 ing strong hand, was probably chosen to denote its 
 supposed importance, and also the circumstance 
 of its being comprehended within fourteen books,* 
 the subdivisions of its four great parts. Untiring 
 industry, united with profound knowledge of the 
 subject, produced this work, which was hardly to 
 
 * WOLF thinks that this title is also in allusion to the last verse 
 of Deuteronomy, " In all that strong hand, which Moses showed." 
 The reader may compare also Isaiah viii. 11, where strength of 
 hand it used for powerful divine impulse, producing important in- 
 struction. The two Hebrew letters of the word Yad, hand, denote 
 14.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 39 
 
 have been expected from a man who had pursued 
 a course so independent of Talmudic influence. 
 The author had it in view to put an end to that su- 
 perficial knowledge to which the weak poetic ef- 
 fusions of the times had given rise. Experience 
 has shown, that, under the auspices of such helps 
 true learning degenerates, as industry is neither 
 excited nor exercised ; and by the easy use of 
 such assistance, each smatterer obtains a certain 
 general view, which, either in his own eye, or 
 of those of others, places him on a level with the 
 thorough scholar. It was the intention of Mai- 
 monides, that every Jew acquainted with the He- 
 brew language, should know what Judaism com- 
 manded ; and that he should be able to see the 
 whole subject distinctly, not in the pale glimmer 
 of jingling verses, but in the broad bright clear- 
 ness of historical light and fundamental know- 
 ledge of principles and causes. After an unre- 
 mitted attention of at least eight years, the great 
 work was finished ; and, as it soon became ex- 
 tensively known in the Jewish community, it rais- 
 ed the name of the Egyptian Moses to the highest 
 celebrity.* The most distinguished scholars pro- 
 
 * " From Moses to Moses none arose like to Moses," became a 
 sort of proverbial witticism among the Jews. A particular account 
 of the Yad and its several editions, may be found in WOLF, Vol. i. 
 pp. 840-855 ; iii. pp. 774-77!) In 1832, HEMAN HEDWIQ BKR- 
 NARD published at Cambridge selections from it in Hebrew and Eng- 
 lish, with explanatory notes, and a glossary of particles and technical 
 terrr.i, with a view of exhibiting the creeds and ethics of the Jews,
 
 40 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 posed questions to him for solution, and his opin- 
 ions were generally regarded as decisive. 
 
 The YAD of the Moses, second only, in Jew- 
 ish estimation, to his great namesake, abounds 
 with passages which might be adduced in illus- 
 tration of holy scripture, both as to sentiment and 
 language. In his admirable treatise on the tem- 
 per and dispositions, it would seem that the mind 
 of the Jewish Rabbi occasionally rested on some 
 of the beautiful parables of the heavenly Teacher 
 himself, or on that simple yet touching language, 
 which embodies the sacred and spiritual motives 
 whereby his inspired followers urged conformity 
 to the divine character. But it is well known that 
 several of the earlier Jewish productions are re- 
 plete with the soundest moral precepts, and with 
 beautiful illustrations of religious truth, inter- 
 mingled, it is true, with much of imperfection and 
 error, and certainly by no means free from absurd- 
 ity, which occasionally becomes ridiculous. But 
 what Christian can fail to recognize the true 
 spiritual import of the law of Moses in the senti- 
 ments that follow ? " We are commanded to 
 walk in the way of the good and of the righteous, 
 for it is said, and thou shalt walk in his ways." 
 (Deut. xxviii. 9.) " Thus they" (meaning the 
 ancients,) "have taught, by way of explaining 
 this commandment : as He is called gracious, so be 
 
 8vo. The student will find this work very useful in facilitating the 
 acquisition of Rabbinical Hebrew.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 41 
 
 thou also gracious ; as He is called merciful, so be 
 thou also merciful ; as He is called holy, so be thou 
 also holy" * How strikingly in accordance with 
 the language of the Saviour : " Be ye therefore per- 
 fect, be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father in 
 heaven is perfect, is merciful'," and with that of 
 his apostle, " As He who hath called you is holy, so 
 be ye holy in all manner of conversation."^ 
 
 The ancient advocates, whether Christian or 
 Jewish, of an earthly and carnal millennium, 
 might have learned to correct their fond conceit, 
 if they had adopted the truer principle of expo- 
 sition, developed briefly, but clearly, in the writ- 
 ings of Maimonides. He discards the literal in- 
 terpretation of several texts, which, both in ancient 
 and modern times, have been supposed to favor 
 the error ; and maintains, in harmony with the 
 figurative style which characterizes the prophetic 
 writing, and also in accordance with the expo- 
 sition of some of the earlier Rabbins, the more 
 elevated meaning of a future state of happiness in 
 the heavenly kingdom of the Messiah. I quote 
 one of several passages, as it illustrates the inter- 
 mingling of the important and the trifling, which 
 so frequently marks the character of Jewish pro- 
 ductions. " With regard to the intermediate man," 
 (that is, the person whose good and evil deeds 
 
 * Precepts relating to the Temper, chap. i. sect. 10. pp. 155, 156. 
 Bernard's Translation. 
 
 t Matt. v. 43. Luke vi. 36. 1 Peter i .15.
 
 42 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 are equally balanced,) "if, among that half, (of 
 his actions,) which includes his sins, the sin also 
 of never having put on the phylacteries be found, 
 judgment is pronounced on him according to his 
 sin ; but still he has a share in the world to come. 
 Even 'on all the wicked, though their sins be 
 numerous, judgment is pronounced according to 
 their sins, but yet they have a share in the world 
 that is to come. For all Israel have a share in 
 the world that is to come, although they have 
 sinned, for it is said, thy people also shall be all 
 righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever.* Here 
 land is a figure meaning the land of life, which is 
 the world that is to come. Also the pious of other 
 nations have a share in the world that is to 
 come."f To the same purpose the Mishna, as 
 quoted by the same authority : " AH Israel have 
 a share in the world that is to come, for it is said, 
 thy people shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the 
 land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of 
 my hands, that I may be glorified" That the author 
 has in view a future state is undeniable, as, in the 
 same chapter, he repeatedly refers to those of 
 whom he is speaking as having died, and especial- 
 ly in the 24th section, where he speaks of the 
 sinner dying a penitent, repenting at the end, and 
 consequently having a share in the world to come. 
 
 * Isaiah, lx. 21. 
 
 t Precepts relating to Repentance, chap. iii. sect 11. pp. 233, 240. 
 Bernard.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 43 
 
 On the other hand, it is melancholy to be 
 obliged to note the author's inflexible adherence to 
 the fundamental error, which maintains the abso- 
 lute unchangeableness and perpetuity of the Mo- 
 saic system, and the obligation of cutting off the 
 man, who would venture to represent it as abol- 
 ished. I cite a few passages. " If a prophet 
 were to arise and perform great signs or wonders, 
 but sought to deny the prophecy of Moses our 
 master, we must not hearken to him, but should 
 know with certainty that the signs were perform- 
 ed by enchantment or witchcraft."* It is clear 
 and manifest, that the law is a commandment 
 which is to last forever and ever, and which does 
 not admit of any alteration, diminuiton, or addi- 
 tion. For it is said, " what thing soever I command 
 you, observe to do it : thou shall not add thereto, nor 
 diminish from tV."t Again it is said, "those things 
 which are revealed belong unto us and to our 
 children forever, that we may do all the words of 
 this law."J This teaches us that we are com- 
 manded to perform all the requirements of the 
 law forever. And so also it is said, an ordinance 
 forever in your generations. No prophet is allowed 
 henceforth to introduce any innovation. Should, 
 therefore, any man arise, either from among the 
 nations or from among Israel, and perform any 
 sign or wonder, and declare that the Lord has 
 
 * Foundations of the Law, chap. viii. sect. 7. p. 125. 
 tDeut xii.32. t Deut. xxix.59.
 
 44 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 sent him to add any commandment, or to dimin- 
 ish any commandment, or to explain any of the 
 commandments in such a way as we have not 
 heard from Moses ; or if he were to say that the 
 commandments, which have been enjoined upon 
 the Israelites, are not to last forever, but were 
 only temporary commandments ; then, behold, 
 that man is a false prophet, for he came to deny 
 the prophecy of Moses ; and so he is to be destroy- 
 ed by strangulation, because he has dealt proudly 
 in thus speaking in the name of the Lord things 
 which He has not commanded him ; for He, blessed 
 be his name, enjoined Moses, that his command- 
 ment should be unto us and to our children for- 
 ever, and God is not a man that he should lie."* 
 He afterwards allows that a prophet may dis- 
 pense with the obligation of a divine law for a 
 time, in order to obtain some important result ; 
 " but if he say that the thing is to be broken for- 
 ever, he must be destroyed by strangulation ; for 
 the law says, unto us and our children forever."? 
 He lays down the same principle in another part 
 of his work, although he limits its application to 
 all classes of Israelites. " He who says that the 
 Creator has commuted one commandment for 
 another, and thus this law is abolished, although 
 it was originally from the Lord, is an Israelite who 
 denies the law."f 
 
 * Ib. chap. vi. sect. 1, 2 , pp. 127-30. t Ib. p.134. 
 
 t Precepts relating to Repentance, chap. iii. sect. 15. p. 243.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 45 
 
 It must be obvious, that so long as this is regar- 
 ded as a fundamental principle of Judaism, it is 
 idle to expect that the Israelites can be in- 
 duced to renounce their law, and to embrace the 
 gospel as the only way of salvation. " The veil 
 is upon their heart," and they cannot " steadfast- 
 ly look to the end of that which is abolished."* 
 
 Notwithstanding his plain reference to a future 
 state of happiness to be enjoyed in the heavenly 
 kingdom, Maimonides lays down certain marks to 
 enable his brethren to judge of the claims of an 
 avowed Messiah, which are founded on misappre- 
 hensions of the spiritual nature of his kingdom, 
 and on the presumption that he is to be a secular 
 prince, a great warrior in the ordinary sense of the 
 word, and a king reigning and judging in the literal 
 Jerusalem. " Do not suppose," says he, "that it 
 is needful that the kin,* Messiah should perform 
 either signs or wonders, (such as inverting the 
 order of nature, or resuscitating the dead, or other 
 miraculous deeds,) according to the opinion which 
 fools entertain of him. Such is not the case, for, 
 behold, Rabbi Akibah was a great sage, and one 
 of the wise men of the Mishna, and he became 
 armor bearer to Ben Ch< sibah the king, whom 
 he declared to be the Messiah. And not only 
 Akibah, but all the wise men of that age, consid- 
 ered Ben Chosibah to be the king Messiah, until 
 for his sins he was slain ; when his death con- 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 15, 13.
 
 46 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 vinced them that they were mistaken in his char- 
 acter. But the sages did not require of him either 
 token or wonder. 
 
 The fundamental principles of this matter are 
 as follows : This law which has been to us 
 through Moses our teacher, (peace be with him,) 
 together with its statutes and enactments, is im- 
 mutable, and is in force forever and until the end 
 of time ; nothing is to be added thereto, nor must 
 aught be diminished therefrom. And whoever 
 does either add, or diminish or pervert the inter- 
 pretation of the law, or assign a mystical or alle- 
 gorical sense to the commandments contrary to 
 their plain and obvious meaning ; such an one is 
 decidedly a liar, an evil doer and an infidel, 
 (Epicurean.) Should a king arise of the house 
 of David, who observes the law and per- 
 forms the commandments, as did David his 
 progenitor, according to the oral and the written 
 law, who obliges all his people in Israel to be 
 steadfast in their obedience to the divine precepts, 
 and to repair any infraction therein, and fight the 
 battles of the Lord, he may be considered as inten- 
 ded to be Messiah the king. If he prospers in 
 his undertakings, is victorious over all surrounding 
 nations, rebuilds the temple in its appointed place, 
 and gathers the dispersed exiles of the house of 
 Israelthere, it is decided that he is the true Mes- 
 siah. But should he not prove successful to that 
 extent, or should be slain, it is then evident that he
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 47 
 
 is not the Messiah predicted and promised in holy 
 writ, but he is like all those other just and pious 
 lungs of the house of David who are deceased."* 
 It is hardly necessary to remark, that all this is 
 gratuitous assertion, founded on a partial view 
 of prophecy, and a literal and verbal exposition. 
 The tendency of such views is obviously to call 
 off the mind from that spiritual and religious ap- 
 preciation of Christ's kingdom which Christianity 
 developes, and to sanction and establish a desire 
 after secular and political power. 
 
 A few years after the completion of the 
 Yad chazakah, Maimonides composed in Arabic 
 his Delalith al Hair in, known by the Hebrew 
 title of More Jiannevochim, Guide of the Per- 
 plexed. We see, in this publication, not the 
 Talmudic Jew, but the philosophical inquirer, 
 who felt the necessity of infusing soul into the then 
 lifeless body of Judaism ; of abandoning the 
 wretched system of retailing Rabbinical opinions, 
 whereby the prevalent method of instruction bur- 
 dened the memory, and blunted the intellect ; and 
 of elevating the Jewish mind to the exercise of its 
 own reason and reflection on the divinely revealed 
 contents of the scriptures. In this work he de- 
 clined the use of the Hebrew language, partly 
 because he wished to avoid giving direct offence 
 to the prejudices of a large proportion of his nation, 
 
 * Maimonides, as quoted in the Hebrew Review, voJ. ii. p. 3C7, 
 Lond.1835, from the Yad. vol. iv. Book xiv. chap. 71.
 
 48 BIO< 
 
 and partly because he could with the greater fa- 
 cility express his philosophical views in the Ara- 
 bic. The design of this book is to develop the 
 spiritual character of the revelation made through 
 Moses, and to show how its difficulties may be 
 removed, and its seeming contradictions accom- 
 modated by the calm illumination of the holy scrip- 
 tures, without the aid of Rabbinical tradition and fa- 
 bles. In a letter addressed to his son, the author de- 
 clares that he did not write his work in order to pro- 
 mote his own reputation, his advanced age having 
 taught him to estimate lightly such honor ; but 
 rather as a useful recreation, and in order to set 
 at rest various doubts. In publishing it to the 
 world, he was governed by the consideration, 
 that he had a religious duty to perform, growing 
 out of the prevailing ignorance of the Jews, and 
 in the hope that some, at least, might derive in- 
 struction from its pages, although many a fool 
 would cast it aside as useless, or, on account of 
 the confusion of his own mind, regard it as unin- 
 telligible. 
 
 The More Nevochim soon found an honorable 
 distinction in the south of France. In Marseilles, 
 a Spanish Rabbi, named Judah Ben Solomon, un- 
 dertook a translation of it into Hebrew, but was 
 not very successful, owing somewhat to the incor- 
 rectness of his copy. The work was performed 
 much more correctly by another Spanish Jew, 
 Rabbi Samuel Ben Judah Ebn Tibbon, at the
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 49 
 
 instance of the most respectable Rabbins of 
 Provence. This excellent translator, whose fath- 
 er was already well known for his translations of 
 many Arabic writings, regarded it as his first duty 
 to open a correspondence with the author, and 
 to send him some portions of his version, request- 
 ing him, at the same time, to explain obscurities, 
 and correct the errors which had crept into the 
 copies through the carelessness of transcribers. 
 It is hardly necessary to add, that courteous and 
 satisfactory replies were sent without hesitation. 
 Maimonides speaks in very favorable terms of the 
 character of the translation : but it must be re- 
 gretted that it was only in part subjected to his 
 supervision. An opportunity of examiningthe en- 
 tire work would, in all probability, have resulted in 
 a closer approximation to the pure Hebrew idiom, 
 and a removal of those traces of the original lan- 
 guage, which at present are but too conspicuous. 
 While the pupils and friends of Maimonides 
 estimated his work too highly to allow it to remain 
 concealed in a language not generally understood, 
 the bigoted adherents of Rabbinism, who had be- 
 come acquainted with its character, renewed the 
 cry of heresy that burst out from that very pro- 
 vince which procured the translation of his book. 
 The More Nevochim was publicly burned ; the 
 author and his adherents, comprehending all who 
 dared to read this or other philosophical works 
 written by Greeks or Arabians, subjected to the 
 3*
 
 50 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 ban ; and, for forty years, the Rabbinical world 
 was torn to pieces by internal commotions and 
 logomachies. The gifted author did not live to 
 witness the confusion of which he had been the 
 indirect occasion. He died at Cairo, at the age 
 of seventy-five, generally beloved and lamented, 
 not, however, without expressing his apprehen- 
 sion to his son of the storm of persecution that 
 was arising. 
 
 The More Nevochim is in three parts. An 
 account of it in detail may be found in WOLF, 
 Vol. I. pp. 855-859 ; TIL 779-785 ; and IV. 917, 
 918. The younger Buxtorf translated the work 
 into Latin, beginning his task at the age of twen- 
 ty-five years. He is highly commended by his 
 father for his perspicuity in eliciting the meaning 
 of his author. WOLF, in his third volume, speaks 
 of a Latin version prior to that of Buxtorf, and 
 gives a specimen of both. 
 
 The remains of Maimonides were interred at 
 Tiberias. Some French Jews, travelling in Pal- 
 estine, effaced, it is said, the honorable inscription 
 on his tomb, which distinguished him as " the 
 choice one among men," and substituted in its 
 place one of the very opposite character, " the 
 excommunicated and the heretic:" a striking 
 comment on the extravagance of ignorance and 
 fanaticism. 
 
 This sketch will be suitably concluded by a 
 short notice of the active and useful manner, in
 
 JEWISH RABBI, MAIMONIDES. 5^ 
 
 which the last years of this remarkable man were 
 employed. It is drawn originally from his letter 
 to Rabbi Samuel, the translator of his work. In 
 reference to a suggestion made by this person of 
 his inclination to visit the author of the More, and 
 to converse with him on the topics of his book, 
 Maimonides, while he expresses the great satis- 
 faction which he would derive from a visit from 
 his friend, frankly acknowledges that his en- 
 gagements are so unremitted, as to deprive him 
 of the pleasure of much intercourse and conver- 
 sation. The duties which his station required 
 him to discharge, were oppressive and injurious 
 to his health. He was compelled to visit the pal- 
 ace daily, and to attend to the medical wantsof the 
 royal occupant, and of his children and women. On 
 returning to his residence, so many sick persons 
 were in waiting, for all of whom he was obliged 
 to prescribe, that he had not time enough to take 
 his meals. Religious topics were necessarily 
 confined to the Sabbath, when he was occupied 
 by members of the congregation. It is not to be 
 doubted that on this day he was called on to ex- 
 pound various topics of the Jewish law, and to 
 solve such difficulties as were thought to surpass 
 the ability of ordinary minds.
 
 DAVID KIMCHT. 
 
 AMONG the most distinguished defenders ofMai- 
 monides, the name of RABBI DAVID KIMCHI, 
 who is known by the abbreviated term RADDAK, 
 is conspicuous. He lived at a period when the dif- 
 ficulties were at the greatest height, the latter 
 part of the twelfth century and beginning of the 
 thirteenth, and died, it is said, in Provence in the year 
 1240. Several writers speak of him as a native 
 of Narbonne, but Bartolocci asserts, without hesi- 
 tation, that the country which gave him birth is 
 entirely unknown. He states that the author of 
 the Shalsheleth hakkaballa, that is, chain of tra- 
 dition, speaks ofKimchi's being in Narbonne in the 
 year of the Christian era, 1192; but this deter- 
 mines nothing respecting the place of his birth. 
 Many of his works, whether in print or manu- 
 script, introduce him as David Kimchi of Spain, 
 (the Sephardi.) in which country the family was 
 long distinguished for supplying rulers of syna- 
 gogues and rectors of schools, both in Arragon
 
 JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 53 
 
 and Castile.* Wolf supposes him to have been 
 a Spaniard by birth, and to have resided in 
 France.f His father, Joseph Kimchi, was dis- 
 tinguished for scholarship, although inferior to 
 both his sons, David and Moses. The former, as 
 is well known, ranks at the head of the list of 
 Jewish grammarians, and is certainly entitled to 
 preference over all his predecessors. Uniting 
 the study of philosophy with that of Hebrew 
 grammar, he could hardly fail to incline to the 
 side of Maimonides, although properly speaking, 
 he did not strictly attach himself to either party, 
 and regarded the whole quarrel as silly and ab- 
 surd. To such an extravagant degree had the 
 controversy extended, and so mischievous in its 
 influence on domestic relations was the ban which 
 the hostile Rabbies had denounced against whole 
 congregations, that a general inclination was felt 
 to bring about an accommodation, and David 
 Kimchi was gladly received as a mediator. For 
 a long time he negotiated successfully with the 
 most considerable of the French congregations, 
 and was at length invested with full powers to 
 effect a pacification, and if possible to put an 
 end to the controversy. 
 
 With this benevolent object in view, and pro- 
 vided with the necessary papers, he undertook a 
 journey from Narbonne to Toledo, the residence 
 of Rabbi Judah Ben Joseph Alphachar, who had 
 
 Bart part ii. pp. 25, 26. t Vol. I, p. 299.
 
 54 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 taken a very prominent part in the opposition to 
 Maimonides. His intention to have a personal 
 interview with this zealot for Rabbinism, on the 
 subject of the charges brought against that cele- 
 brated author, was unhappily frustrated by a se- 
 vere attack of fever, which prevented him from 
 pursuing his journey, and confined him to his bed 
 at Avila. In order that the efforts which he had 
 already made might not be altogether unavailing, 
 he committed the papers to his travelling compan- 
 ion and nephew, Joseph, and sent him with a brief 
 letter, stating the cause of his inability to visit 
 Rabbi Judah, and entreating him, after a perusal 
 of the transmitted papers should have put him in 
 possession of the views of the most distinguished 
 Rabbies, to exercise his authority in terminating 
 the disgraceful contest, by laying under the ban its 
 principal promoters, Rabbi Solomon, head of the 
 congregation of Montpellier, and his adherents. 
 The reply of Alphachar, which was written 
 i n rhyme, according to the tasteless fashion of the 
 age, and a considerable time after the receipt of 
 Kimchi's letter, was in the highest degree con- 
 temptuous, and indirectly calumniated him and 
 his coadjutors, as persons who had fallen away 
 from religion and become clespisers of the law. 
 The mild and sensible rejoinder of the French 
 Rabbi produced a still more contemptuous and 
 extravagant letter from his Spanish correspondent. 
 He ridicules the troublesome journey which Kim-
 
 JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 55 
 
 chi had undertaken in order to effect a reconcilia- 
 tion, by an allusion evidently intended to be witty, 
 to Satan's " going to and fro in the earth," as 
 mentioned in the book of Job ; speaks of " the 
 guide of the perplexed" as himself walking in 
 darkness and wandering in the wilderness ; ac- 
 cuses him of wishing to reconcile the views of the 
 Bible with the natural philosophy of the Greeks ; 
 " but," says he, accommodating, as is his custom 
 throughout the letter, the language of scripture to 
 his subject, "the Hebrew women are not as the 
 Egyptian women ; the one (doctrine) saith, nay, 
 but my son is the living, and thy son is the dead." 
 He concludes his epistle by acknowledging the 
 great value of the former work of Maimonides, and 
 confines his censures to the More Nevochim, at the 
 same time advising Rabbi David to depart from 
 the evil way, and to return to the true faith. 
 
 Kimchi began his letters to Judah with clauses 
 taken from verses of the Bible ; for instance, " thou 
 art Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee:" the 
 verb praise, as the Hebrew reader well knows, 
 being an alliteration with the name Judah. The 
 discourteous correspondent introduces his reply 
 in the language of Zachariah, " the Lord rebuke 
 thee, Satan, or adversary."* This letter was 
 never received, possibly because the writer on 
 more mature deliberation was induced to with- 
 hold it, but more probably on account of the re- 
 
 * Bart, ubi sup. p. 29.
 
 56 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 moval of Kimchi to another place. That he was 
 acquainted with the introductory allusion to Satan 
 or adversary, is clear from a third letter which 
 he addressed to his prejudiced and impetuous 
 correspondent, in which he expostulates with him 
 on the mortifying allusions in which he had in- 
 dulged, and points out the danger to which the 
 Jewish community was exposed from the Christ- 
 ians, in consequence of having called in their aid 
 in suppressing the philosophical works of Mai- 
 monides. Another communication from Rabbi 
 Judah closes the correspondence. He defends 
 his former letters, and also his own conduct and 
 that of Rabbi Solomon, and ends by declaring that 
 this is the last word that he will waste on the 
 subject. 
 
 The dissensions which the publication of the 
 More Nevochim occasioned still, however, contin- 
 ued, until, after much discussion and controversy, 
 both parties recalled their respective acts of ex- 
 communication, and peace was at last established. 
 But the reconciliation was by no means cordial. 
 The flame of contention was not extinguished ; it 
 was only smothered, and in the next generation 
 burst out again with open violence. 
 
 Kimchi is one of the most distinguished of the 
 Jewish writers, and has been extravagantly eulo- 
 gized by his nation.* An account of his most im- 
 portant works is given by Wolf, in Vol. I. pp. 299 
 
 * As the word meaning meal was figuratively used for the law,
 
 JEWISH RABBI, DAVID KIMCHI. 57 
 
 -310, III. 188-195, and IV. 806-808, and also 
 in the Biog. Univ. Tome xxii. pp. 419, 420, and 
 Bartolocci, part II. pp. 30-34. The most impor- 
 tant are his Hebrew Grammar, which he entitled 
 Michlol, perfection, his Lexicon, or Book of Roots, 
 Sepher Shorashim,*and his commentaries, in which 
 he shows himself to be a careful and literal in- 
 terpreter, too much given, it has been said, to 
 grammatical niceties, and therefore somewhat 
 tedious, but in a great degree free from those 
 trifles and superstitions which abound in the writ- 
 ings of the Jewish Rabbies. According to some 
 authors, he commented on the whole Bible, but 
 Bartolocci speaks of his having written on the 
 Pentateuch as doubtful. He had never been able 
 to discover a copy.f 
 
 and as, with the addition of a Yod, it forms the family name of our 
 author, his admirers played upon the term in the proverb, no meal 
 without Kimchi (miller). 
 
 * Bartolocci and Wolf consider these two productions as differ- 
 ent parts of the same general work. 
 
 t Ubisup.p. 30.
 
 ABARBANEL. 
 
 DON ISAAC ABARBANEL, the son of Don Judah, 
 was born in Lisbon, in 1437. He was of Spanish 
 extraction,* the family having originally fled from 
 Spain to avoid one of the persecutions which so 
 often harrassed the Jews of that country. His 
 education was suitable to the distinction and 
 wealth of his father, and his abilities and ac- 
 quirements procured for him the admiration of his 
 own and subsequent ages. He was in high esti- 
 mation with Alphonso, who admitted him to the 
 honor of being one of his privy counsellors, a mark 
 of confidence, of which the influentialJew showed 
 himself to be worthy. He was also minister of 
 finance both in Spain and in Portugal. The 
 death of this monarch, however, put an end to * 
 his dignity. Don Juan II., bent upon oppressing 
 the nobility and elevating the royal power, intro- 
 duced important changes into the administration, 
 which produced dangerous commotions among 
 
 * The family of Abarbanel was one of opulence and distinction. 
 Some indeed, have not scrupled to derive his origin from David, .but 
 this appears altogether idle and unfounded. See Wolf, Vol. 1. 
 p. 628.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, ABARBANEL. 59 
 
 the grandees. Abarbanel, who was probably im- 
 plicated in the measures of the Duke of Braganza, 
 although he had withdrawn from public affairs, 
 was suddenly summoned to the king's presence. 
 He was on his way thither, when he received timely 
 notice that his obedience would probably cost him 
 his life. Immediately he returned, and collecting 
 his family and most valuable effects, he fled to 
 Castile, where he spent some time in literary pur- 
 suits, and wrote his annotations on the prophets. 
 He was much respected by the Jews there, and 
 soon acquired the confidence of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, doubtless by some disclosures which he 
 made of the relations of Portugal. 
 
 Abarbanel availed himself of the favorable re- 
 gard of the royal pair, with the view of benefit- 
 ting his Jewish brethren. But his efforts were 
 unsuccessful. Scarcely had he heard of the edict 
 banishing the Jews from Spain, than he threw 
 himself at the feet of the sovereigns, laid before 
 them the misery and deplorable consequences 
 which such a measure would necessarily produce, 
 and offered them immense sums to enable them to 
 carry on their wars with the Moors, on condition 
 of recalling the ruinous decision. His earnest- 
 ness made a strong impression on the royal minds. 
 Bnt the effect of his eloquent representations, and 
 the hope of the Jews, were frustrated by the en- 
 trance of the grand inquisitor Torquemada, with 
 a crucifix in his hand. " Judas," said he to the
 
 GO BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 sovereigns, " sold his master for thirty pieces of 
 silver ; your highnesses are willing to sell him 
 again for 30,000 pieces of gold. Here he is, take 
 him and dispose of him quickly." 
 
 On the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Abar- 
 banel retired to Naples, and shortly afterwards he 
 went to Messina. The invasion of Charles VIII, 
 who took Naples in the same month, was in all 
 probability unexpected by him, as he had left his 
 family in that city. He afterwards proceeded to 
 Corfu, where he had the satisfaction of recovering 
 his commentary on the Pentateuch, composed at 
 Lisbon, the manuscript of which had been stolen 
 from him. This work he enlarged, and comple- 
 ted it in the following year at Minopolis, where 
 he lived with his family. During his residence 
 at that place, he composed a number of learned 
 works. His exposition of Daniel is said to be par- 
 ticularly worthy of notice, in a historical point of 
 view, and also on account of the hope expressed 
 in it of the advent of the Messiah within 70 years 
 at farthest. If the author could have been cha- 
 grined at a foresight of the failure of his expecta- 
 tion, and at the same time have anticipated the 
 predictions of numerous commentators subse- 
 quently to his own age, he might have consoled 
 himself by the consideration, that in committing a 
 palpable error on this point, he was only one of 
 a multitude of prophets, who felt a brotherly sym- 
 pathy in his mortification.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, ABARBANEL. 61 
 
 In after life Abarbanel settled in Venice, 
 where he maintained no slight degree of influence 
 with the senate. He died there in 1508, at the 
 age of 71 years, and was buried at Padua. 
 
 Abarbanel is well known as an able com- 
 mentator, although tedious from the immense 
 number of questions which he is constantly pro- 
 posing, to which he returns correspondent answers. 
 He was a keen and sarcastic opponent of the 
 Christians,* and his commentaries, particularly 
 those on the later prophets, abound with attacks on 
 Christ and his Church. His hostility is not to be 
 wondered at, as his views must have been founded 
 on the wretched abuses of our holy religion by 
 which he was surrounded, and which exercised so 
 impolitic and flagitious an influence on the persons 
 and property of his nation. Some notice of his va- 
 rious commentaries and other works may be seen 
 in the Biographic Universelle, Tom. I. p. 102, 103, 
 in Wolf, Vol. I. p. 628-640, III 540-544 and VI. 876, 
 877, and in Bartolocci, part. iii. p. 876-884. 
 
 * Thus, for example, he interprets Isa. v. 8, of the monks and 
 priests, who appropriated estates to themselves, and verse 11, of their 
 luxurious banquets in their monasteries. At times, it is hardly to be 
 supposed that he is serious, as where he explains v. 18 of the bell 
 ropes. These instances are given by Gesenius in his Introduction 
 to Isaiah, 17, note 76., Vol i. p. 126. Abarbanel is described by 
 Bartolocci, part iii. p. 875-6, as a most indefatigable student and re- 
 markably ready writer, but an interpreter not to be relied on, a bitter 
 enemy to Christians, writing execrations against them at the very 
 time that he was paying court to their princes.
 
 SAADIAS, THE GAON. 
 
 RABBI SAADIAS BEN JOSEPH, was born in Fay- 
 oum* in Egypt in the year 892. He is generally 
 distinguished by the term Gaon with the article 
 prefixed, the or hag-gaon. This is a title of honor, 
 equivalent to the illustrious, by which, in that pe- 
 riod the learned heads of Jewish schools were 
 designated. It is applied by Aben Ezra and oth- 
 ers to Saadias byway of distinction, on account of 
 his extraordinary merit. The rectorship of the 
 school in Sora near Babylon becoming vacant, the 
 Resh Gelutha,f that is the prince or president of 
 the Jews in that country, David Ben Zaccai, could 
 not immediately determine whom he would ap- 
 point to fill this station. Two persons of distinc- 
 tion and character seemed to possess nearly equal 
 claims to the office in question. Zemach Ben 
 Sahen was a descendant of a learned line of pro- 
 genitors in Sora ; Saadias, the Egyptian, had ac- 
 quired an established reputation for his extensive 
 
 * Called also Al Funiu and Pethom. t Head of the Captivity.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, SAADIAS THE GAON. 53 
 
 learning and excellent character. But he was a 
 bold and unyielding man. The Resh Gelutha, 
 unable to decide between the two, offered the 
 dignity to a certain Nassi, to whom he was great- 
 ly indebted for assisting him in obtaining the 
 presidency. It was declined, however, on the 
 ground, acknowledged with a candor equally lau- 
 dable and uncommon, of inability to perform the 
 duties of so important a place. Motives of policy 
 led to the appointment of Saadias ; for although 
 David regarded him with unfriendly feelings, he 
 advanced him to the vacant dignity, in the hope, 
 if a quarrel should break out, of being able to dis- 
 place him the more easily on accouut of his being 
 a foreigner. The anticipated difficulty was not 
 long in occurring. Its cause is unknown, but it 
 needed nothing more than a trifle to enkindle the 
 flame of discord between a rich man ambitious of 
 power, and a scholar conspicuous for his talents 
 and conscious of superiority. So powerful, both 
 among the wealthy and the learned, was the par- 
 ty of the Gaon, that all the efforts of his opponent 
 to remove him from his office were unsnccessful. 
 Several circumstances occurred to widen the 
 breach, all of which however, while they showed 
 the tenacity with which Rabbi Saadias adhered 
 to his own opinions, showed no less his firmness 
 in maintaining what was right and resisting op- 
 pression. Each party endeavored to excite the 
 people against the other by resorting to excom-
 
 64 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE 
 
 munication. After the lapse of seven years of 
 disgraceful dissension, a mutual reconciliation took 
 place, and the Resh Gelutha partook of an enter- 
 tainment in the house of the Gaon, which of the 
 two should have the privilege of acting as host to 
 the other having been before decided by lot. 
 Nothing occurred subsequently to this event to de- 
 stroy the harmony of the parties, and about eight 
 years afterwards, in the year 941 or 942, at the 
 age of 50, Rabbi Saadias died. 
 
 This distinguished Jew was a Talmudist, and 
 maintained the Jewish doctrine of oral tradition. 
 On this subject a dispute is said to have taken 
 place between him and a certain Rabbi Shalmon, 
 a Karaite, who had been his teacher, in the course 
 of which, Saadias adduced seven arguments in 
 defence of his view, all of which, however, were 
 refuted by his opponent.* But although the Gaon 
 defended the traditionary system of the lead- 
 ing sect of the Jews, yet, as he studied under the 
 directions of a Karaite, his views must have been 
 formed under somewhat counteracting influences, 
 which would naturally lead to a deeper investi- 
 gation than is discoverable in ordinary Rabbinical 
 writings. The tendency of extremes to produce 
 each other may also account for his rejection of 
 all mystical expositions, and his endeavour to 
 
 Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usages 
 of the Scribes and Pharisees in our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ's 
 time, by W. WOTTON, D. D. London, 1718. Vol. i. p. 75 ss.
 
 JEWISH RABBI, SAADIAS THE GAON. (55 
 
 clear up what is inexplicable, by indirect and cir- 
 cuitous methods of interpretation. He left behind 
 him several valuable works, the most important 
 of which is his translation of the Bible into Arabic. 
 The Pentateuch, which was originally printed at 
 Constantinople in 154G, has been introduced in 
 the Paris and London Polyglotts ; Isaiah was pub- 
 lished by Paulus from manuscripts of the Bodleian 
 library and that of Pococke, with prefaces and 
 notes at Jena, 1790,1791 , 2 vols. 8vo. He is the 
 author also of an exposition of the Canticles and 
 Daniel, both in Hebrew. His Sepher haemunah, 
 discourse on the faith, composed in Arabic and 
 translated into Hebrew by Judah Ben Samuel 
 Aben Tibbon, is a violent attack on the Christian 
 religion in ten parts. Some account of these and 
 the other productions of this Rabbi may be found 
 in Bartolocci, Part. iv. p. 267,268 ; also in Wolf, 
 vol. i. p. 933-936, iii. 859-S62, iv. 936, and in the 
 Biographic [Jniverselle, Tome xxxix. p. 404,405.
 
 SPECIMENS OF JEWISH 
 COMIEITARY.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 JARCHI, 
 
 ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XI. 
 
 1. BUT there shall come forth a rod from the 
 trunk of Jesse : And if you should say, behold, 
 (these are) consolations for Hezekiah and his peo- 
 ple, (assuring them) that they shall not fall into 
 his hand ;* but what shall become of the captivi- 
 ty which was carried captive to Chalah and Cha- 
 bor ? has their hope perished ? It has not wholly 
 perished, for king Messiah will come, and redeem 
 them. A rod ; a royal sceptre : and a branch ; it 
 means, a sucker of a tree ; and a branch shall 
 sprout forth from his roots. And the whole sub- 
 ject of this prophecy, and (what is said) at the 
 conclusion of it and it shall come to pass in that 
 day, that the Lord shall raisef his hand a second 
 
 * He means, if it should be said that the consoling representations 
 in the former chapter are only assurances to Hezekiah and the peo- 
 ple of Judah, that they should not be subjected to the power of Sen- 
 nacherib, king of Assyria, and have no reference to the Israelites, who 
 had been removed from their native country. 
 
 t Literally, add.
 
 70 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 
 time behold it is announced for the consolation 
 of those who had been taken captive by the As- 
 syrians. 
 
 3- / ' 1 " 1 Jl&T'S "lirnnv Shall fill (him with) 
 the spirit of the fear of the Lord : in French, je 
 ranimerai lui.* He shall not judge according to 
 the sight of his eyes : for through the wisdom of 
 the holy one, blessed be he, (which is) within 
 him,t he shall know and understand who is just 
 and who is guilty. 
 
 4. ITQTfai (Eng. tr. with equity :) The word 
 (expresses) ease and tenderness.J And he shall 
 smite the earth with the rod of his mouth : ac- 
 cording to the Targum ; and he shall strike the 
 guilty of the earth. And with the breath of his 
 lips : and with the discourse of his lips. 
 
 5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of 
 his loins : and righteous persons sh all surround 
 him, adhering to him like a girdle. 
 
 * The printed text in Buxtorf s Bible, and in the Bomberg edi- 
 tion is 1^3 *P)25lfcfc ta P&5 ^ or w hich Breithanpht gives in his trans- 
 'ation erounemer, and in a note airounemer, both of which are unin- 
 telligible. He thinks that the original is undoubtedly corrupted. 
 This is probably the case. Hochstadter, in his edition of Isaiah, 
 with the commentaries of Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and others, reads 
 
 ta p)2*i5fcfc 1 "PJ and, supposing the first part of the word to indicate 
 the future tense, gives the French which I have introduced hi the 
 text. Still there appears no reason why Jarchi should have em- 
 ployed the first person. 
 
 t Lit ia the midst of him. 
 
 t Analogous to the English use of smoothness, softness.
 
 JARCHI, ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XI. 71 
 
 6. And the falling : the fatted ox. 
 
 8. ^E^lDl And shall sport. On the hole 
 of the asp : on the hole of the ground in the midst 
 of which the serpent makes his habitation, (nest ;) 
 in French, grotte. ifijej (asp, denotes) a serpent, 
 which, on becoming* old, grows deaf, and is call- 
 ed pathen, and is incapable of being charmed : as 
 it is said, which will not hearken to the voice of 
 charmers.t And upon the den (fm^Ja, cave, 
 hole,) of the basilisk. Jonathan | explains (it) of 
 the appearance of the round balls (pupils) of the 
 eye of the basilisk serpent ; but Menachem inter- 
 prets it (by) cavern and dusty hole. And thus 
 (we have) *ni$ of the Chaldees; and thus tai*nj$i 
 glorify ye the Lord.|| blfa}, a boy who is wean- 
 ed from his mother's breasts. n^H? Shall put his 
 hand. Jonathan explains (it thus :) shall stretch 
 
 out his hand ; like "jn tne sounding again (echo,) 
 
 * 
 
 * Literally, from that it becomes. 
 
 t Ps. Iviii. 6. The pathen is the species of serpent spoken of. 
 
 J The author of the Chaldee T argum of tho Prophets. 
 
 Some one of the old Rabbies. Wolf mentions thirty-seven of 
 the name, vol. i. pp. 762-778, and iii pp. 684-703. 
 
 || It is hardly necessary to suggest to the reader, that this is only 
 a fancy, drawn from a similarity in the words. The first citation 
 from Gen. xi. 31, refers to the name of a place, Ur, and the term 
 employed in the other, Isa. xxiv. 15, means fires. In the latter pas- 
 sage, Jarchi seems to have understood it of the Urim, and the whole 
 quotation to mean, honor the Lord by Urim. The analogy lies sim- 
 ply in this point, that the words imply the idea of the communi- 
 cation of light.
 
 72 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 
 of the mountains,* and like THt"l which denotes 
 elevation of the voice, this (word) also expresses 
 elevation. But the he final, (which) enters into, 
 (that is, belongs to.) this word as radical, falls 
 away, like rjtDr* H5n fi5p- 
 
 9- /T1 "!& rtSn to know the Lord. 
 
 10. For an ensign (a standard) of the people : 
 that the people may raise a standard in order to 
 be collected to it. 
 
 11. A second time : as he acquired (deliver- 
 ed) them from Egypt, which deliverance of theirs 
 was complete, without servitude ;t but the deliv- 
 erance of the second house was not of the (that) 
 number,| for behold they were subjected to Cyrus. 
 And from the islands (or coasfs) of the sea. These 
 are the islands (or coasts,) of Chittim, Javanim.^ 
 
 12. And he will set up a standard : in 
 French, perche ; and it will be a sign to collect to 
 it, (or, to him, that is, God,) and to bring the cap- 
 tivity of Israel (as) a present to him. 
 
 13. Ephrairn shalt not envy Judah: Messiah, 
 the son of Joseph, and Messiah, the son of Judah, 
 will not envy each other. 
 
 * Ezck. vii. 7. 
 
 t Lit, pure, so that they should not serve. 
 
 t That denoted by the phrase, a second time. The reason is 
 that it was incomplete, inasmuch as they continued in subjection to 
 the Persian Government. 
 
 Or, according to the reading in the Bomberg Bible, Chittim, 
 Romans, sons of Esau.
 
 JARCHI , ON ISAIAH, CHAP. XI. 73 
 
 14. But they will fly upon the shoulders ot 
 the Philistines towards the west. Israel will fly 
 and run with one shoulder* against the Philistines 
 who (live) in the west of the land of Israel, and 
 will subdue their land : like in the way they mur- 
 der by consent,! (n?35tD equivalent to) one shoul- 
 der. And thus Jonathan explains it : and they 
 shall associate themselves one shoulder to smite 
 the Philistines who are in the west. And the 
 children of Ammon (will be) their obedience; ac- 
 cording to the Targum, will obey them, receiving 
 their commands to them. 
 
 15. And (the Lord) shall utterly destroy : to 
 dry it, (that is, the sea,) in order that the captives 
 of Israel may pass over by it from Egypt. Over 
 the river: the river Euphrates, that the captivity 
 in Assyria might pass over by it. With his 
 mighty wind : As there is nothing like this in 
 scripture,^ the subject suggests the meaning to 
 be,$ by his strong wind. In seven streams : in 
 seven divisions, that the seven captivities|| above 
 mentioned, might pass over by it, (those namely) 
 from Assyria, and from Egypt, and so forth ; the 
 islands of the sea not being comprehended within 
 
 * That is, unanimously. Compare the English'phrase, shoulder 
 to shoulder. 
 
 t Hosea vi. 9. 
 
 t That is, as the word Ql^ never elsewhere occurs. 
 j Lit., the thing is explained (thus.) 
 
 || He means the captives in the seven countries before spoken of. 
 4*
 
 74 COMMENTARY, fcc. 
 
 the enumeration.*- And make go : (that is,) through 
 the midst of it, the captives. t^b^i- With 
 sandals, (in other words,) on dry ground. 
 
 16. And there shall be a highway : in the 
 midst of the waters for the remnant of his people. 
 
 .Lit., " and from the isles of the sea" is not of this class.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI, 
 
 ON ISAIAH XI. 
 
 1. BUT there shall come forth a rod. This sec- 
 tion, which relates to the future, the time of the 
 Messiah, is connected with (the subject of) the 
 tranquillity which prevailed in the days of Hez- 
 ekiah. He says, (that is, the prophet,) you 
 should not be astonished on account of a great 
 wonder, such as that which was done in the days 
 of Hezekiah, in the destruction of the camp of 
 the Assyrians in a moment ; for a still greater 
 wonder, than this shall be done for Israel in the 
 time of the Messiah, that which will take place 
 for Israel in the gathering together of the captivity. 
 And this one will be of the family of king 
 Hezekiah ; and he mentions Jesse, because from 
 him the first king proceeded. The meaning of 
 is rod, as in the Targums,* (or, in Chaldee.) 
 
 * In Num. xvii. 8, 9, HtOfa ia f ur times rendered by Onkeloa
 
 76 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 And he says, from the trunk, from his roots ; be- 
 cause the tree which is cut down will sprout 
 again, and produce branches from its trunk and 
 roots. 2TD' trunk, denotes what is left of the 
 tree above the ground, from the sides of which 
 the branches will grow. And so from the roots 
 which are under the ground, they will sprout forth 
 in like manner. And because Israel have been 
 gone into captivity from their land this great num- 
 ber of years, and their kingdom has ceased, like 
 the felled tree whose trunk and roots are (still) 
 left ; he says that there is still hope that the 
 trunk will sprout again. And the prophet says, 
 that from the roots of Jesse and from his trunk 
 shall yet come forth a rod, a branch, and there 
 shall yet be a king over Israel as formerly, and 
 they shall be greater than ever.* 
 
 2. And he says : And the Spirit of the Lord 
 shall rest upon him ; for all this shall be from the 
 Lord. At first he says the Spirit of the Lord, 
 and afterwards he explains (it by) the Spirit of 
 wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel 
 and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the 
 fear of the Lord. And learning, (n?2Dn>) that is, 
 whatever t man may teach us, so that we shall 
 know (it,) and it shall be ready (for use) at any 
 time ; and understanding, (n^iO is man's intel- 
 ligence in (reference to) what he has not learned, 
 
 * Lit. , shall exceed that which they were. 
 t Lit, the thing which.
 
 KIMCHf, ON ISAIAH XI. 77 
 
 (resulting) from what he has learned.* And 
 counsel : this is knowledge and exercise in sub- 
 jects relating to morals and the manners of men t 
 with each other. And knowledge and the fear of 
 the Lord : both of these words are in construct 
 with the Lord. He means to say that he will 
 know the Lord and fear him. 
 
 3. And shall make him of quick scent in the 
 fear of the Lord. Because the smelling is a deli- 
 cate sense, he denotes a delicate matter by this 
 sense. And thus (we have,) he smelleth the bat- 
 tle afar off- as a thread of tow is broken when it 
 smelleth the fire.} And so he says, and shall 
 make him of quick scent in the fear of the Lord : 
 that is to say, with (but) little (exercise) of his 
 intelligence, he will be able to perceive (properly 
 to understand and appreciate,) men both good 
 and bad, neither will it be necessary for him to 
 see with the eyes and to hear with the ears, in 
 order to judge the children of men and to pass 
 equitable sentence on them ; for, by his know- 
 ledge and understanding he will be acquainted 
 with their works, with (the exercise of but) little 
 intelligence. And my respected father, whose 
 memory be blessed, explains iPTim by and his 
 discourse meaning the breath of his mouth ; and 
 
 * In other words, the former is acquired knowledge, and the lai- 
 ter natural understanding strengthened by use. 
 
 t Lit., children of the world. 
 
 t Job xxxix. 25, and Judges xvi. 9. In these two passages the 
 original word for smelleth is the same as that in the text of Isaiah.
 
 78 COMMENTARY OF RAIJBI DAVID 
 
 thus (we have), at my breathing, at my cry :* lie 
 means, that his discourse will be* continually in 
 the fear of the Lord. 
 
 4. But with righteousness will he judge : 
 He mentions the poor and meek of the earth. 
 And although he will judge all men with upright- 
 ness, (both) poor and rich ; yet, as the way of the 
 world is to favor the great and the rich, he says, 
 that he will not do so, but with righteousness he 
 will take away the judgment (or cause) of the 
 poor from the rich, and he will reprove, (or, pass 
 sentence on,) the strong with equity on account of 
 the meek of the earth, so that they shall not plun- 
 der nor oppress them because they are weak and 
 feeble. The Lamed in v-jjfc "n52b is P ut f r on 
 account of, as it is also in, say for me (i^) he is 
 my brother,t and in other similar places. And he 
 will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth : 
 He means the wicked of the earth. And inas- 
 much as he mentions the meek of the earth, it is 
 because they are of an opposite character : he 
 places them in juxta-positibn| in order to make 
 (his meaning) the more intelligible. The end of 
 the verse proves (this to be the correct exposition,) 
 which says, will slay the wicked. And indeed, 
 without an ellipsis, the meaning may be under- 
 stood (to be), that he will smite the sons of the 
 
 * Lam. iii. 56. The word rendered breathing, is from the same 
 root as that in the text. 
 
 t Gen. xx. 13. t Lit., puts near.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 79 
 
 earth, whomsoever it may be right to smite : for 
 behold he had said, and he will reprove (or pass 
 sentence,) with equity, for the meek of the earth.* 
 And the meaning of with the rod of his mouth 
 is, with the breath of his lips : for he will curse 
 them and they shall die, as it is written of the 
 righteous, thou shalt also decree a thing and it 
 shall be established unto thee.f And (scripture) 
 says of the prophet Samuel ; all that he saith 
 cometh surely to pass ;J and it is said of the 
 prophet Elisha ; and he cursed them in the name 
 of the Lord, and there came forth two she bears 
 out of the wood, and tare forty and two children 
 ofthem.<> 
 
 5. And righteousness shall be : the righteous- 
 ness and the truth to which he will firmly adhere, 
 shall be strength to him, so that his loins shall be 
 firm. And the clause is doubled in repeated 
 words. 
 
 6, 7. And the wolf shall dwell : Some in- 
 terpret (it thus,) that in the time of the Messiah, 
 the nature of wild beasts and of cattle shall be 
 changed, and return to what it was when they 
 were originally created, and in the ark of Noah : 
 for if when first created the lion fed upon the 
 sheep, then|| the creation would have been de- 
 stroyed. And what did the lion eat, or that sort 
 of ravenous beasts that consume flesh ? For if he 
 
 * And this implies the other of course. t Job xxii. 28. 
 
 t 1 Sam. ix. 6. $ Q Kings ii. 24. || I,it, behold.
 
 80 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 ate the flesh of other wild beasts and of cattle, 
 then* the world would have wanted such crea- 
 tures rf for they were all producedj a male and a 
 It-male, no more ; and they did not delay eating 
 until the prey had increased and multiplied. But 
 undoubtedly they ate the grass of the field, until 
 the prey had become sufficiently numerous, 1 ^ and 
 from that time arid onward their nature was car- 
 niverous. So also in the ark of Noah, if the rave- 
 nous beasts had preyed on other animals, behold 
 such prey would have been destroyed ;|| for they 
 entered in by pairs and no more. Notwithstand- 
 ing,^" it is said, that those which by sevens he 
 brought in of the clean (beasts,) were for the 
 use** of the ravenous animals. And some ex- 
 plain the whole of this as figurative ; for the 
 wolf and the leopard, and the bear and the 
 lion, are all figures of wicked men, oppres- 
 sors and plunderers, who (are) to the weak 
 like wild beasts that tear in pieces the prey ; and 
 the lamb and the cow and the calf and the kid, are 
 all figures of the meek of the earth. And the mean- 
 ing is, that in the time of the Messiah peace shall 
 prevail in the earth, and no one shall injure another. 
 But this exposition cannot be sustained according 
 to what he says, they shall not hurt nor destroy in 
 
 Lit., behold. t Lit, that creation. J Lit, born. 
 
 Lit., had increased and multiplied. 
 
 || Lit, had ceased from the world. 
 
 t Lit., but if so. Lit, ned.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 81 
 
 all my holy mountain. And in Messiah's time all 
 the world shall be in peace, as it is written, and 
 they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and 
 their spears into pruning hooks, and nation shall 
 not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
 they learn war any more ;* and he says, and 
 the battle-bow shall be cut off, and of the Mes- 
 siah he says, and he shall speak peace unto 
 the heathen.t Yet it cannot be doubted, that the 
 nature of the wild beasts will not be changed. 
 They will tear in pieces and consume flesh as 
 they do now ; but he assures Israel that the evil 
 beasts shall not do mischief in all the land of Is- 
 rael, the same as (when) he says, they shall not 
 hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. And 
 the sense of for the earth shall be full of the knowl- 
 edge of the Lord (is this,) that after they have 
 become good and kept the way of the Lord, evil 
 beasts shall not get the mastery over them or their 
 cattle and property, as he assures (us) by Moses 
 our master, on whom be peace, I will rid evil beasts 
 out of the land,} and even if they roam through 
 the landthey shall do no injury. And the cow and 
 the bear shall feed and so forth : And thus it is in 
 the prophet Hosea, and in that day will I make 
 a covenant for them with the beasts of the field 
 and with the fowls of heaven and so forth. And 
 the words, and the lion shall eat straw like the 
 ox, (are to be explained thus,) as if he should eat 
 
 * Iba. ii. 4. t Zech. ix. 10. t Levit xxvi. 6. ii. 20, (18.)
 
 82 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 straw like the ox ; that he will not tear the flesh of 
 animals in the land of Israel unless (indeed,) he 
 should find carcasses. But nevertheless this may 
 be explained figuratively, and the lion and the 
 bear and the serpent will be figures of bad reli- 
 gions ; andthe interpretation of and the cow and 
 the bear shall feed (will be this :) that the cattle* 
 shall be wholly occupied in the service of God and 
 not at all in the vanities of the world ; and this 
 is what he means (by the words ;) for the earth shall 
 be full of the knowledge of the Lord. And the fat- 
 ling : Some say that this (denotes) one of the species 
 of larger cattle ; but others explain it of fatted cat- 
 tle, to which, in reference to other animals, the term 
 fallings would be applied, and thus the Targum 
 of Jonathan and the fatted. And the cow and 
 the bear, ^-n : the word is feminine ; and so (we 
 have) and there came forth two she bearg,t |-|5$^fn 
 laTHD ami, and so vy,Wry, (and) fcibm. and 
 their young ones (pi'ib's) shall lie down together.^ 
 8- tnilsOa SlBSttn 1 ' = Like (*nn) hole : it is thus 
 called, because it is the way of ingress to the place 
 where the serpent is ; and so, the dens, (miiTJfcni) 
 which(are in the mountains which we have inter- 
 
 * The domestic cattle, in contradistinction to the wild animals. 
 The word is employed figuratively for those who practice the true 
 religion. 
 
 1 2 Kings ii. 34. 
 
 t He means that notwithstanding the masculine form the gender 
 is feminine, as indeed its grammatical construction shows. 
 
 Judg. vi. 2.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 83 
 
 preted* by caves (tiTi^n) an d they have a hole 
 (*nn) by which the light (j-nTfc* ) enters : there- 
 fore they are so called. And the clause is two- 
 fold, the same thing being repeated. Now (as to) 
 the meaning of weaned, b"lfa!i : (it is) as it were a 
 suckling, but who is called weaned when the time 
 of its sucking is completed. And he says the 
 suckling and the w r eaned child ; in reference to 
 the serpent, inasmuch as serpents are often found 
 in the holes of the house, and the little ones put 
 their hands on the floor of the house, and in the 
 holes of the walls, ynfi is equivalent to fl^p and 
 means, will put forth his hand. And behold, the 
 serpent's enmity, which it was determined, at the 
 time of the fallt (should be directed) towards the 
 man, shall in Messiah's age depart in all the land 
 of Israel ; and with respect to the people of Israel, 
 in every place whither they shall have gone, nei- 
 ther the serpent nor evil beasts shall injure them. 
 And Jonathan explains "|"n!a)a (0 the appear- 
 ance of the round balls (pupils) of the eyes of the 
 basilisk serpent. He means, that as the serpent 
 is in his hole, which is a dark place, his eye-ball 
 shines ; and the sucking child from the outside 
 sees the light, and imagines it to be a shining 
 stone or a piece of glass, and stretches out his 
 
 * Kimchi alludes to his note on the text in Judges, where he givea 
 this exposition. 
 
 t Lit., in the days of bereahith, meaning creation, the first word 
 in Genesis being used to express the subject of the chapter.
 
 84 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 hand to take it, (that is,) the thing which he ima- 
 gines it to be : and he touches a basilisk, but it does 
 him no harm. And he mentions the asp (or viper) 
 and basilisk, because they are of the worst species 
 of serpents, and still they will do no injury ; much 
 less those of any other sort. 
 
 9. They shall not hurt : He calls all the land 
 of Israel my holy mountain, and employs the 
 term mountain, because* it is higher than any 
 other country. And what is the reason that they 
 shall not hurt ? Because the earth shall be full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord. The earth, that is, 
 the land of Israel, as the prophet Jeremiah says,t 
 for all of them shall know me, from the least of them 
 unto the greatest of them , and so forth. As the wa- 
 ters cover the sea : He calls the place of the waters, 
 sea, the waters shall fill it, the place, (or, this 
 place) until they cover it, so that the bottom of 
 the sea shall not be seen. 
 
 10. And there shall be a root of Jesse : that is, 
 what sprouts from the root of Jesse, as he says, and 
 a branch shall grow out of his roots, for Jesse is the 
 root ; and thus the Targum of Jonathan, a son of 
 the sons of Jesse. Which stands : that is,which shall 
 stand in that day, the day of gathering together 
 the captives. And it shall be for all the nations, 
 like the standard in an army, after which, when 
 elevated all the army will go. Thus all the 
 
 Lit, and the sense of mountain is, that * xxxi. 34.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XL 85 
 
 nations will seek the Messiah, and will go after 
 him to do what he commands ; all of them will 
 obey him. Therefore he shall be in honor ; so that 
 
 there shall not be war with him : and he shall be 
 
 
 
 in rest and in honor; for all the nations will honor 
 him and serve him. 
 
 11. And it shall be a second time : For at the 
 first he redeemed them from the house of servants,* 
 from Egypt, but, in the time of collecting the cap- 
 tives, the Lord will raise his hand a second time 
 to redeem them from all the countries whither 
 they have been scattered. And this does not re- 
 late to the Babylonian captivity, for that concerned 
 Judah and Benjamin only, and they only went out, 
 (returned to their land,) and the ten tribes were 
 not collected ; therefore we cannot apply the phrase 
 a second time to this collecting, for all Israel 
 without a single exception went out from Egypt, 
 and he would not say a second time unless it 
 were like the first. But the collecting of these cap- 
 tives will be a second as it respects Egypt, for 
 all of them went out ; and thus all of them will go 
 out when these captives are collected together. 
 Therefore he says, from Assyria, and from Egypt, 
 and fromPathros, and from Gush, and from Elam, 
 and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the 
 islands of the sea. And why does he say,t the 
 remnant of his people which shall be left ? Be- 
 cause many of them were consumed in the captiv- 
 
 * Exod. xx. 2. t Lit., what is that which he says.
 
 86 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 ity. And from the islands of the sea, (or mari- 
 time countries :) They also of the land of Israel, 
 which are in the countries of Edom and Ishmael ; 
 behold these are the islands of the sea, (or mari- 
 time countries.) 
 
 12. And will lift up a standard : As if the 
 holy and blessed one were to raise a standard to 
 the nations, who should come tremblingly to the 
 place of the standard. Thus, in that day all the na- 
 tions will honorably dismiss the Israelites who are 
 in their lands.* 
 
 13. Shall depart : When the children of Israel 
 shall be collected in their land, the jealousy which 
 prevailed among them when they were made cap- 
 tives from their land, shall depart ; for there was 
 among them a division of the kingdoms owing to 
 jealousy towards the kingdom of the house of 
 David. And the adversaries in Judah shall be 
 cut off: For of old Judah contained adversaries 
 to Ephraim. And Ephraim : He means all Israel 
 with the exception of Judah ; and because the 
 Israelites were jealous of the kingdom of the house 
 of David, Judah was adverse and hostile to them, 
 and thus we see that they retarded the kingdom 
 seven years, so that, (or during which) David's 
 royal authority was confined to Judah. And thus 
 when David returned to the kingdom after he had 
 
 * Lit., thus in that day all the nations will dismiss the Israelites 
 who are in their lands, who will go for themselves with honor. 
 for themselves, is redundant, like the second Vj , in Gen. xii. 1.
 
 K1MCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. S7 
 
 fled away from Absalom, it is said, why did our 
 brethren steal thee away, and so forth, and also, 
 and the words of the men of Judah were fiercer 
 than the words of the men of Israel ;* and Sheba 
 the son of Bichri, blew a trumpet, and so forth.t 
 And thus it was, until the kingdom was divided in 
 the reign of Rehoboam, who said, I will add to your 
 yoke.f And what does he mean by shall be cut 
 off? He means, shall not exist ; as, and the bat- 
 tle-bow shall be cut off.^ And the subject is re- 
 peated in different words.|| 
 
 14. But they shall fly upon : They shall move 
 against the Philistines on the west of the land of 
 Israel : thus the Targum of Jonathan. But we 
 explain issi by flying, flight, (q* 1 ^ J1&SH2) which 
 denotes^]" rapid motion; and by the word flight, he 
 expresses the rapidity of their motion to the place 
 of the Philistines, to smite and plunder them. 
 Others again make it equivalent to $y\, will be 
 weary, meaning they will be fatigued, (oifi 1 ^) 
 by smiting the shoulders of the Philistines. And 
 the word Qt"ID!2 is construct, although absolute 
 in its form ; ** for according to the constructive 
 usage it would require two scegols.tt ButBenAsh- 
 er says,that it appears thus, (that is, as pointed in the 
 
 * 2 Sam. xix. 42,44, (41, 43.) tlb. xx. 1. 
 
 tl Kings, xii. 14. Zech. ix. 10. 
 
 || Lit., tho clause is doubled with the subject in different words. 
 IT Lit., is. ** Lit. goes according to the way in absolute, 
 
 ttljit., itsform (would be) with six points.
 
 88 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 text,) because it is milra, to sustain the sound of 
 the Pe, on account of thePein Philistines.* Edom 
 and Moab : Although they are not strangers at 
 the present day among the nations, from whom 
 the Israelites alone are separated on account of 
 their law, and with whom they do not familiarly 
 associate ; but most of the other nations do so 
 associate together. When he mentions Edom 
 and Moab and the children of Ammon, he means 
 their country and present inhabitants, according 
 to what is said in the prophecy of Daniel which 
 is yet to be fulfilled but these shall escape out 
 of his hand, Edom and Moab and the chief of the 
 children of Ammon :f thus it is to be explained. 
 QT mbttft : Aat the Israelites shall lay their 
 hands on them as they please. Dfi^fatBfa : that 
 they will be obeyed in all their commands. He 
 mentions these places, because of their proximity 
 to the land of Israel, although all nations shall 
 be thus subject to Israel. 
 
 15. B^nn- It expresses excision and divi- 
 ding : and in this (latter) sense it is used in ref- 
 
 * That is, to give a distinctness to the terminating letter of nf-Q 
 
 by throwing the accent on the latter syllable, whereas in its con- 
 struct form Q J-Q it would fall on the former. Thus the reader is the 
 
 better enabled to enunciate clearly the pe which commences the 
 next word B'lfi'QjbS' Milra is a Chaldee term employed by He- 
 brew Grammarians to denote that the word is accented on the last 
 syllable. 
 tDan. xi. 41.
 
 KIMCH1, ON ISAIAH XI. Q9 
 
 erence to the sea, as he says : to htm who divided 
 the Red Sea into parts.* The tongue of the Egypt- 
 tian sea : this is the river of Egypt, which is called 
 Sihon, (the Nile.) And it will go according to 
 the will of God, who will make bare a way by 
 which the redeemed may pass over. And will 
 shake his hand over the river : The river means 
 the Euphrates, and so the Targum of Jonathan 
 (explains it.) And the meaning of will shake 
 his hand is, that he will bring on a violent wind 
 which shall dry it up, as he did to the Red Sea at 
 the exode from Egypt ; as he says, and there shall 
 be a highway for the remnant of his people, and so 
 forth. irrn Q^i- With the strength of his wind, 
 which shall actt upon and dry up the river. And 
 the word Q^i is to be explained according to the 
 subject, as it never elsewhere occursj in scripture. 
 But Rabbi my brother, Rabbi Moses, interprets 
 Qi by rntEH ^b' f r a heap of the field, the 
 explanation of which is ^3, heap. Thus tP2!3 will 
 have the same meaning as d^Mi? that i to say, 
 on the heaps of the sea. And the river: he will 
 shake his hand and (raise) the wind to quiet them 
 and to dry them. And shall smite it into seven 
 streams : the holy blessed one shall smite the river 
 Euphrates, and force it|| with a very strong wind 
 
 * Ps. cxxxvi. 13. t Lit., go, move. 
 
 t Lit., has no companion. Mic. i.6. 
 
 || I am not certain that thia is the true meaning. The original
 
 90 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 until it turn into seven streams, and there shall be 
 a way between stream and stream. And make 
 pass those who go over these ways; with sandals 
 because the way will be dry as if there were no 
 water there, and they will go over them with san- 
 dals on their feet. TH^ft is a transitive verb ; and 
 it is God who causes to go, and he that passes 
 over is the one that goes. But what does he 
 mean by seven ? Perhaps, there will be seven 
 ways and no more ; although it is probable that 
 (the number) seven is employed to express 
 multitude, meaning many ways, which is agree- 
 able to usage :* as, seven times according to your 
 sins ;f the just falleth seven times and riseth up 
 again.J 
 
 16. And there shall be ; in this river there 
 shall be a highway for the remnant of his people ; 
 that is to say, there shall be a prepared way, as if 
 it had been a road a long time. We have already 
 explained (what is meant by) the remnant. And 
 why does he say from Assyria? Because for 
 those in Assyria the direct course || to the land 
 
 * Lit., for this is the way of the language. 
 
 tLev. xxvi. 21. t Prov. xxvi. 16. 
 
 || I conjecture the true reading to be >i^>^s>V instead of 'jx^sx Vw. 
 
 According to the printed text, the last clause of the sentence may be 
 connected with the first, though not without harshness, thus : Because 
 ae to those who of the land of Israel are in Assyria, the direct course 
 is over the Euphrates.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH XI. 
 
 of Israel is over the Euphrates. As it was : 
 meaning, as there was a highway in the Red 
 Sea, so shall there be a highway in the river 
 Euphrates.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI ABEN EZRA, 
 
 ON ISAIAH XI. 
 
 1. AND there shall come forth : Many interpreters 
 say, that this is the Messiah, and that the meaning 
 is, he will destroy the camp of the Assyrians 
 who laid seige to Jerusalem, and moreover, that 
 the time of the complete redemption shall come 
 to Jerusalem. But, in the opinion of Rabbi Moses 
 Haccohen (the priest,) it refers to Hezekiah, 
 agreeably to the context.* "ift'in ls used in the 
 Targum to express the sense of nftft a staff (or 
 rod.) 2n trunk ; this is equivalent to offspring, 
 and "1^5 to branch, as an abominable branch.! 
 And the sense of, and shall come forth is,| that 
 he was little at the time of the prophecy. 
 
 2. nPOl> according to the form of, and is re- 
 turned (nitDl) unto her father's house ;|| of (that 
 class of verbs in which only) two (of the radical 
 
 * Lit., for he (or it) is closely connected with this section, 
 t Isa. xiv. 19. t That is, the language implies. 
 
 II Levit xxiil 13.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH XI. 93 
 
 letters)* appear. And behold he explains the 
 Spirit of the Lord to bet the spirit of wisdom and 
 understanding, and thus it is written of Joshua 
 in the law. And might: For Hezekiah was 
 mighty, as it is written. 
 
 3. "irrnm : The sense of hearing will often 
 err, so as to hear (in imagination) when no voice 
 is uttered ; and the eye will err, so that an object 
 at rest will seem to it to be moving : but not so 
 the sense of smelling. irp"l"n> as if (it were,) he 
 will smell the thing in the fear of the Lord which 
 he has. He will not judge as it may appear to 
 his eyes, nor as he shall hear; for the witnesses 
 may be false : and such are the reproofs (or pun- 
 ishments) and judgments which are according to 
 the law of the kingdoms.^ 
 
 4. But with righteousness will he judge the 
 poor: according to the judgments of the law, 
 which does not show partiality to the poor. And 
 he will reprove (or, pass sentence) with equity : 
 with uprightness for the good. And he will smite 
 the earth : With his mouth, as if it were a rod 
 for the wicked. 
 
 5. And (righteousness) shall be : And behold 
 righteousness shall not depart from him all his 
 days in all that he does. 
 
 * In other words {"[J'T^ is the form ain vau, from J-nh which 
 oses the middle radical. 
 
 t Lit, that the Spirit of the Lord is. 
 
 I That IB, such ia often the result in cases that are brought before 
 ordinary civil tribunals. Such : lit., these.
 
 94 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 6. And the wolf shall dwell : This is figurative 
 of the peace which shall prevail in his time. 
 And the falling: I have (elsewhere) explained 
 this to be one of the (different) species of the ox 
 (kind,) the fat of which is prohibited. 
 
 7. And the cow : This is (the animal when) 
 grown, for the calf is little ; and some say that 
 the female is stronger than the male. Shall eat 
 straw : As if its natural character should depart, 
 and it should not injure by preying (on other 
 animals.) 
 
 8. 'yBJflDi, Shall play : you will always find 
 the reduplicated verb used in this sense. "nn> 
 the mouth or the nose. J"m&?3 the eye, because 
 it commands* the light. The he in niH m ^y be 
 instead of yod, (in) shoot (fr) at her :t and the 
 meaning is, he shall put forth his hand, or else it 
 has no analogous expression (in scripture.) 
 
 9. They shall not hurt: The asp and the 
 basilisk ; as if all the land of Israel were full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord : for it is known, that 
 he who knows the Lord will never be destroyed, 
 but be built up and established. As the waters : 
 There is an ellipsis of the word which; and thus 
 he (says,) that knowledge shall be multiplied as 
 the waters cover over the sea, so that they shall 
 not fail, but be increased. 
 
 10. And there shall be : If (this) relate to the 
 
 * Lit, is mistress of. t Jer. 1. 14.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH XI. 95 
 
 Messiah (the meaning is,) that the entire world* 
 shall be subjected to him. But, in the opinion of 
 Rabbi Moses Haccohen before mentioned, (it 
 relates) to the sign of the sun (dial,) for thus it is 
 written to inquire into the wonder.t And his 
 rest shall be with glory : and thus (the money, 
 or the silver and gold) that was found in the 
 house of the Lord.J 
 
 11. And it shall be a second time: With 
 respect to the deliverance from Egypt. And be- 
 hold, to prove that he refers to the time of the 
 Messiah, it is said, that the deliverance of the 
 second temple^ was not their entire deliverance, 
 for all the tribes, indeed all Judah did not return 
 to their land. But those who explain it of Heze- 
 kiah (say,) that the people assembled together in 
 his reign, when they saw that Jerusalem was 
 delivered, and Sennacherib dead, after the death 
 of the multitudes that composed his camp. 
 
 12. And he will raise up : As if the Lord 
 would raise up an ensign to all the nations, so 
 that Israel may see it, and return to their own 
 land. Israel means the ten tribes, and he men- 
 tions Judah also. 
 
 * Lit, all the world, the whole of it. t 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 
 
 t He seems to intimate that the temple, the place of Jehovah's 
 rest, was to be made glorious by accessions of wealth. The allusion 
 is to 2 Kings xii. 10 ; xvi. 8, and the text is imperfectly quoted, as 
 is very usual with Aben Ezra. 
 
 That is, the deliverance from the Babylonian captivity, which 
 was followed by the rebuilding of the second temple.
 
 96 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 And shall depart : So that Ephraim shall not 
 envy because the Messiah is of the family of 
 Judaht and if Hezekiah (be meant,) because his 
 kingdom continues. And the adversaries of Ju- 
 dah : those who hate her. If (it relate) to Heze- 
 kiah, (it may be explained) of the Syrians. But 
 behold they were not hostile to Ephraim, so as 
 to requite them in the time of Pekah. 
 
 14. 'iBSi ; Some say it is to be explained like 
 a flying (ri?) roll >* but Rabbi Moses Haccohen 
 says, that there is no similar use of the word,t 
 and that the sense is like irnD n they shall rest, 
 and the region of country is omitted. Towards 
 the west : For they lie west of the land of Israel. 
 Children of the east : These are the Syrians. 
 'dT mbffifc : So that they will stretch out 
 their hand to spoil them. And the children of 
 Ammon CFl^fc'Efa : They shall turn lo their obe- 
 dience, or under their obedience ; (that is, obedi- 
 ence to them.) 
 
 15. d"nnm: He will destroy (or cut off,) 
 according to the invariable sense of Q*in> so that 
 Israel shall pass over it on dry ground, and the 
 sea shall not retard their rapid return. 'EI$^ : 
 This word never elsewhere occurs in scripture. 
 The mem is radical, and the meaning is, with 
 strength. Those interpreters who have explained 
 
 * Zech. v. 1. 
 
 t Lit., there is no neighbor to it.
 
 ABEN EZRA ON ISATAH XI. 97 
 
 it like if ye will inquire, inquire ye,* are unac- 
 quainted with grammar. The river : That is the 
 stream, (or the Nilef) ta Ti*nn is a transitive verb 
 (used of) two objects. 
 
 16. And there shall be : Here is an exposition 
 of the meaning of the destroying and the smiting, 
 as the text alludest to the dividing of the Red 
 Sea. 
 
 * Isa. xxi. 12. He means, expositors who attempt to derive it 
 
 from n^2' 
 
 t The original is: -)&O 
 t Lit., as )"!t"Pn refers - 
 
 5*
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LIT. 13 LIU. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE section of Isaiah's prophecies which is con- 
 tained in the last three verses of the 52nd chapter 
 and the whole of the 53d, has afforded subject of 
 much disputation. It has been interpreted either 
 of some individual, or of a body of men personified. 
 Of those who adopt the former view, some have 
 attempted to apply it to Hezekiah or some other 
 Jewish king, to Jeremiah, to Isaiah himself, and 
 even to Moses ; but by far the largest proportion 
 of Christian expositors, and several also of the 
 Jewish, particularly the most ancient, have ex- 
 plained it of the Messiah. Those interpreters who 
 maintain the latter of the two views above men- 
 tioned, pretty generally agree in the opinion, that 
 the section relates to the Jewish people, or at 
 least the better part of them, although a few con- 
 sider it as descriptive of the prophetic body. 
 
 Among the defenders of this last view, Gese- 
 nius is the most prominent. He regards the Lord's
 
 COMMENTARY OX ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 99 
 
 servant as a personification of the Hebrew pro- 
 phets, whose exaltation is predicted in lii. 13. 
 Heretofore deformed by opposition and sufferings, 
 they shall still at a future period fill the people 
 with joy. Kings shall honor them, when unex- 
 pected events, not believed when announced, 
 shall have taken place, 14, 15 ; liii. 1. Deserted, 
 despised and afflicted, God allowed them to grow 
 up among the people, 2, 3, and sent them subjec- 
 ted to sufferings, which they bore patiently as an 
 offering, 7. But they bore them for the sins of 
 the people, which the Lord laid upon them, 4, 5, 
 6. They were removed from their sufferings by 
 death, and, although innocent, were buried with 
 transgressors, none understanding the real design 
 of their sufferings, S, 9. As a reward, they shall 
 yet live long, see a late posterity, enjoy the spread 
 of their doctrine, and divide their portion with 
 the mighty, 10-12. 
 
 The Jewish expositors, from the middle ages 
 down to the present time, explain the section of 
 their own nation. Their existing state of depres- 
 sion and persecution, and their future supposed ex- 
 altation and supremacy over all other people, con- 
 stitute the leading points of the prophecy. Some 
 modern Christian expositors have adopted the 
 same view. The ancients invariably interpret it 
 of the Messiah. 
 
 Tnat the section comprehends a reference to 
 the state of the Jewish nation is a view, which
 
 100 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 seems to have been favorably regarded by some 
 of their expositors at a very early period. The 
 Chaldee Targum, a translation of which on this 
 portion is subjoined to the following Rabbinnical 
 Commentary, although it directly declares the 
 Lord's servant to be the Messiah, does evidently, 
 in its paraphrastic exposition, introduce the Jew- 
 ish nation in close connection with this its prince 
 and saviour. The reader will perceive that the 
 Messiah and the people are brought forward with 
 nearly equal prominence, the transitions from the 
 one to the other being altogether unfounded and 
 strangely arbitrary. Still it shows us, that in the 
 time of its author, a reference to the nation was 
 superadded to the Messianic interpretation. This 
 interpretation seems gradually to have been su- 
 perseded by it, for Origen tells us, that, on his 
 alleging passages from this section in argument 
 with some learned Jews, he was met by the ob- 
 jection, that no individual, but the whole people 
 were intended by the prophet ; a view which he 
 immediately attacks as unsupported.* 
 
 It would not comport with the nature of this 
 brief introduction, to examine at any length the 
 grounds on which these various theories of expo- 
 sition are attempted to be sustained ; yet I cannot 
 suffer the present Jewish interpretation to appear 
 
 * Origen against Celsus, Book 1, p. 42, 43, Hoeschel's edition, 
 4 to. 1605.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. Ql 
 
 in detail, without submitting one or two prelimi- 
 nary remarks. 
 
 It is a serious objection to this interpretation, 
 'applying also to that of Gesenius, that, in the one 
 case the national, and in the other the prophetic 
 body, are said to sustain vicarious punishment, 
 intended to atone for the sins of others. Surely 
 the prophets are never represented to us in Scrip- 
 ture as propitiating, by any sufferings of their 
 own, for the offences of others. The remark ap- 
 plies also to the Jewish nation ; and undoubtedly 
 it must have been felt as a difficulty by Aben 
 Ezra and Kimchi, inasmuch as they put this rep- 
 resentation in the mouth of the Heathen, and the 
 latter writer in particular guards his reader against 
 any admission of its correctness, by ascribing it 
 to weakness and incapacity, and declaring it to be 
 at variance with other declarations of scripture. 
 Neither is there in the whole section a single in- 
 timation, that this is merely the language of the 
 people and founded in error. On the contrary, 
 it plainly appears to be the prophet's own state- 
 ment, and the other view of the subject is artificial 
 and forced, and not supported by any analagous 
 portions ot Isaiah's prophecy. A construction so 
 wholly arbitrary, is hardly worthy of refutation. 
 
 Most of the objections to the Christian exposi- 
 tion of the prophecy arise from the mistaken sup- 
 position, that, as the degradation described in the 
 section is physical and secular, and consequently
 
 102 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 must be literally understood, therefore the exalta- 
 tion also must be secular, and consist in superiority 
 ostensibly displayed here on earth. And the same 
 mode of argument is now resorted to, in order to* 
 prove a temporal and visible reign of Christ in 
 Jerusalem literally understood. But, against the 
 application of this principle by Jews, it may be 
 sufficient to remark, that Aben Ezra himself who 
 advances the argument, admits, that the current 
 of older Jewish exposition of liii. 12, ran directly 
 the other way, favoring a figurative meaning ; and 
 that the words themselves do bear such an inter- 
 pretation. And if this be allowable here, it is 
 equally so in those other places, where long life 
 and numerous progeny are ascribed to the Mes- 
 siah. Such interpretations are in harmony with 
 other parts of scripture, of which it is sufficient to 
 refer to the promise : " instead of thy fathers shall 
 be thy children (the Messiah's,) whom thou mayest 
 make princes in all the earth."* Against Gese- 
 nius, who also urges a literal interpretation of the 
 promised exaltation, it is sufficient to remark, that 
 such an exaltation is hardly compatible with the 
 character of the prophetic body, and rather implies 
 royal distinction. 
 
 This learned writer allows that the Messianic 
 exposition was the commonly received one in the 
 age of the New Testament, and by its writers. 
 
 *Ps xlv. 17.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 1Q3 
 
 Such a consideration, however, has but little weight 
 with him in support of its correctuess. But with 
 those who regard the New Testament as a record 
 of inspired truth, it cannot fail of receiving the 
 profoundest deference, and, even as a source of 
 historical evidence illustrative of the opinions of 
 its age, it is not to be disregarded. It becomes 
 necessary therefore to examine how this sec- 
 tion of Isaiah is quoted in the sacred books of 
 Christians. 
 
 In appealing to this source of evidence, there 
 is one view of it, in which even the Jewish reader 
 ought to acquiesce. To the Christian, any argu- 
 ment legitimately drawn from assertion, reason- 
 ing, or necessary implication, clearly shown to be 
 contained in the New Testament, ought to be de- 
 cisive. But at present I quote it merely as a his- 
 torical record of fact, and as such its claims on all, 
 Jews as well as Christians, are equally impera- 
 tive. Its antiquity, as a production of the first 
 century, exhibiting the views and sentiments of 
 its age, and its claims to respect arising out of its 
 general character, are incontrovertible. As giving 
 views of its own age among the people to whom 
 it was originally addressed, of whom its writers 
 were a part, no other document can be adduced, 
 worthy of superior, if of equal credit. 
 
 In the New Testament, passages are quoted 
 from this prophecy, in such a connection as to 
 show, that no other application than that to an in-
 
 104 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 dividual person, and that person the Messiah, was 
 thought of. St. Matthew* employs the language 
 of the fourth verse in reference to the Messiah's 
 healing diseases. Whatever difficulty may be sup- 
 posed to be involved in the application, has nobear- 
 ing on the point here under consideration. The 
 quotation proves that the writer understood the 
 prophecy to refer to the Messiah ; and the writer 
 was a Jew, who lived 1800 years ago, and wrote 
 especially for the benefit of his own nation. Either 
 then we must assume him to have been wholly ig- 
 norant of their views on this subject, a supposition 
 confuted by the whole tenor of his book, or we must 
 grant that his Jewish readers recognized the ap- 
 plication of this text in some way to their expected 
 Messiah. 
 
 Two other biographers of our Lord's life, them- 
 selves also of the Jewish nation, make a similar 
 application of the words in the 12th verse : "he 
 was numbered with the transgressors."! They 
 must have known, that their brethren would not 
 hesitate to regard the quotation as intended of the 
 predicted Messiah. There is nothing in the con- 
 nection in which these passages stand, that author- 
 izes the expositor to resort to the principle of ac- 
 commodation. 
 
 The representation of Jesus as a pattern of pa- 
 tience under unmerited suffering is illustrated by 
 
 viu. 17. 
 
 t Mark xv, 28., Luke xxii. 37.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 1Q5 
 
 St. Peter,* with an evident view to the language 
 of this section. He speaks of the Messiah as 
 "bearing" our sins, and "healing us by his stripes," 
 quoting the very words of the prophet.t It is im- 
 possible to avoid the conclusion, that the Jews of 
 his day referred the section to the Messiah. 
 
 St. Paul also, in his epistle to the Romans,! 
 applies the first words of the 53d chapter, "who 
 hath believed our report, and to whom hath the 
 arm of the Lord been revealed?" to the want of 
 faith in the Gospel of Christ. This learned dsici- 
 ple of Gamaliel, second to none of his race in ac- 
 quaintance with Jewish tradition and literature, 
 does not seem to have ever heard of the notion of 
 "the wise Rabbi Abraham"^, that this is the lan- 
 guage of the ignorant Heathen, respecting their 
 own unbelief in predictions of Jewish national 
 elevation. He cites it without the least hesitation, 
 and so also Joes St. John,|| as a prophetic de- 
 scription of want of faith in the true Messiah. Any 
 other application of the prophet's language seems 
 to have been entirely unknown to them. 
 
 There is yet another place in the New Testa- 
 ment in which this section is quoted in direct and 
 unequivocal reference to the Messiah. The evan- 
 gelist Philip is directed to join the Ethiopian 
 nobleman on his return from Jerusalem. He 
 
 * 1 Peter ii. 22, 24. t Verse. 4, 5. t x. 16. 
 
 See the reference to Aben Ezra in Kimchi on Isa. liii. 14. 
 H xii 38.
 
 1 OG INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 hears him reading this prophecy of Isaiah, and is 
 addressed with the inquiry, " of whom speaketh 
 the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other 
 man ?"* That the inspired seer intended to ex- 
 hibit a personification of the class of persons to 
 which he himself belonged, or of the nation in 
 general, is certainly an idea which never occurred 
 to the Ethiopian. He understood the prophet 
 in accordance with common sense, and most nat- 
 urally inquired of what individual he was speak- 
 ing. His companion too had no other impression of 
 the prophecy, and immediately applied it to the 
 Messiah. " Then Philip opened his mouth, and 
 began at the same scripture, and preached unto 
 him Jesus."t 
 
 The evidence afforded by the New Testament 
 clearly proves, that the Jews of that period ex- 
 plained the prophecy of the Messiah. And the 
 result thus obtained from this most unexception- 
 able source of information, is confirmed by other 
 Jewish writings. 
 
 It ought not to escape notice, that Aben Ezra, 
 in his introductory remarks on this section, ex- 
 pressly declares, that many of the old Rabbies did 
 explain it of the Messiah. His objections dis- 
 close the very pith and germ of the rejection of 
 this application. " What then is the meaning of 
 he was despised and rejected of men? He 
 
 * Acts viii. 34. tv. 35.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LH. 13 LI1I. 
 
 was taken from prison and from judgment?" It 
 introduces a suffering Messiah; an idea which 
 the Jewish mind, from before the Christian era 
 to the present time, has either rejected with scorn, 
 or endeavored to evade, by introducing the fig- 
 ment of two Messiahs ; a son of Joseph and a son 
 of David, allowing that the former shall be sub- 
 jected to suffering and death, but claiming for the 
 latter immunity from affliction, and unprecedent- 
 ed worldly prosperity and regal honor. And it is 
 particularly worthy of observation, how carefully 
 the Chaldee Targum applies to king Messiah 
 whatever of reward or glory appears in the sec- 
 tion, while the afflictions and degradation therein 
 depicted are represented as the appropriate pun- 
 ishment of his enemies. Still, there were Israel- 
 ites at a very early age, whose views of their 
 promised anointed one were not so entirely secu- 
 larized. From the time that the venerable Simeon 
 intimated the sufferings of the son in announcing 
 the anguish of the mother,* there have not been 
 wanting others of his nation, who knew that, in 
 accordance with the revealed will of God, " it be- 
 hooved the Christ to suffer,"t and then to receive 
 his reward of glory. These Jews did not scruple 
 to apply texts in this section to the Messiah, who 
 was to atone for the sins of the men and to bear 
 their diseases. In the Talmud we meet with the 
 
 * Luke u. 35. txxiv. 46.
 
 108 INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 strange assertion, that the Messiah is called lep- 
 rous or the leper, on account of the word smitten, 
 (the original of which is sometimes used of lepro- 
 sy) applied to him in liii. 4. " Leper is his name, 
 as it is said, but he bore our sicknesses, and our 
 sorrows he sustained them, and we regarded him 
 smitten, stricken by God, and afflicted."* The 
 book Pesikta represents the Messiah as redeem- 
 ing mankind, arid applies to him the same words. 
 The Midrash Tanchuma, an old commentary on 
 the Pentateuch, explains the first verse of this 
 section of Isaiah, respecting king Messiah, whom 
 it describes as more exalted than Abraham, than 
 Moses, than the ministering angels. The reader 
 may find these and other equally pertinent passa- 
 ges, quoted from ancient Jewish books, in HEIVG- 
 STENBERG'S CHRISTOLOGY ;t a work worthy of all 
 commendation, for its deep religious tone, its pro- 
 found learning, and philological accuracy. 
 
 This section, then, describes the sufferings and 
 exaltation of the promised Messiah. There does 
 not appear to be positive proof that any other idea 
 was intended. If, however, a more comprehen- 
 sive view of it can be taken, which while it main- 
 tains the Messiah to be the direct and primary 
 subject of the prediction, does also disclose in 
 
 * Bab. Tal. Treatise Sanhedrim, fol. 98, 2. The reader may see 
 the whole context of this remarkable passage quoted in my Essay 
 on John vi. p 86-88. 
 
 t Vol. I. p. 484-486, Keith's Translation.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 1Q9 
 
 the back ground as it were, of the picture, some 
 faint delineations of another, less prominent, but 
 still connected with it ; such a view would un- 
 doubtedly harmonize with several other prophetic 
 representations.* Then, the graphical delineation 
 of the great prophet might represent also, though 
 faintly, the character and state of the whole pro- 
 phetic body ; the marked description of the 
 earthly humiliation and celestial dignity of the 
 universal king, might trace out, yet not without 
 some indistinctness, the similar condition of his 
 true Israel, ultimately united to him by a living 
 faith. In such a view, the application to the in- 
 ferior object must of course be very general. 
 
 A clear and full developement of the princi- 
 ple of prophetic interpretation here suggested, 
 would extend this introduction to a disproportion- 
 ate length, and have no necessary connection with 
 its main purpose. The truth of it can hardly be 
 questioned by the Christian interpreter, though 
 its application requires caution and judgment, 
 combined with competent knowledge of holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 * The following references may be taken as a specimen of such. 
 2 Sam. vii. compared with Heb. i. 5 ; Hosea xi., 1. with Matt. ii. 15 ; 
 Deut. xviii. 9-22, with Acts iii. 22, 23 ; and various passages quoted 
 in the New Testament from the last twenty -seven chapters of Isaiah, 
 especially Matt. iii. 3, with the parallel places in the other Gospels' 
 and in 1 Pet. i.24, 25, from Isaiah xl. 3-8.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 JARCHI, 
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 13. BEHOLD, my servant : behold, in after times, 
 my servant Jacob shall prosper; (that is,) the 
 righteous among them. 
 
 14. As many people were astonished at them, 
 when they saw their state of humiliation, and 
 said to one another, how much more deformed* 
 than man is their appearance! See how dark, 
 (contemptible,) is their form compared with that 
 of other men ! 
 
 16. So : as we see with our own eyes. 
 t'tlT "p. So now indeed he, his hand shall be 
 great, and he shall put down the horns of the 
 nations who scattered hiin.f 'l^Sp" 1 - They will 
 shut their mouths through the greatness of their 
 astonishment, for they shall see in him honor such 
 as was not told them of any man. 
 
 * Lit, corruption. " Marred." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t " So shall he pprinkle many nations." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t Zech. i. 21.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON JARCHI. 
 
 they will understand. LIII. 1. Who hath believed 
 our report ? Thus will they say to each other : 
 if we had heard from the mouth of others what 
 we see, it would not have been credible. And 
 the arm of the Lord : to whom hath it been re- 
 vealed up to this time, in greatness and majesty 
 like this ? 
 
 2. And he shall grow up like a plant before 
 him. Before this people attained such greatness,* 
 they were in a very low condition, and grew up 
 among their trees (as it were,t) like a sucker 
 among suckers of the oaks. And like a root: 
 (which) grows up from a dry ground. No form : 
 at the beginning he had neither form nor glory 4 
 And when we shall see him, (there is) no beauty 
 that we should desire him : and when we saw 
 him at the beginning, without (beautiful) appear- 
 ance, how should we desire him ? That we 
 should desire him, is expressive of admiration. 
 
 3. He was despised and rejected of men. It 
 was the usage of this prophet to speak of all 
 Israel as one man : (as,) fear not, my servant 
 Jacob ; and, now hear, my servant Jacob ; and 
 
 * Lit., before this greatness came to the people. 
 
 t I have introduced the expression, as it were, to illustrate what 
 I suppose to be the author's meaning. The passage is not clear. 
 Breithaupt, in his Latin translation of Jarchi, says, that one of the 
 two manuscripts which he collated read 'iT'nv'^, fr m the land, 
 instead of n^lfc^, fr m h' 3 trees. 
 
 \ "Comeliness"'' Eng. Trans. xliv. 1,2.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 
 also in this place, behold, my servant shall pros- 
 per, he speaks of the house of Jacob, and the 
 word b^DE" 1 expresses prosperity, as and Daniel 
 prospered in all his ways.* * T -ifiS)2D"l- Through 
 the greatness of their shame and degradation, 
 they as it were hid their faces from us, they 
 bound up the face by concealing (it,) that we 
 should not see them, as a wounded man hides 
 his face and fears to be looked at. 
 
 4. But our griefs he bore: The word -p^ is 
 always used in the sense of but. But now we 
 see that his degradation did not come upon him 
 through wrath, but he was chastised with chas- 
 tisements, in order that all the nations might be 
 atoned for by the chastisements of Israel. Sick- 
 ness which should have come on us he bore. 
 And we regarded him : we supposed that he was 
 hated by God. 
 
 6. But he was not so, but was wounded for 
 our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. 
 The chastisement of our peace was upon him : 
 there came on him the chastisements whereby our 
 peace was attained,! since he was chastised, in 
 order that there might be peace to all the world. 
 
 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. Now 
 it appears that all the heathen nations have erred. 
 He was entreated through him, and 
 
 * 1 Sam. xviii. 14. 
 
 t Lit., the chastisements of the peace which was for us. 
 
 t "Hath laid on him." Eng. Trans.
 
 JARCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 was reconciled as respects the iniquity of all of 
 us, so that his world should not be destroyed. It 
 is a term of supplication, in French esprier.* 
 
 7. He was oppressed (or exacted ;f) behold by 
 exactors and oppressors: and he was afflicted, 
 (or he answered ;t) by fraudulent declarations, in 
 French surparler4 And he opened not his mouth : 
 he bore and was still, like the lamb which is led 
 to the slaughter, and like a sheep which before her 
 shearers is dumb. The words he opened not 
 his mouth refer to the lamb led to the slaughter. 
 
 8. From prison and from judgment was he 
 taken away. The prophet proclaims^ that the 
 nations will say this in after times, when they 
 shall see that he was taken away from the prison 
 in which he had been confined by them, and from 
 the judgment of the chastisements which he had 
 hitherto borne. And his generation : the years 
 that passed along over him ;|| who wilt relate : 
 
 * The French word now employed is prier. Whether this or 
 the other were in more common use when Jarchi wrote, I am un- 
 able to say. Breithaupt tells us that one of his manuscripts read 
 ""P" 1 ^" 1 " 1 "^ "03^*1' wa *ch ne expresses by desprier. He intimates 
 that the text may be corrupted. 
 
 t fl} 1 "^ means to oppreas and also to exact ; and p]^ to a * 
 and to answer. 
 
 I I have followed the reading of one of Breithaupt's manuscripts, 
 
 Lit., announces and says. 
 
 || This is a literal translation, to which I can attach no clear 
 meaning. 
 
 6
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON 
 
 the distresses which befel him? For he was cut 
 off: he was (so) at the beginning when* he was 
 taken away captive ; from the land of the living, 
 that is, the land of Israel. Because lor the trans- 
 gression of my people, this stroke fell upont the 
 righteous among them. 
 
 9. And he gavej with the wicked his grave : 
 He delivered up himself to be buried according to 
 ail, (or, in any way,) that the wicked among the 
 nations determined concerning him ; who con- 
 demned them to death, and the burial of asses in 
 the bowels of the dogs. At the sentence of the 
 wicked, he preferred being buried to denying the 
 living God. And with a rich (man|| in) his death : 
 At the sentence of the ruler he delivered himself up 
 to all kinds of death which he pronounced against 
 him,1I because he would not venture to de ny **(God , 
 would not) do wickedness and commit violence, 
 like all the nations among whom he sojourned. 
 And no deceit (was) in his mouth : in venturing 
 on false worship with (or to) God.ff 
 
 * Lilt, and. t Lit., came to. 
 
 { The English translation is, "and he made." The literal version 
 iM f and he gave ; or, they gave : that is, people gave, allotted. Such 
 indefinite usage is very common. 
 The original is plural. 
 || The original is in the singular number. 
 
 T Lit, decided upon him. ** Lit., take on him denial. 
 
 ttThe printed reading is fj^fc^. but Breithaupt's mauu. 
 uecript has fn^X^' wn ' c ' 1 ue prefers.
 
 JARCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 10. And it pleased the Lord : the holy blessed 
 God was pleased to bruise him, and to turn liim 
 to good ; therefore he put him to grief: (or he made 
 him sick.) If* and so forth. God says, I will see if 
 his soul be devotedf and delivered up to m\ holi- 
 ness, (so as) to ret urn it to me (as) a trespass offering 
 on account of all his faithlessness. I will recom- 
 pense it to him, and he shall see his seed and so 
 forth. Q^ 55 denotes atonement which a man makes 
 to one whom he has offended, in French amende ; 
 as it is* said of (or inj) the Philistines, ye shall not 
 return it empty, but shall return to him a trespass 
 offering. 
 
 1 1. Of the travail of his life : He ate and u'as 
 satisfied, and neither plundered nor committed 
 violence. By his knowledge will my righteous 
 (servant) do justice to : My servant gave true 
 judgment to all who came before him for judg- 
 ment. And their iniquities he bore, according to 
 the way of all the righteous, as it is said thou 
 and thy sons shall bear the iniquity of the sand- 
 tuary.|| 
 
 12. Therefore : on account of his having done 
 this, I will divide to him an inheritance and lot 
 
 * The English translation has when. 
 t Lit., given. 
 
 t Or, it may ba translated, as was said by the Philistines. The 
 reference is to 1 Sam. vi. 3. 
 
 That is, as they are accustomed to do. 
 || Num. xviii. 1. 
 
 I
 
 116 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SOLOMON JARCHI. 
 
 among many (or, the great :) with the most an- 
 cient fathers. JVUPn- He poured out his life 
 to death, (as) the word (is used elsewhere ;) 
 she poured out (emptied) her pitcher.* And he 
 was numbered with the transgressors. He bore 
 chastisements as if he had sinned and transgress- 
 ed ; but on account of others he bore the sin of 
 the many. And he made intercession for the 
 transgressors : on account of chastisements which 
 were inflictedf on him, kindness hath come to the 
 world. J 
 
 Gen. xxiv. 20. t Lit, have come. 
 
 $ The reading given by Breithaupt is much more intelligible than 
 the ordinary one, and for this and other reasons, 1 have not hesi- 
 tated to translate from it It is as follows : >.-> 11 i ^ Vw
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI 
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIU 
 
 13. BEHOLD, my servant shall prosper. This 
 section relates to the captivity* of Israel, and he 
 calls them my servant, as he says thou Israel my 
 servant, Jacob whom I have chosen.f He says, 
 behold the time shall come that my servant Jacob 
 shall prosper, and be exalted and raised up and 
 be very high. b"OXi, he shall prosper, as and 
 David prospered in all his ways ;t and thus the 
 Targum of Jonathan, (which translates it) nbTH- 
 And he says, shall be exalted and be raised and be 
 high, employing a term of elevation in every word, 
 because his elevation should be exceedingly great. 
 And now I will explain the section according to 
 
 * The Rabbles often use the term captivity to express the dis- 
 persed and subjected condition of the Jews subsequently to the de- 
 struction of their civil and religious polity by the Romans. 
 
 t Isa. xliy. 1. t 1 Sam. xviii. 14.
 
 118 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 the explanation of my respected father, whose 
 memory he blessed, in the book Haggalui.* 
 
 14. As (many) were astonished : (it is) ex- 
 pressivef of wonder, as astonished among them.J 
 He says, as they wondered at the greatness of 
 thy humiliation. And they were right to wonder, 
 for they saw that he was more deformed than any 
 man ; his appearance and his form more than the 
 rest of the children of men. And, inasmuch as 
 (the prophet) speaks sometimes in the second 
 person, as when he says at thee, and some- 
 times in the third, as when he says his appear- 
 ance and his form ; this is the usage of Scrip- 
 ture in many places, as we have written. And 
 the wise Rabbi Abraham explains (the place 
 thus,) that so deformed more than man (was) 
 his appearance are the words of the nationswho 
 wondered at Israel, and said that their appear- 
 ance was more deformed than (that of other) men. 
 For how many nations are there in the world who 
 think that ihe Jew's form (appearance) is differ- 
 ent from (that of) all others. Indeed there are 
 some of them who inquire whether a Jew has a 
 mouth or an eye. Thus he in the land of Ishmael 
 and in the land of Edom. FintTfa : ^he mem is 
 with cliirek, and it is an adjective (or concrete ;) 
 
 * This book is said to have been written in opposition to Christ- 
 ianity. The word may mean, the revealed. See Wolfs Bibliotheca 
 Hebnea, Vol. iii. p 423. 
 
 t Lit., a matter. ; Ezek. iii. 15.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. H9 
 
 and thus (in) imbnifan tT12n> the separate 
 cities,* the 73 has chirek and (the word is) an ad- 
 jective.f "njfcFn is with cholem, on account of 
 the Aleph. 
 
 15. 'JTp ^34 ft conveys the meaning of dis- 
 course, like Qifti, it shall drop, which expresses 
 the idea of sprinkling and also of discoursing : (as) 
 they dropped water ;<> in the sense of sprinkling : 
 they shall not drop they will drop ;]| in the sense 
 of discoursing. Thus HP means discourse; and 
 it is a transitive verb in Hiphil, in French parler.. 
 He says, as they wondered at his humiliation, so 
 shall they wonder at his greatness, and shall 
 speak of it continually. Kings ^SpilF their 
 mouths at him : Even to kings their glory shall 
 appear to be great glory : and accordingly he says, 
 and the nations shall see thy righteousness and 
 all kings thy glory.** l^JSpi is a word expres- 
 sive of opening, as skippingff upon the hills 
 which is the opening of the steps in springing, 
 and also of shutting, as thou shall not shut,J|thy 
 
 * Josh. xvi. 9. 
 
 t That is, the Hebrew word, though a participle, is used like an 
 adjective. It is rendered in the English Translation, " separate," 
 not separated. 
 
 t So shall he sprinkle. Eng. Trans. Judg. v. 4. 
 
 || Mic. ii. 6. The English Translation has " prophesy." 
 
 V Shall shut. Eng. Trans. ** Isa. Ixii. 2. 
 
 tt Song of Solomon, ii. 8. 
 
 U Deut xv. 7. It is hardly necessary to say, that in this and the for- 
 mer reference, the original word IB the same as that employed by Isaiah.
 
 120 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 hand. And both these ideas may be compre- 
 hended* in the word; (as if he had said,) they 
 opened their mouth to recount his greatness, or, 
 they laid (iheir) hand upon (their) mouth through 
 the greatness of their wonder. For that which 
 was not told them shall they see ; they will see 
 more of his greatness than had been told them, 
 and more than they had heard will they at that 
 time understand of his greatness. 
 
 LIII. 1. Who hath believed : The nations 
 will then say, who believed the account which 
 we heard respecting him from the mouth of the 
 prophets, or from the mouth of those who speak in 
 their name ? We did not believe what we now 
 see with our eyes. And the arm of the Lord for 
 whom hath it been manifested like as it hath 
 been manifested for this (people ?) Or, for whomf 
 may be interpreted in the way of (ironical) 
 contempt : for whom hath it been manifested as 
 it hath been manifested for this (people !) mean- 
 ing, who was there for whom the arm of the 
 Lord was manifested ?| 
 
 * Lit., explained. 
 
 t He means, the whole clause beginning with these words. 
 
 t The meaning of Kimchi seems to be this ; that the nations 
 will either be amazed at the evident manifestation of God's power in 
 favor of the Jews, or else they will deride them for the want of it 
 with bitter sarcasm. In the former case, the reference will be to 
 their expected restoration and prosperity ; in the latter, to their 
 previous degradation.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 2. And he shall grow up as a sucker.* Off 
 his branches shall spread ; as the root which 
 is in a dry ground : and he shall grow up as a 
 sucker ; from him who (or that which) had neither 
 form or beauty :$ so this (people) was. And in 
 my opinion the explanation is (as follows.) Now 
 this (people) went up from the captivity in the 
 presence of God, and they went up from the 
 captivity in an extraordinary way, as if a sucker 
 should grow up from a dry ground, or if a root 
 of a tree or an herb should be found which sprouts 
 in a dry ground, which would be extraordinary : 
 so their going up from the captivity was extraor- 
 dinary. And the same thing is repeated in dif- 
 ferent words. No form to him: while he was in 
 the captivity he had neither form nor honor ; 
 meaning ornament, beauty. And we saw him 
 and no beauty : and we looked at him, and his 
 appearance was not beautiful, but shocking and 
 different from the rest of mankind. That we 
 should desire him : (that is,) and we did not 
 desire him, but loathed him. The negative par- 
 ticle, which is here introduced, qualifies both the 
 expressions.^ 
 
 * As a tender plant. Eng. Trans. 
 
 t That is, of the same sort as, corresponding with. He means, 
 that the original word ^^",i sucktr, is the same aa that rendered 
 
 branches in the passage quoted from Hosea, xiv. 7. (6.) 
 
 t Lit., honor. 
 
 Lit., s*V^ which he has mentioned (or recorded,) stands at the 
 place of two; meaning it qualifies both IffeOft and 
 C*
 
 122 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 3. He was despised : It were unnecessary to 
 say that we did not desire him ; as the contrary,* 
 he was despised in our eyes. Q' v Oija bim 
 Who was less (or, more despicable) than the sons 
 of men: or the meaning is, he was rejected by 
 men, who did not associate with him. A man of 
 sorrows and acquainted with grief (or sickness :) 
 th^ sorrows an I the grief (or sickness, signify) 
 the distresses of the captivity ; and the meaning 
 of acquainted is, that he knew and was accus- 
 tomed to put onf the yoke of the captivity. 
 Q^S "l"lO?2D^ As, through great aversion, we 
 hide the face from that which we do not like to 
 look at; h( cause we loathed him, and did not at 
 all regard him. 
 
 4. But our griefs (or sicknesses:) The pro- 
 phet Ezekiel writes, the son shall not bear the 
 iniquity of the father, neither shall the father 
 bt ar the iniquity of the son ;| how much less 
 (then) one man (in general) that of another, and 
 ho\v much less a people that of another people. 
 If v it be) so, how is this our griefs he bore; he 
 was wounded for our transgressions, and by his 
 stripes we are healed ? And is not this like that 
 which Jeremiah says in the Book of Lamenta- 
 tions? Our fathers have sinned and are not, and 
 we have iborne? their iniquities.^ For -that cor- 
 
 ., 
 
 * Lit., but also (or even.) t Lit., to put over 011 lu:n. 
 
 { xvili. 20. 6 v. 7. 
 
 Wl ' *
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 responds with visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
 on the children,* and takes placef when the chil- 
 dren continue to practice^ the works of their 
 fathers, as he says of them that hate me :$ for 
 it is right with God|| that the son should bear his 
 iniquity, the iniquity of the father. But what 
 Jeremiah says, he says in the language of the 
 lamenting: for, in the midst of their distress, 
 their words would not be with judgment and 
 gravity. But this is what the nations will say; 
 truly he hath borne our griefs and such like, is 
 their own language : not that Israel did bare the 
 iniquity of the nations, but they thought so when 
 they knew, as they saw in the time of the deliv- 
 erance, that the religion which Israel clung to 
 was true, and the religion which they clung to 
 was false; and they said, truly our fathers in- 
 herited lies, vanity and nothingness, and so forth.^f 
 They say, according to their own conjecture, if 
 so, what was the distress which Israel bore in 
 the captivity ? behold, it was not on account of 
 their iniquity, for they clung to a right religion, 
 and we, because we enjoyed** peace, and quiet- 
 ness, and rest, and confidence, we clung to a 
 _ false religion. I-f the grief and the sorrow which 
 should have come on us came thus on them, and 
 
 i 
 
 * Exod. xx. 5. | Lit, this is. 
 
 '. Lit., hold fast in their hands. 
 
 Exod xx. 5. || Or, it is a judgment from God. 
 
 IT Jer. xvi. 19. * Lit, there was to us.
 
 124 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 if they were a ransom and expiation for us, and 
 we did consider them,* when in captivity, as 
 stricken and smitten by God, and afflicted by the 
 hand of God, on account of their* iniquity ; now 
 indeed we see that this is not on account of their* 
 iniquity, but on account of ours : this is what he 
 means.t 
 
 5. And he was wounded, bbinfa is a verb 
 of the quadrilileral form, of the same meaning 
 as b^Hi to be in pain as a travelling woman, and 
 from the same root. And smitten|| corresponds 
 with^y hath smitten my life down to the ground.** 
 '$'W "10173- l^fclbB is 1'ke lib-Di we oil; like 
 t^TSlbtt "lb!n it shall be wholly carried away 
 captive ;ff like QifcibB tub}* lnat is to say 
 
 * In the original the number is changed from the plural to the 
 singular, because the verb here quoted from the fourth verse has the 
 singular si; flu. 
 
 t Lit., says. The verb to say, both in the Hebrew Bible and 
 Greek Testament, is often used to express intention. In this sense 
 it appears to be employed in Gal. iii. 16 ; "he does not mean of seeds, 
 as of many, but as of one." That is, the promise just quoted relates 
 to one particular class of descendants of Abraham, and not to his 
 posterity in general. Many commentators have supposed the apostle 
 to be reasoning from the use of the singular number in the original 
 Hebrew, and have thus embarrassed themselves in a difficulty of their 
 own making ; whereas he rather appears to be merely explaining 
 its meaning in the passage quoted, with the view of applying it to 
 
 his subject. 
 
 . 
 
 That is, it is quadriliteral in the form here used, in Piel. The 
 /au it must be remembered is radical. 
 
 || Eng. Trans. " bruised." t Lit., of. See note t on p. 121. 
 * Ps. cxliii. 3. tt Jer. xiii. 19.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LIT. 13 LIII. 125 
 
 J* the whole captivity.* The chastisements 
 which should all have come on us came on him.t 
 But some explain it from 5ibt25> peace, namely, 
 that we were in peace, and the chastisement 
 should have come on us on account of our ini- 
 quities, but it came on him. And by his stripes : 
 corresponding with, stripe for stripe, $ only the 
 one is dageshed and the other not. And the 
 (expressions) stripes and stricken are figurative, 
 (representing) the distresses of the captivity. And 
 the meaning of we are healed is like, for I am 
 the Lord that healeth thee. 
 
 6. All we like the sheep, have gone astray : 
 He means to say, like sheep without a shepherd, 
 therefore he says, like the sheep, with a patach 
 under the caph to deuote|| the definite article, for 
 it is the stray sheep that has no shepherd. Hath 
 laid, (or, caused to fall :) It is the punishment 
 which falls on them, and it is God who causes 
 (it) to fall, for he sends the evil on them. The 
 meaning f "n^ is, punishment of iniquity; as 
 for the puriishment^f of the Amorites is not yet 
 full. 
 
 * Amos i. 6, 9. 
 
 t Kimchi considers the original as expressive of completeness. 
 
 t Exod. xxi. 25. $ Exod. xv. 26. || Lit., for. 
 
 T Gen. xv. 16. The meaning of **y in this passage is moot 
 probably iniquity, as our translators have rendered it. Yet there can 
 be no doubt that the word is often employed in the sense of punish- 
 ment, distrera, as the best critics and lexicographers have shown. It
 
 12G COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 7. It was exacted,* and he was afflicted : It 
 was exacted in money: like he exacted the silver 
 he shall not exact of his neighbors.! He was 
 afflicted : in body, for they afflicted his body with 
 stripes. And notwithstanding! he did not open 
 .his mouth. He was not permitted to cry and to 
 murmur on account of what we were doing to 
 him, but was like a lamb that they lead to slaugh- 
 ter, that doth not open its mouth, and doth not 
 cry, or like the sheep that is dumb before its 
 shearers. And the comparison of the lamb refers 
 to him humble in body and to his innocence ; 
 and the comparison of the sheep refers to exaction 
 of the money, which is according to the com- 
 parison the fleece. And he compares him to a 
 ^3"1 and not to a UJiD, on account of its greater 
 weakness,^ for in all species (of animals,) the 
 female is weaker than the male: thus Israel in 
 the captivity, were exceedingly weak. 
 
 is thus used in Ps. xxxi. 11, (10:) "my strength faileth, because of 
 my punishment or grief; " and in 2 Sam. xvi. 12, " it may be that 
 the Lord will look on mine affliction." And in this^sense it ought 
 to be understood iu Ps. xl. 13, (12,) as the connection and parallelism 
 evince : " innumerable evils have compassed me about ; my dis- 
 tresses have taken hold upon me." Thus, one objection to under- 
 standing this Psalm of the Messiah is removed. 
 
 * ile was oppressed. Eng. Trans. 
 
 t 2 Kings xxiii. 35. Deut. xv. 2. 
 
 I Lit. with all this. 
 
 The former word denotes properly a female sheep that is a 
 mother, and the latter a sheep a year old and upwards. Gesen.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 is dumb: it is"milel,* and preterite Niphal. And 
 he doth not open his mouth ; neither on account 
 of the body (afflicted) nor the money (exacted.) f 
 8. From oppression :J From the oppression of 
 the captives who were oppressed there, and from 
 the sentence of the prisoners which the judges 
 passed on them : he was taken away and deliv- 
 ered from all this. And his generation who 
 would declare ? who would have said that his 
 generation should be so great ! And it is like 
 who would have said unto Abraham.j| 
 
 * This is a Chaldee term denoting that the word is accented on 
 the penultima. 
 
 t When the reader calls to mind the intolerable exactions prac- 
 tised on the richer Jews in the middle ages, and the most iniquitous 
 persecutions to which they were subjected ; he will not be surprised, 
 that their commentators should apply such passages as the above to 
 outrages, of which they were the unhappy witnesses, if not the 
 miserable victims. 
 
 t The English translation is " from prison ;" but that of Kimchi 
 is far better. The former involves the Christian exposition, which 
 explains the whole chapter of the Messiah, in some difficulty, whilst 
 the latter is entirely in harmony with it. The word is used for op- 
 pression, trouble, in Ps. cvii. 39 : " brought low through oppression." 
 The next word, rendered "judgment" most probably means, judicial 
 sentence, as hi 2 Kings xxv. 6, " they gave judgment upon him." 
 The preposition is not unfrequently used in the sense of by, as in Gen. 
 ix. 11, " by the waters of a flood," Job vii. 14, " by dreams, by vi- 
 sions." The verb is used of dying, whether by a violent death or oth- 
 erwise. If then we allow a hendiadys in the first part of the verse, 
 the translation will be as follows : " by an oppressive sentence he was 
 taken off." The correctness of the application to Jesus, the tru 
 Messiah, needs no illustration. 
 
 I lit., to such a degree in greatness. || Gen. xxi. 7.
 
 128 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 has the sense of speaking : as* of the work of 
 thy hands, I will speak.f And they are of the 
 quadriliteral form of verbs quiescent ain.J For 
 he was cut off from the land of the living; when 
 he went into captivity from his land, which is 
 called the land of the living, as I will walk be- 
 fore the Lord in the land of the living :$ and how 
 should we have supposed that he would have at- 
 tained such greatness ? For the transgression of 
 my people : every nation will say thus, that on ac- 
 count of its transgression the stroke had come on 
 them, not on account of their own transgression. 
 9. And he gave.|| They put him to death 
 in the captivity, as they put to death the wicked 
 on account of their wickedness, and (yet) he did 
 no violence, and did not speak deceit with his 
 mouth; and they put him to death, as if he had 
 done evil, and they oppressed him with the wicked. 
 And the meaning of, and he gave, (is,) that he 
 delivered up himself to death ; for they would 
 have liberated him, if he would have denied his 
 law and turned to their law. But he delivered 
 himself to death, and would not deny his law ; 
 and thus it says, for thy sake are we killed all the 
 day.^f And the meaning of and with the rich in 
 
 * Lit., and thus. 
 
 t Ps. cxliii. 5. Our English translation has, " I will mue." 
 
 J That is, the middle radical rau is quiescent. 
 
 Ps. cxvi. 9. (I And he made. Eng. Ti^ns. 
 
 T PB. xliv. 22. 

 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 his death (is this,) that indeed he enriched those 
 that put him to death on account f his riches, 
 and he was put to death not on account of wick- 
 edness which was in him, but on account of riches 
 which he possessed. And (as to) the meaning 
 of TtTlfai : tne word is plural, for they inflicted 
 on them many (various) deaths ; some of them 
 were burned, and some of them were slain with 
 the sword, and some of them were stoned ; and 
 they deliver themselves up to all (kinds of death,) 
 on account of the unity of God. 
 
 10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him ; 
 he hath put him to grief: In his sorrows and in 
 his distresses in the captivity, we only see, God 
 was pleased ; for he adhered to his law which is 
 the law of truth, and he delivered himself up on 
 account of it. Since (it was) thus, we see no rea- 
 son for his sorrows, but, either he was seized on 
 account of his iniquities, or, God was pleased thus 
 to bruise him, and to put him to grief: and the 
 pleasure of God we do not know.* ^bhn> aleph, 
 which is the last radical of tfie verb, is wanting, 
 and it is called (or read) like verbs in aleph, al- 
 though the root is most frequently with He. Q& 
 /m \y\ > If ms sou l shall make a trespass offering : 
 But this we see, that a good recompense is (given) 
 to him on account of the evil which he bore ; and 
 
 That IB, we cannot fully comprehend the motives which led 
 him thus to act.
 
 130 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 since his soul (or life) put itself in the place of a 
 trespass offering, as he says with the wicked 
 now he shall see great posterity : as the prophet 
 Zechariah says respecting them they shall in- 
 crease as they have increased ; and he says, I will 
 bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, 
 and (place) shall not be found for them.* And 
 Ezekiel says, I will increase them (with) men like 
 a flock.f He shall prolong his days : as it is said 
 in this book, like the days of a tree are the days 
 of my people ;J and the prophet Zechariah says, 
 and every man with his staff in his hand for great 
 age. "And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper 
 in his hand :" Behold, in the captivity, it was 
 the pleasure of the Lord, to bruise him ; but the 
 recompense is this, it shall prosper in his hand ; 
 God was pleased to increase him, and to benefit 
 him exceedingly. 
 
 11. Thus far (we have) the words of the na- 
 tions : hereafter the words of God. Of the trouble 
 of his soul : (that) which he bore in the captivity, 
 he shall have a retribution, because he shall see 
 and be satisfied ; that is, he shall see good with 
 which he shall be satisfied. By his knowledge 
 shall rny righteous servant justify (or make right- 
 eous) many : My servant, that is, Israel, as we 
 have said in the beginning of this section. And 
 
 x. 8, 10. i Ezek. xxxvi. 37. 
 
 J Ixv. 22. $ viii. 4.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LIT. 13 LIII. 
 
 the exposition of, by his knowledge, corresponds 
 with what is written, that the earth shall be full 
 of the knowledge of the Lord,* and it is written 
 that they shall all know me :f and behold, my 
 servant Israel, who was righteous and knew the 
 Lord, shall make many nations righteous by his 
 knowledge ; as it is written, and many nations 
 shall come and say, come and let us go up to the 
 mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the 
 God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his way 
 and so forth.! And he will bear their iniquities : 
 He, by his righteousness, will bear (away) the 
 iniquities of the nations, for by his righteousness 
 peace and happiness shall prevail in the world, 
 even among the nations. 
 
 12. Therefore will I divide to him among 
 many : Many and strong ; these are Gog and 
 Magog, and the nations that will come with them 
 against Jerusalem, as the prophet Zechariah says : 
 and the wealth of all the heathen round about 
 shall be gathered together, gold, silver, and ap- 
 parel in great abundance.^ And this shall be 
 his recompense, because he poured out his life 
 unto death; since he delivered up himself unto 
 death by the hand of the nations in the captivity, 
 he shall have all this glory, and their money shall 
 be instead of his money which they took, and 
 
 Isa. xi. 9. t Jer. xxxi. 34. 
 
 ; Isa. ii. 3, or Mic. iv. 2. xiv. 14.
 
 132 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 their life instead of the life of him whom they put 
 to death there ; all the wealth of Gog and Magog, 
 as it is written. 'Pn$n he poured out his life to 
 death ; and thus, she poured out (emptied) her 
 pitcher ;* it has the meaning of pouring out, but 
 the form of the word is different. And he was 
 numbered with the transgressors ; as we have ex- 
 plained (the clause), and he gave with the wick- 
 ed his grave. And he bore the sin of many ; it 
 may be explained of the captivity; and he means 
 (by) sin of many, that which the nations sinned 
 against him, and he bore and carried their dis- 
 tress. And this is like,f and the sin (is in) thine 
 own people.^ And he made intercession for the 
 transgressors : And although he thus supplicated 
 on account of the transgressors who had trans- 
 gressed against him, and he was sought by them 
 to bless their country ; as it says, and seek the 
 peace of the city whither I have carried you away 
 captive and so forth.<> And thus (it is used) in 
 Hiphil,|| in the meaning of supplication and seek- 
 ing made intercession to the king, 11 and won- 
 dered that there was no intercessor.** 
 
 This section may also be explained in refer- 
 ence to the time of the redemption, and the in- 
 terpretation will be as we have interpreted (the 
 
 Gen. xxiv. 20. t Lit, according to the way of. 
 
 t Exod. v. 16. Jer. xxix. 7. 
 
 H Lit, and like it of the grave conjugation. 
 T Jer. xxxvi. 25. Isa. lix. 16.
 
 KIMCHI, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 133 
 
 words) and their iniquities he will bear. And 
 (some of) our Rabbies explained it respecting 
 Moses our master, on whom be peace, and they 
 said : because he poured out his life unto death, 
 (that is) since he delivered himself up to death, 
 as it is said, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out 
 of thy book which thou hast written.* And he 
 was numbered with the transgressors, because he 
 was numbered with those who died in the wilder- 
 ness. And he bore the sin of many, because he 
 made atonement on account of the work of the 
 calf. And he made intercession for the transgres- 
 sors, because he sought mercies on account of the 
 transgressions of Israel. But Jonathan interprets 
 ""O? b^DT^ nSH thus: my servant Messiah shall 
 prosper: and he explains 1)2)2125 ^ItD&O (thus:) as 
 the house of Israel waited for him and so forth. 
 
 Exod. xxxii. 32.
 
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI ABEN EZRA, 
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 AND behold my servant shall understand. This 
 section is very difficult. Our opponents* say, 
 that it refers to their God, and they explain my 
 servant of the body.t But this is unfounded, 
 
 for shall understand cannot be said of the 
 
 body, even although the man were living. And 
 further, what will be the meaning of shall see 
 seed, shall prolong days while of the former he 
 had none, and the latter is inapplicable to him ! 
 And further he shall divide the prey with the 
 strong. And the proof is complete, for (it is said) 
 previously, that the Lord will go before them,J 
 meaning Israel, and afterwards sing, O barren,^ 
 
 * He means the Christians. 
 
 t Aben Ezra appears to use this term to express our Lord's hu- 
 man nature, and to have had very indistinct ideas of the doctrine of 
 the incarnation. Christians never predicated intelligence of the body 
 of Christ, but of his soul. Even those sectaries who held that 
 the Logos took the place of the soul, did not maintain the absurdity 
 here implied. 
 
 tin. 12. $ uv. i.
 
 COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH LIT. 13 L1II, 135 
 
 meaning the congregation of Israel.* And ob- 
 serve my servant means every (or any) Is- 
 raelite in the captivity ; and he is the Lord's ser- 
 vant. Many also explain it of the Messiah, on ac- 
 count of what our forefathers of blessed memory 
 said, that on the day when the house of the sanc- 
 tuary was destroyed? Messiah was born, and 
 bound in fetters. But observe (that, in this case,) 
 many verses would be without meaning ; namely 
 he was despised and rejected by menf he was 
 taken from prison and from judgment and he 
 gave with the wicked his grave : and what (then 
 will be) the sense of he will see seed he will 
 prolong days? And the Gaon, Rabbi Saadias, 
 whose memory be blessed, beautifully interprets 
 the whole section of Jeremiah. Thus, the words, 
 
 * Aben Ezra's objections arc easily answered. The seed or pos- 
 terity mentioned, are not natural but spiritual progeny, and the 
 length of days is the everlasting life of the exalted Messiah in 
 heaven. The division of the prey is figurative of the happy result 
 of conquest. Ho acknowledges that interpreters in general had 
 given such a figurative interpretation. See him onv. 12, and the 
 note there. And although the section does stand in connection with 
 prophecies relating to Israel, both preceding and following, yet it is 
 natural and according to Isaiah's manner, to introduce the Messiah 
 either speaking or spoken of, inasmuch as he is intimately connected 
 with the true Israel. 
 
 t Or, ceasing to be of men, as ho afterwards explains it. These 
 expressions to which the wise Rabbi Abraham can attach no 
 meaning if applied to the Messiah, are sufficiently plain to any 
 one who remembers that the prophecies of the Old Testament rep- 
 resent him as a man, subjected to humiliation, disgrace, and death, 
 preparatory to his exaltation to universal supremacy.
 
 136 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 he will sprinkle many nations, will mean by his 
 mouth, in the course of his prophecy. Also he 
 (Jeremiah) writes in the beginning of his book, as 
 (if he were) a suckling before him; for he was 
 young when he prophesied.* And the Lord 
 caused to meet on him and he bare the sin of 
 many : for thus he writes : xemember that I stood 
 before thee to ask good for them.f Like a lamb 
 to the slaughter he is brought : and thus he writes 
 but I (was) like a lamb, (or) an ox (that) is 
 brought to the slaughter.} And the words he 
 shall divide the spoil with the strong may be 
 explained in reference to the portion of food and 
 the reward which the captain of the guard gave 
 him. Still however,)) it is evident to me that 
 there is an intimate connection in this portion (of 
 Isaiah's prophecy) ; and what reason can be as- 
 signed for introducing Jeremiah in the midst of 
 consolations preceding and following ? And ob- 
 
 * Abeu Ezra alludes to Jer. i. 6, at the same time accommodat- 
 ing the words of Isaiah in liii. 2. He means, of course, when Jere- 
 miah began to prophesy. 
 
 txviii. 20. The Hebrew is, to speak good ; and thus also our English 
 Translation. It is possible that Aben Ezra may have confounded 
 with this text Jer. xxix. 7 " seek the peace of the city." 
 
 J xi. 19. 
 
 xl. 5. The perversion of such a text as this of Isaiah to a 
 circumstance so trivial as that referred to in the life of Jeremiah, 
 is a melancholy proof of the effect of prejudice in degrading the in- 
 tellect. Candor compel the admission that such degradation is not 
 limited to Jewish expositors. 
 
 || Lit., But.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 137 
 
 serve, he speaks of any servant of the Lord who 
 is in the captivity ; or my servant is equiva- 
 lent to Israel my servant : the latter view is the 
 more accurate.* 
 
 LII. 13. And behold my servant V'D'O' 1 shall 
 understand ; for he will yet be exalted and raised 
 up : 5$t3"0 is Niphal. 
 
 14. As (many) were astonished at thee : like 
 and your enemies shall be astonished at it ;f and 
 the sense is, that every one who shall see the ser- 
 vant of the Lord shall be astonished ; and the 
 word many refers to the nations ;J and so 
 is equivalent to, so it was.<> 
 
 14. So deformed than man : fl/TOft is an adjec- 
 tive (or concrete,) and Y"l!S!r) is of the same form 
 as|| lim- And this (that the prophet here states) is 
 is a matter well known : for how many nations 
 are there in the world who think that the Jew's 
 form (appearance,) is different from (that of) all 
 others, and enquire whether a Jew has a mouth 
 or an eye. Thus in the country of Ishmael and 
 of Edom. 
 
 15. So shall he sprinkle : This conveys the 
 same idea as shall be exalted and elevated. As 
 
 * Lit., aud this is nearer than that ; that is, it approaches more 
 closely to the prophet's idea. 
 t Levit xivi. 32. 
 
 : Lit., the meaning of many (is) the nations 
 Lit, the meaning of so is as if he had said, he was so. 
 || Lit., goes according to the way of. 
 7
 
 138 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 our people were in such a condition,* that their 
 appearance was deformed in the eyes of behold- 
 ers, so there shall come a lime when they will be 
 avenged on them : shall sprinkle being equivalent 
 to shall pour out their blood.f The kings shall 
 
 * Lit, as our nation was thus. 
 
 t With this brief, though quite intelligible language of Aben Ezra, 
 let the reader compare the following passages from the Popular Lec- 
 tures on the Prophecies relative to the Jewish nation, by the Rev. 
 Hugh M'Neile, M. A., Lond. 1838. " It is copiously predicted, that 
 the cup of the Lord's anger shall continue in the hands of the Jews 
 until the time appointed of the Lord, not merely to take it out of their 
 hand, but also to transfer it into the hands of those who, till then, 
 will have oppressed them. Edom, the Assyrian, and Babylon, were 
 the great types of all the subsequent enemies of the chosen nation, 
 whether Romans, Turks, or professing Christians. The day of Je- 
 rusalem's recovery is the day of their ruin. In that day, it will be 
 a righteous thing in the servants of the Lord to execute unsparing: 
 destruction upon his and their enemies. The Hebrews are now- 
 kept in dispersion and degradation till the iniquities of the modern 
 mystical Edom aud Babylon shall be full, and then fury shall be 
 poured forth, and vengeance executed both by their own hands, ag 
 in the case of Joshua's exterminating conquests, and by a greater 
 hand than theirs, stretched out to fight for them." Lect. 11. p. 69,70. 
 It is evident that by enthusiastic and gloomy devotees, such rep- 
 resentations might be employed in defence of any imaginable de- 
 gree of fanatical butchery. To those, however, who believe, that the 
 restoration of the Jews to God will rather illustrate the character 
 of the true Messiah as him who " shall speak peace unto the Hea~ 
 then"* it is a consolation 10 think, that these sentiments of the pop- 
 ular lecturer will hardly do much mischief, as it is not probable that 
 they will ever be practically verified. As for our Rabbi, happily he 
 wrote in a language not understood by his Christian superiors, who, 
 if they could have read his commentary, would probably have made 
 him pay dearly for his exposition. 
 
 *Z*ch.ix,10.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 139 
 
 shut their mouths : and indeed at him, that is, on 
 account of him. What had not been told them 
 shall they see : what had not entered into the heart 
 of the nations, (namely,) that Israel should be 
 delivered. 
 
 LIII. 1. Who: then the nations will say, who 
 believed ? who was there that believed that it 
 should be according to this report which we heard ? 
 And the arm of the Lord to whom was it revealed ? 
 (that is,) of old, as it hath been revealed to these? 
 
 1. And shall grow up : and lo, whatever Isra- 
 elite serves the Lord or, all Israel grows up 
 before the blessed Lord, like a tender plant or 
 (branch ;) like his branches shall spread.* And 
 as a root out of a dry ground : which neither 
 produces fruit nor becomes large. He hath no 
 form : this is to be explained like and his form 
 (was more deformed) than the sons of men. And 
 (when) we shall see him, (there is) no beauty ; 
 the negativet qualifies the word with which it is 
 connected, and also the clause that follows} : and 
 thus he was, and we did not desire him. It is 
 like : a gift in secret pacifieth anger.^ 
 
 * Hos. xiv. 7. (6.) 
 
 t See note . p. 121. 
 
 t Lit., qualifies itself (or, its substance,) and another with it. 
 
 Prov. xxi. 1-1. It is particularly worthy of attention, that the 
 Jewish commentators presume as a matter of course, that every rea- 
 der of their works is familiar with the Old Testament. Hence it is, 
 that they frequently illustrate a passage by imperfectly quoting a 
 similar one, leaving the omitted portion to be supplied by the memory.
 
 140 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 3. He was despised and ceased (to be) of 
 
 The lesson that this conveys to Christians, and to not a few Chris- 
 tian ministers, I need not state. The intelligent Jew of the middle 
 ages read his Hebrew Bible, purchased in manuscript at a great price 
 or written out by himself with much labor, without the aid of either 
 dictionary or concordance, and read it so often that he became well 
 acq tainted with its contents, and even with its phraseology, so that 
 the c ting of a few words suggested to his mind the whole context. 
 Wo have a striking illustration of this method of quoting in the text. 
 In order to perceive the applicability of the passage in Proverbs to the 
 case in hand, namely, that the negative particle qualifies two things, 
 it is necessary to attend to the latter half of the verse, which runs 
 thus : " and a reward in the bosom strong wrath." The one word 
 " pacifieth " qualifies both clauses of the sentence. The reader will 
 not fail to observe several of these imperfect quotations in these selec- 
 tions, to which I add from Maimonides, in his Treatise on Repentance, 
 two remarkable instances. In chap. vii. sect 8, where he is speaking of 
 the prayer of impenitent sinners being disregarded by God, he cites a 
 part of Isa. i. 1 5, the omitted portion, however, being essential to the idea 
 intended to be conveyed : " the man who (in his impenitent state,) 
 was not answered, as it is said, yea, when ye make many prayers 
 and so forth." The omitted words, " I will not hear," must be sup- 
 plied. And again, chap x. sect. 4, when speaking of love to God 
 as the motive to study his law, he remarks : " the wise men say again, 
 (he had just before referred to other declarations of theirs,) delighteth 
 greatly in his commandments." The last words, which are cited 
 also in the same connection in the Talmud, is an imperfect quotation 
 from Ps. xii. 1, the former part of the verse " blessed is the man 
 that feareth the Lord, that " being necessary to give meaning to 
 the whole. One of the most striking examples that I have met with 
 of this method of quoting or referring to a passage, is in the commen- 
 tary of Aben Ezra on Zech. iii. 2 ; "is not this a brand plucked from 
 the burning ?" The Hebrew for it not is *M Vf| and it stands at the 
 commencement of the clause ; on which the commentator remarks, 
 " and the sense of vn^TT ' s allegorical," meaning, the whole passage 
 is so. And in the same way, does the author of the epistle to the 
 Hebrews express himself in xii. 27, immediately after he had quoted
 
 ABEN EZRA ON ISAIAH LII. 13. LIII. 
 
 men* : he ceased to be reckoned among men.t 
 A man of sorrows : (meaning,) the servant of the 
 Lord. And if (it is intended) of the whole (body,) 
 the sense of man is like man of war} : and it 
 approximates to the pronunciation (or form) of 
 Q2 and is construct. The expression sor- 
 row and grief (or, sickness denotes) the afflic- 
 tion of the captivity. And as what we hide the 
 face from || : There are people even in the present 
 day, who, \\hen they see a Jew, will hide their 
 faces from him : and the meaning is, (or, the rea- 
 son is, because) they will not look at him to de- 
 liver him. 
 
 from Hag. ii. 6, " yet one* I shake not the earth only but also the 
 heaven:" " and this, yet once, signifieth and so forth," that is, the 
 whole clause of the prophet, beginning with this phrase, expresses 
 the subject to which the apostle applies it. Our translation obscures 
 the sense, by adding to the original the term word . Peculiarities in 
 the mode of quotation in the New Testament, whether they relate 
 to the language or the sense, may almost always be illustrated by 
 reference to Jewish writings. 
 
 * " Rejected of men." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t Comp. Ps. xxii. 7. (6.) " But I am a worm and no man." 
 
 1 1 presume Aben Ezra means to say, that the singular noun 
 which is employed in the original, is used collectively. In Isa. iii. 2, 
 and Ezek. xxxix. 20, the word is doubtless susceptible of snch a sense. 
 But even there it evidently may denote an individual. Still it is well 
 known, that singular nouns are often understood collectively. 
 
 The author probably means, that the original word ^&O, from 
 which comes HlfcOfa, is somewhat similar in its vowel sounds, or in 
 its form to Q25'- If the language, brevis esso laboro, obscurus fio, 
 is applicable to any writer, it is most especially so to Aben Ezra. 
 
 || " And we hid as it were our faces from him." Eng.,Trano.
 
 142 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 4. But :* the chief pointf of the verse, (or, the 
 beginning of the portion,) is this ; we were af- 
 flicting, (or, making sick,) and he was bearing. 
 Our sorrows : those by which we caused him to 
 sorrow he was sustaining, and we supposed that 
 he was smitten, 2"D5 : from the same root as and 
 behold the plague is at a stand in his sight.f 
 Smitten of God : construct (meaning,) whom the 
 Lord hath smitten and afflicted . The proof that 
 the sickness ought to come on us is clear, because 
 our law or (religion, $) is wholly vain, and they 
 have come on Israel, whose law is the law of 
 truth : and the proof (is in the admission<>,) all we 
 like sheep have gone astray. 
 
 5. But he was wounded: from the root V^pj. 
 And the chastisement which shall perpetuate our 
 peace, even it (was) on him : the proof (of which 
 is in the words,) and by his stripes we are healed. 
 And the meaning of wounded (is this :) that the 
 Lord will visit the nations because they distress- 
 
 * " Surely." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t The original is WSh*i which bears either of the senses given 
 
 above. In favor of the latter it may be remarked, that on the 9th 
 verse, the Rabbi uses the phrase n'l'l'If'T^h afterwards or at last, 
 which may be antithetic to "rjjsj""^ the first or beginning. He may 
 intend to say, that at first Isaiah simply represents the nations as 
 afflicting aad the Jews as bearing ; but afterwards he represents the 
 nations as recogaising the truth, that the afflictions of the Jews were 
 beneficial to themselves. 
 
 t Levit. xiii. 5. The Hebrew reader need not be reminded that 
 the words smitten and plague are of the same root. 
 
 Meaning, that of the nations, in whose person the author sup- 
 poses the prophet to be speaking.
 
 ADEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LI I. 13 LIII. 143 
 
 ed Israel; and thus the Targum of Jonathan on 
 and I will cleanse their blood which I have not 
 cleansed.* And the meaning of the chastise- 
 ment of our peace (is this :) It is well known 
 that during the whole period of Israel's distress in 
 the captivity, there shall also be peace to the na- 
 tions. Dost thou not perceive that it is written 
 respecting the time of the deliverance and there 
 shall be a time of trouble ?f and again, it is 
 written, when the angel replied that all the earth 
 sitteth still, and is at rest, and the angel answered, 
 how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusa- 
 lem ?J The meaning is, that during the whole 
 period of rest to the nations, thou wilt not have 
 mercy on Jerusalem. 
 
 All we : At last they will recognize the truth. 
 And observe (that) this is intimately connected 
 with stricken, smitten of God ; and it is like 
 (what we read elsewhere,) our fathers have inher- 
 ited lies.^ Caused to meet (or light :||) from the 
 same root as and he lighted on a place.^y "r\$ 
 
 * Joel iv. (iii.) 21. The Targum is : I will avenge their blood 
 on the nations. But it is difficult to see what bearing this can have 
 on the meaning of wounded in the text, or on anything that can 
 possibly be implied. 
 
 t Dan xii. 1. t Zech. i. 11, 12. 
 
 Jer. xvi. 19. The reader will bear in mind that Jeremiah puts 
 this language in the mouth of Gentiles. He will remember too that 
 Kimchi speaks of this supposed sentiment of the Gentiles as erro- 
 neous. 
 
 || Hath laid. Eng. Trans. 
 
 IT Gen. xxviii. 11. Iti both texts the original word is the same.
 
 144 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 is here equivalent to punishment ; as there shall 
 no punishment happen unto thee for the punish- 
 ment of the Amorites is not full and the punish- 
 ment of the daughter of my people is great.* 
 But some compare it witht and do not make in- 
 tercession to me and say, that the exposition of 
 the nj? of us all, should be according to its liter- 
 al sense,J and that the meaning is, he will inter- 
 cede in order that there may be peace to the world, 
 agreeably to (what we read,) and seek the 
 peace of the city. The word "nj will however 
 be in harsh construction || with -Q yOBH- 
 
 7. 12335 is in Niphal. Yet he opened not his 
 mouth. This requires no explanation,, for every 
 Jew in the captivity is in this situation : for in the 
 time of his affliction he will not open his mouth to 
 speak ; how much less the righteous man among 
 them, who will not devote himself to the world, 
 but to the service of God, and will not flatter^ 
 prince or great man, in order that he may stand 
 up for him in the breach when man rises up against 
 him. And he will not open his mouth ; meaning, 
 at any time. 
 
 * 1 Sam. xxviii. 10. Gen. xv. 16. Lam. iv. 6. Compare iiote V on 
 p. 125. 
 
 t Lit., there are some who say it is derived from. Jer. vii. 16, where 
 iu the original the word is the same. 
 
 t That is, iniquity. Jer. xxix. 7. 
 
 || Lit., go hard. He means, if it be understood in the sense of 
 iniquity. 7 Lit., know, recognize.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 145 
 
 8. From prison : Now behold the Lord deliv- 
 ers Israel and the truth* of the righteous ones of 
 Israel. He was taken: The Lord took him from 
 prison, him who had been imprisoned by a judg- 
 ment, a vindictive judgment. And his genera- 
 tion who shall declare ? like or speak (declare) 
 to the earth and it shall teach thee :f it means, who 
 was there that told the men of his generation that 
 it should be thus ? and he was long ago :| as (it is 
 said) he was cut off out of the land of the living. 
 For the transgression of my people : (These are) 
 the words of every nation (who will say) this, 
 that the stroke which fell upon Israel was on ac- 
 count of our transgressions : as he was wounded 
 for our transgressions ; and this is undoubtedly the 
 meaning, and for the transgression of my people 
 the stroke will come upon them : for the word 
 1fab is equivalent to Qnb' 
 
 9. And he (or they) gave : Some explain this 
 of those among the captives who died, and some 
 
 * The Hebrew is "))2JfctT ^ pointed thus, J"|^2&fcJ"|, it means 
 the truth, and most probably refers to their fidelity or true religious 
 character ; but if pointed thus, "'72 !$!"(> '* w '" s 'g n 'fy the nations. 
 I prefer the former punctuation, as the latter word can hardly be 
 used to express the Jewish people. 
 
 t Job xii. 8. 
 
 t I do not understand this. The Hebrew is {"i^^ "1^5 fctTtTl' 
 which may be rendered, and it was long ago, or, though it hat 
 been for a long time. 
 
 That is, the prophet uses the one word for the other, because 
 they are of the same meaning, the former being more poetical. 
 
 7 
 
 *
 
 146 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 say, that the word pJmfal (in his death,) is from 
 the same root as and thou shall tread upon 
 1ft n "nfc!2 (their high places,) and that it refers to 
 the mausoleum,* thus making it expressive of 
 his grave. And with the rich, "\^y ; equivalent 
 to the wicked, Qi^'231 : and the meaning is, the 
 nations, who are rich in comparison with Israel. 
 It is evident to me, that the sense of the verse 
 (is this,) that during the whole period in which 
 Israel was distressed in the captivity, he was wil- 
 ling to die with the nations ; as (Samson says,) 
 let me die with the Philistines-! And the scrip- 
 ture says and he gave referring to his will ; 
 like what is said of Balak, and he warred} against 
 Israel. And the evidence that this relates to the 
 greatness of the distress is what is said (immedi- 
 ately afterwards,) because he had done no vio- 
 lence. For the nations will distress Israel with- 
 out cause, and not on account of (any) act which 
 they had committed, or evil word that they had 
 spoken. The interpretation may comprehend 
 both the views given. And if it be objected, is it 
 not "nfti?|| (the punctuation) is not changed in the 
 
 * Lit, the building which is over the grave. 
 
 t Judges xvi. 30. 
 
 t Meaning, it was his wish and effort to make war. Josh. xxiv. 9. 
 
 Lit., for it may be explained in reference to both subjects (or 
 forms.) That is, i t may comprehend death and mausoleum both, 
 according to the punctuations in T'^'''^" an d --^^*-^ . 
 
 || That is, the Beth is pointed with Sheva, and not, as in the 
 other word, with Kametz.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LTI. 13 LIU. 147 
 
 expression T^tnfai "b$* anc ^ why is it changed 
 in the word T^Jmtoi ? it may be replied, that this 
 word has two forms,t as eunuchs of Pharaoh 
 and eunuchs of the king.J 
 
 10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him: 
 (in form) like to speak peaceably unto him ; of 
 the piel conjugation, with dagesh. ^bnn- He 
 hath put him to grief, (or made him sick :) of (verbs) 
 in He. It follows the form of (those in) Aleph ; 
 and we find also its sicknesses (rr&obnt"l) with 
 which the Lord hath made it sick, (nbn-ll) And 
 behold, he was pleased to bruise him ; to chastise 
 him in the captivity. When his soul will make 
 an offering for sin ; the fear of the Lord will be 
 upon him.^1 He shall see children and prolong 
 days ; for he shall see, he and his children, the 
 salvation (deliverance,) of the Lord. And observe, 
 he is speaking of that generation which will be 
 
 * He moans the punctuation here is not altered, the"Beth doea 
 not change its Kametz into Sheva. 
 
 t Lit., goes according to two analogies. 
 
 t Gen. xl. 7; Esther vi. 14. The English translation in the latter 
 passage has " chamberlains," but the Hebrew word in both places is 
 the same except that the one has Sheva and the other Kametz, thus 
 making the two forms referred to. On account of this difference 
 Abeu Ezra cites the words as analogous to the two under con- 
 sideration. 
 L , Gen. xxxvii. 4. He means that the form of Ssfr^Tj ' a Isaiah 
 
 is like n'-^Tj m Genesis. 
 
 || Deut'. xxix. 21. (22.) 
 
 B That is, ho will be under the influence of true religion.
 
 148 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 converted to the Lord, to the law of the Lord, 
 when the time arrives, the coming of the Messiah. 
 And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 hand : this relates to religion, (and it means,) that 
 the nations shall be converted to the law of the 
 Lord. 
 
 11. Of the travail, (labor:) It means the re- 
 ward which he shall receive on account of what 
 he hath borne. He shall see his desire ; or, he 
 shall see good until he is satisfied ; because by 
 his knowledge he will make many righteous ; and 
 these are the nations whom Israel will teach to 
 keep the law. And the meaning of he shall 
 bear their iniquities is, that Israel shall partake* 
 of the distress of the nations on acconnt of the 
 multitude of their iniquities; not as they acted 
 towards Israel.t Or else the meaning is, that 
 they (Israel) would intercede with God on ac- 
 count of the nations, according to the meaning of 
 and if the family of Egypt go not up.J This 
 is evident to me, for it is proved by the subse- 
 quent verse. 
 
 12. Therefore : All the interpreters say that 
 
 * Lit., be associated with. 
 
 t That is, the nations did not participate in or sympathize with 
 Israel's distress. 
 
 t Zech. xiv. 18. This is an imperfect quotation. The author 
 appears to have in mind the punishment threatened against such as 
 shall refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, to avert which 
 Israel is supposed to intercede. See the context in Zechariah.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 149 
 
 this verse is figurative, and relates to those who 
 died on account of (the doctrine of) God's unity ; 
 and that the term many (E^*)) is equivalent to 
 great, (Qib"n}) a s to every great man* of his 
 house and refers to the prophets, and the strong 
 to the fathers: and (thus) the meaning will be, 
 that the portion of those who have died on account 
 of the unity will be with the prophets. Now we 
 know that this thing is (indeed) true, but (the 
 exposition) does not accord with the meaning of 
 the section.f It is evident to me, that the sense is 
 this : therefore I will give to Israel a portion, spoil 
 and plunder of many nations ; and from the strong, 
 like as soon as I go out from the city.J On ac- 
 count of this (he shall have) a reward, because he 
 poured out his soul to death. Some say that it cor- 
 responds wilh nb} anc l denotes publicity.^ But 
 
 Esther i 8. The English translation is" to all the officers ; " 
 but the version of Aben Ezra is much nearer the Hebrew, which is 
 
 avbD by- 
 
 t I presume the author means, that, as the section in general 
 describes literally the distress of Israel, the language by which the 
 subsequent happiness and reward are described ought also to be 
 understood literally, and therefore must not be explained simply of a 
 future spiritual reward. It is important, however, to note his admis- 
 sion, th;it commentators had generally so understood it, inasmuch as 
 this figurative meaning developing a spiritual reward, is the only one 
 which accords with the Christian interpretation. 
 
 t Exod. ix. 29. This reference is to show, that H^ has the force 
 of a preposition, and means from. 
 
 Ho means, that some interpreters explain j-j>-. * in this place to 
 make bare, expose, like J-rVn, to reward, disclose, uncover.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI 
 
 it is plain to me that it is like and she poured out 
 her pitcher,* though the forms are different : and 
 evidence (may be found in the text) pour not 
 out my soul,f in the same meaning as 'igB. 
 J-USI means the same as E^T and with. Trans- 
 gressors, because they transgressed against the 
 Lord : thus were Israel accounted. And he 
 bare the sin of many: for their distress procured 
 peace, (happiness,) for all the nations, and the 
 sin which they should have borne was borne by 
 Israel. And for the transgressors : on account of 
 the transgressors he interceded with the Lord, 
 agreeably to seek the peace of the city.J The 
 expression for the transgressors is to be ex- 
 plained of the nations. 
 
 I have thus interpreted to thee the whole sec- 
 tion. And in my opinion, the expression, behold 
 my servant shall understand, refers to him of 
 whom the prophet says, behold, my servant, I 
 will uphold him, and he said to me, thou art my 
 servant.^ And so it is written by his know- 
 ledge shall my righteous servant make many 
 righteous : and it is written, I gave my back to 
 the smite rs. || And the deep sense is as I have 
 
 * Gen. xxiv. 20. 
 
 t Ps cxli. 8. In our English translation " leave not my soul 
 destitute." But the Hebrew word is the same as that in Isaiah, and 
 the translation of Aben Ezra is quite exact. 
 
 t Jer. xxix. 7. Isa. xlii. 1. xlix. 3. 
 
 II Isa. 1. G.
 
 ABEN EZRA, ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 pointed out through half* of the book, and observe 
 all the divisions are closely connected. 
 
 * Does he mean, through the latter half or portion of Isaiah, from 
 the fortieth chapter to the end? The phrase, servant of the Lord 
 occurs exclusively in this part of his prophecies.
 
 TRANSLATION OF THE TARGUM 
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE word Targum means interpretation, and 
 is employed to designate certain translations or 
 paraphrases of the Old Testament into Chaldee. 
 In very ancient periods, the Bible was translated 
 into the vernacular languages of Jews who lived 
 out of Palestine, and had lost, either partially or 
 wholly, their knowledge of Hebrew. The Sep- 
 tuagint was prepared for those who were accus- 
 tomed to the use of Greek, and the Targums for 
 such as had gradually substituted the Chaldee 
 dialect for their own. The most celebrated of 
 these paraphrastic translations are those of ONKE- 
 LOS on the Pentateuch, and JONATHAN BENUZZIEL 
 on the prophets. In addition to the books to which 
 we are accustomed to apply this term, the Jews 
 comprehend under it Joshua, Judges, Samuel, 
 and Kings. These they call the former prophets, 
 in contradistinction to the others, denominated the 
 later. According to the best Jewish accounts,
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM. 153 
 
 Onkelos flourished a short period before Christ, 
 with whom Jonathan was nearly contemporaneous. 
 Some critics have endeavored to prove that the 
 translation ascribed to Jonathan is not of earlier 
 date than the third or fourth century ; and that 
 the diversity of its style, in different places, shows 
 it to be the work of several authors. But Gese- 
 nius, who has examined this subject with his ac- 
 customed accuracy, denies that this representa- 
 tion is well founded, and maintains that the asser- 
 ted diversity of style is nothing more than the 
 adaptation to different kinds of composition in the 
 Hebrew Bible itself, whether historical, didactic, 
 or poetical, judiciously made by the one translator ; 
 and that there is no good reason to deny the Tar- 
 gum the antiquity which the Jews ascribe to it. 
 The substance of his remarks is as follows. 
 
 The reasons which have been alleged against 
 the antiquity of this Targum, are not satisfactory. 
 " Were it as old as its advocates maintain, (says 
 Eichhorn,) it could not have been unknown to the 
 fathers : it contains fables which came into cir- 
 culation in a later age : it attempts to exclude 
 the Messiah from the places which the Christians 
 explained of him,* which proves that controver- 
 sies against the Christians were not unusual at the 
 time of its composition; not to urge the consid- 
 eration, that a Chaldee version was unnecessary 
 
 * Isa. liii ; Ixiii. 1 5.
 
 154 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 
 
 at the period assigned to it." The first and last 
 of these reasons earn their own refutation along 
 with them : forthe fathers in general had no knowl- 
 edge of Jewish works, and the prevalency of the 
 Chaldee dialect in the time of Christ shows that 
 such translations, which were also interpretations, 
 were then undoubtedly necessary. That the ex- 
 planation of Isa. liii., Ixiii. 1-5, which applies 
 these places to the Messiah, is set aside, is utterly 
 unfounded. In the former it is expressly given, 
 and with the greatest arbitrariness ; and if this is 
 not the case as to the latter, the omission need not 
 be attributed to any polemic influence, especially 
 as it cannot be proved that the Christians attached 
 extraordinary value to this passage as refer- 
 ring to the Messiah. At the same time, the Tar- 
 gumist agrees with the Christians in most of the 
 other places which they explained of the Messiah, 
 particularly chapters ix. xi. xlii. The introduc- 
 tion of the later Jewish fables would be a most 
 serious difficulty, were it possible to show with 
 any certainty the time of their origin. Morinus 
 appeals to the name Arrnillus as applied to 
 Antichrist in Isa. xi. 4. But the general idea of 
 Antichrist is more ancient than the New Testa- 
 ment, and it cannot be proved that the name 
 Armillus, the origin of which is unknown, must 
 be so late. Until stronger evidence therefore is 
 alleged for the contrary, I shall adhere to that 
 designation of the age of this Targum which is
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 155 
 
 marked out by tradition : especially as the Chal- 
 dee is pure and like that of Onkelos; the doctrine 
 which it contains respecting the Messiah seems 
 rather to be earlier than the New Testament than 
 later; and no definite trace of the government 
 having been overthrown appears in it,* although 
 the author has intermingled references to his own 
 times. 
 
 With more certainty still may the unity of this 
 Targum, which many late critics have denied, 
 be defended. " The work (it is said,) is altogether 
 unequal; the historical books are translated pretty 
 literally, but the poetical are paraphrased, and 
 additional ideas often introduced. This shows 
 the version to have been composed by various 
 authors." Not necessarily : forthe author does cer- 
 tainly interpret the historical parts of the prophet- 
 ical books, for the most part, simply and literally, 
 while he paraphrases the poetical portions of the 
 historical books, and explains the figures contained 
 in them ; so that this supposed inequality rather 
 seems to belong to his manner. In the degree in 
 which he acts the paraphrast, he is not entirely 
 uniform ; but it would be very unreasonable to 
 ascribe the work on this account to various authors, 
 since the same is true of the Septuagint. This 
 want of uniformity is rather to be attributed to the 
 
 * The language in liii. 5, may as well be supposed to refer to the 
 destruction of the temple by the Chaldeans as by the Romans.
 
 156 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 
 
 inequality and variable manner of the translator. 
 If some passages, which are probably interpola- 
 tions, are excluded, I must maintain, that, even 
 with the real varieties which appear in particular 
 parts, the whole translation is the work of one 
 author. 
 
 The learned writer then proceeds to examine the 
 character of this version, which he exhibits in the 
 following particulars : 
 
 1. This paraphrast often understands his text 
 philologically and exegetically with perfect cor- 
 rectness, and expresses its meaning, especially in 
 historical representations, with literal accuracy ; 
 but when the language is figurative, he attempts, 
 in his paraphrastic way, to elucidate it, either by 
 explaining the figures or by introducing something 
 additional. 
 
 2. But not unfrequently his exposition is en- 
 tirely capricious. The grammatical interpretation 
 is abandoned, the true meaning of the figures mis- 
 conceived, and although the very words of the 
 text may be repeated in the paraphrase, this is 
 done in the most arbitrary connection, and some- 
 times with an overwhelming flood of fictitious 
 trifling. 
 
 3. He retains for the most part the geogra- 
 phical names, like Onkelos, and but seldom sub- 
 stitutes the modern terms. When he does, how- 
 ever, he is often correct. 
 
 4. In common with many ancient translators,
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 157 
 
 the Alexandrine and Saadias particularly, he wil- 
 lingly rejects those anthropopathic terms* and other 
 expressions used of God. which might give offence. 
 Both of them appear to him inconsistent with the 
 dignity of God and of the sacred scriptures. 
 
 5. Another character of this version, as I have 
 already intimated, is, the introduction of matter 
 not in the text. Much more abundantly than the 
 Alexandrine translator, Jonathan arbitrarily intro- 
 duces into his paraphrase views which belong to 
 a period later than that of his author ; also Rab- 
 binical sayings and Jewish theology of his own 
 time, and often in such a way as to show but too 
 plainly the Rabbi of the Pharisees and the learned 
 scribe. 
 
 Under this last head, Gesenius remarks, as 
 follows. The Targumist explains " the servant 
 of God" in Isa. xlii. 1, exactly like Matthew in 
 xii. 17-21 ; showing, that he regarded this place 
 as prophetic of a Messiah, who should be the 
 comforter of the poor", and the instructor of the 
 heathen. And in the same way does he explain 
 it in xliii, 10 ; while, in other places, he interprets 
 it of the people, and often in the same section. So 
 especially, in the celebrated passage lii. 13-liii., 
 where what is said of the distressed state of the 
 servant of God, is referred to the people, iind what 
 
 That is, language used in relation to the Deity, which is 
 founded on human analogies.
 
 158 INTRODUCTION TO THE TARGUM 
 
 is announced respecting his elevation, or at least 
 what he thus considers, is applied to the Messiah. 
 In his doctrine, from the reception of which re- 
 sults happiness, and in the intercession for the 
 people which is ascribed to him, we have evi- 
 dently the prophetic and high priestly offices, 
 which, together with the kingly, the Jews thus 
 attached to the character of the Messiah, and 
 which, in the epistle to the Hebrews, we find 
 committed to Christ. The importance of these 
 statements consists in this : they prove that the 
 views of the Talmudist, and, we may say, of the 
 better class of Jews of his age, on these points, are 
 entirely coincident with Christian doctrine ; and 
 consequently, that later Jewish expositions wholly 
 different, are an abandonment of the old, orthodox 
 exposition. 
 
 These characteristics are all illustrated by 
 ample references, and in such a way as to show 
 that the author has examined the subject with 
 great care and industry. .The original German 
 may be found in the introduction to his commen- 
 tary on Isaiah, sect. 1.1, p. 65-80 ; and an English 
 Translation, in a volume entitled, Essays and 
 Dissertations in Biblical Literature, by a Society 
 of Clergymen, published by G. & C. & H. CAR- 
 VILL, New York, 1829, 8vo. p. 412-426. 
 
 The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are 
 exceedingly important in the controversy between 
 the Jews and Christians. The reader may find
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIIL 159 
 
 a list of places in the old Testament, explained of 
 the Messiah by these very ancient Jewish inter- 
 preters, in Buxtorf's Talmudic Lexicon, under 
 that word, col. 1268-1273.
 
 TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZ2IEL 
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIII. 
 
 LII. 13. BEHOLD, my servant, Messiah, shall 
 prosper; he shall be exalted, and become great, 
 and be very strong. 
 
 14. As the house of Israel expected him many 
 days, who was mean among the nations ; their 
 appearance and their splendor compared with 
 those of* the children of men. 
 
 15. So shall he scatter many nations, on ac- 
 count of him kings shall be silent, they shall put 
 their hands upon their mouth, because what they 
 did not teil them have they seen, and what they 
 did not hear have they understood. 
 
 LIII. 1. Who hath believed this our report, and 
 the strength of the arm of the power of the Lord, 
 now to whom hath it been revealed ? 
 
 2. And the righteous onef shall be magnified 
 
 I 
 
 Lit., than. 
 
 t The word in the original is in the singular number.
 
 TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZZIEL. 
 
 before him, lo, like suckers which flourish, and 
 like a tree which casteth forth its roots along the 
 streams of water, thus the holy one shall increase 
 in the land which had need of him. His appear- 
 ance will not be a common appearance, and his 
 fear* not the fear of an ordinary man, but his 
 splendor will be holy splendor, so that every one 
 who shall see him will contemplate him, (or re- 
 gard him with attention.) 
 
 3. Therefore he will be for contempt, and (or 
 but) he will destroy the glory of all kings. They 
 will be weak and afflicted, lo, like a man of sor- 
 rows and destined to sicknesses (or infirmities,) 
 and when the face of majesty (shekinah,) was 
 withdrawn from us, we were despised and not 
 regarded. 
 
 4. Therefore on account of our sins will he 
 supplicate, and our iniquities shall be pardoned 
 for his sake, and we were regarded as bruised, 
 smitten from before (by) the Lord and afflicted. 
 
 5. And he will build the house of the sanctu- 
 ary, which was profaned on account of our sins, 
 was delivered up on account of our iniquities, and 
 by his doctrine peace shall be increased on us, 
 and when we shall obey his word, our sins shall 
 be pardoned us. 
 
 6. All we like sheep have been scattered, we 
 
 That is, the fear which he will excite ; aa in Ps. xc. 10 
 " according to thy fear " may mean, according to the reverence 
 with which men regard thee. 
 
 8
 
 162 TARGUM OF JONATHAN BEN UZZlEL 
 
 have departed each one towards his way, and it 
 pleased the Lord* to pardon the sins of us all on 
 his account. 
 
 7. He prayed and was answered, and before 
 he opened his mouth he was accepted. He will 
 deliver up the strong of the nations like a lamb 
 for a victim, and like a sheep which is dumb be- 
 fore its shearers, and in his presence there is none 
 that speaketh a word. 
 
 8. From chastisements and retribution, (or 
 punishment,) he will bring near our captivity, and 
 the wonders which shall be done for us in his 
 days, who is able to recount ? for he will take 
 away the dominion of the nations from the land of 
 Israel ; sins which my people were guilty of shall 
 extend to (that is, affect) them. 
 
 9. And he will deliver up the wicked to hell, 
 and the rich in substance who acted violently with 
 destructive death ;t that they who commit sin 
 may not live, neither speak deceitj with their 
 mouths. 
 
 10. And it was the pleasure of the Lord to 
 melt and to purge the remnant of his people, in 
 order to purify their souls from sins : they shall 
 see the kingdom of their Messiah, they shall in- 
 crease sons and daughters, they shall prolong 
 
 * Lit , and from before the Lord there was pleasure. 
 t That is, who inflicted violent death. 
 
 t Buxtorf, followed by Walton, reads V^D^' d ece i te ? t" 6 Bom - 
 berg Bible and others *h foilies.
 
 ON ISAIAH LII. 13 LIU. 153 
 
 their days, and, doing the law of the Lord, by his 
 pleasure they shall prosper. 
 
 11. From subjection to the nations he will free 
 their souls ; they shall see the punishment of their 
 enemies ;* they shall be satisfied with the plunder 
 of their kings. By his wisdom he will purify the 
 pure, (or justify the just,) in order to subject many 
 to the law, and on account of their sins he will 
 supplicate. 
 
 12. Therefore will I divide to him the plunder 
 of many nations, and the wealth of strong fortified 
 places: he shall divide the booty, because he de- 
 livered up his soul to death, and subjected the 
 rebels to the law, and on account ot the sins of 
 many he will supplicate, and rebels shall be par- 
 doned on his account. 
 
 Or, the vengeance taken on them.
 
 COMMENTARY OF KIMCHI, AND TAR- 
 GUM OF JONATHAN, 
 
 ON HOSEA, I. II. 1. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS chapter has been selected, partly on account 
 of its obscurity, and partly to afford an opportu- 
 nity of presenting a view of it, which is at least 
 as old as the Christian era, and has been main- 
 tained by some of the ablest expositors both of an- 
 cient and modern times. 
 
 Few thoughtful and serious persons, it is pre- 
 sumed, can read the first and third chapters of 
 Hosea, regarding them at the same time as con- 
 taining a plain statement of real actions done at 
 the command of God, without some feeling of dis- 
 satisfaction. The first and most natural impres- 
 sion is, that the course of action there enjoined is 
 inconsistent with the nature of God and the char- 
 acter of his prophet. The submission of an im- 
 plicit faith, which does not dare to look below the 
 surface, may acquiesce in the general principles,
 
 COMMENTARY ON HOSEA I II. 1. 
 
 that such is the authoritative statement, and that 
 whatever the divine being commands must agree 
 with the divine will ; but the faith which, while it 
 believes, does also " search what or what manner 
 of"* representation is herein contained, is una- 
 voidably thrown back on the inquiry, are there 
 not certain things which the divine being cannot 
 command, because they are necessarily at vari- 
 ance with his moral character? It is impossible 
 to doubt, that the fountain of right never can enjoin 
 the commission of what is essentially wrong : " he 
 cannot deny himself."! If therefore, it be possible 
 to take such a view of these and other similar 
 portions of holy scripture as shall remove this 
 difficulty, and at the same time harmonize with 
 other representations in the prophetic books, it 
 would seem that a strong presumption exists in 
 favor of its truth. Such a view is presented in 
 the following commentary and paraphrase. 
 
 The accounts in these chapters of Hosea have 
 been regarded by some as narratives of real and 
 sensible actions ; by others as mere parabolical 
 fictions intended to illustrate the defection of Is- 
 rael from the true God ; and again by others, as 
 expressive of what took place in the mind of 
 Hosea, while under the influence of the prophetic 
 impulse, or to use the ordinary language, to de- 
 note what he saw and did in prophetic vision. 
 
 * 1 Pet. i. II. t 2 Tim. ii. 13.
 
 166 INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMENTARY 
 
 The last view is the most probable, and is given, 
 together with other and somewhat similar instan- 
 ces, by Maimonides, in his Moreh Nevochim, Part 
 ii. chap. 46 ; a translation of which may be found 
 in a subsequent part of this volume. 
 
 It would not at all comport with the brevity 
 of this introduction, to discuss the whole subject 
 thus suggested to the reader's consideration. I 
 will only remark, that the words employed to 
 designate the woman whom the prophet is directed 
 to marry, must have led the Jewish reader to 
 suppose that no real personage could have been 
 intended. Kimchi indeed tells us that Gomer, 
 the daughter of Diblaim, was a well known harlot 
 of that period. But this could be nothing but 
 conjecture. The meaning of the words seems to 
 indicate something very different. Gomer signi- 
 fies fulness, completion ; and Diblaim, two cakes 
 of figs. It certainly requires no great stretch of 
 imagination to conclude, that the prophet intended 
 to represent an ideal female character, under the 
 name of satiety, daughter of cloying pleasures : 
 and, most undoubtedly, it would not be easy to 
 imagine a more appropriate designation of a 
 wretched being, whether the person had been 
 prostituted to infamous paramours, or the mind 
 to idolatrous suitors. 
 
 A most able and instructive examination of 
 the subject here referred to, may be found in 
 Hengstenberg's Christology, before mentioned,
 
 ON HOSEA I II. 1. 167 
 
 vol. iii. p. 11 ss. The work is accessible to all, 
 and ought to be in the hands of every theological 
 student, while intelligent Christians in general 
 could not peruse it without pleasure and profit.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID KIMCHI, 
 
 ON HOSEA I II. I. 
 
 1. THE word of the Lord that came to Hosea. 
 Observe that* the words of his prophecy are words 
 of admonition to Israel and Judah, who did evil 
 in the sight of the Lord in the day of those kings, 
 as it is written. 
 
 2. The beginning of the word of the Lordf 
 by Hosea. We find the word to speak which 
 is employed to designate prophecy,- construed 
 with the servile beth ; as, hath the Lord indeed 
 spoken only by Moses ? hath he not spoken also 
 by us ? the spirit of the Lord spake by me ; 
 mouth to mouth will I speak by him.} In the 
 phrase niH" 1 1^1' *QT may be a verb in the pret- 
 erit tense. He means to say, that the first divine 
 communication to Hosea was as follows ; take to 
 thyself a wife of whoredoms. Or, "Q^ may be a 
 
 * Lit, and behold. 
 
 t Or, (at) the beginning the Lord spake. 
 t Num. xii. 2. 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. Num. xii. 8. 
 Lit., the first that the Lord spake by Hosea was this that he 
 said to him.
 
 COMMENTARY OF KIMCHI ON HOSEA I II. I. 
 
 noun ; as and the word is not in them.* And 
 the Lord said to Hosea ; go, take unto thee a wife 
 of whoredoms. All this that he commands him 
 to take a wife of whoredoms, and he took her, and 
 she conceived and bare of him three times was 
 done in prophetic vision : and it is a symbolical 
 representation! of Israel, who had committed 
 adultery against,! the Lord ; and this is what he 
 says, for the land hath committed adultery against 
 the Lord. The meaning of children of whorg- 
 doms (is this;) thou shalt have by her adulterous 
 children, for she is an adulterous wife. Thus 
 Israel, and those who were born of them in those 
 generations, committed adultery against the Lord. 
 And all this took place in prophetic vision, not 
 that the prophet Hosea married an adulterous 
 woman. Although we do find in the words of our 
 rabbies of blessed memory, a literal interpreta- 
 tion :<> for they explain and the Lord said to Ho- 
 sea (thus :) The blessed and holy one told him the 
 sin of Israel. He should have said|| before him, 
 Lord of the world, these are thy children, they are 
 
 I cannot find this passage either in Buxtorfs or Ftirst's Concor- 
 dance. In Jud^. xviii. 7, and 28, the phrase occurs >M> "psfc 
 
 ipj-rV which resembles it more closely than any other I have met 
 with. 
 
 t Lit, a parable. t Lit., from after. 
 
 I) Lit., that the matter (is to be taken) according to the literal 
 sense. 
 
 || Lit., it wag to him to say. 
 
 8*
 
 170 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 the children of thy proved ones, the children of 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; roll down mercies 
 upon them. Not satisfied with neglecting to say 
 thus, he added ;* since all the world is thine, ex- 
 change them for another people. The holy and 
 blessed one said, what shall I do to this old man? 
 He said to him, take unto thee a wife of whore- 
 dom ; and afterwards he said to him, go, send her 
 away from thy presence. If he is able to send 
 her away, so also am I able to send away Israel. 
 After she had borne him two sons and one daugh- 
 ter, the holy and blessed one said to Hosea, 
 shouldst thou not have learned of Moses thy mas- 
 ter? after that I had spoken to him, he separated 
 from the woman :t separate thyself from her. He 
 
 Lit., not his sufficiency, (that is, it was not sufficient for him,) 
 that he did not say thus, but he said before him. 
 
 t The author here alludes to a Rabbinical gloss on Exod. xix. 15, 
 which is illustrated by the following passage from MAJMOMDEB, 
 Foundations of the Law, chap. vii. sect. 10, which I give from the 
 translation of Bernard, pp. 118, 119, omitting the original Hebrew. 
 " Behold, by this you learn that with regard to all the other prophets, 
 these, when prophecy departed from them, returned to their tents 
 again, by which is meant, [that they returned again to*] their bodily 
 wants, like the rest of the people, and therefore did not keep away 
 from their wives ; but as to Moses our Rabbi, he did not return to his 
 former tent, and therefore he did keep away from women,t and from 
 all similar [wants] forever." In a note he adds, from the Shemoth 
 Rabbah ; " Judah says, by the word of the Holy One, blessed be he ! 
 it was said unto him (Moses,) come not at [your] wives, (Exod. xix. 
 
 * The brackets are employed by the translator to designate words added 
 by himself, in order to make the version clearer. 
 
 t Lit., from the woman or wife.
 
 KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I II. 1. 
 
 171 
 
 said before him, Lord of the world, I have chil- 
 dren by her, and I cannot send her away? The 
 holy and blessed one said to him, and as* thou 
 (art,) whose wife is adulterous and whose children 
 are children of an adulterous woman, thus (am) I, 
 whose children are the children of Israel, the chil- 
 dren of my proved ones, Abraham, Isaac and 
 Jacob, and they are one of the five possessions,! 
 
 15;) now as Moses was comprehended among them, (the Israelites,) 
 then, behold, it was forbidden to all of them. But when he said, get 
 you, into your tents again, then, behold, he has allowed it to them. 
 Moses, therefore, said unto him, Am I also to be among them? 
 (i. e., is it allowed to me as well as to them ?) But he said unto him, 
 it is not so, but : stand thou, here by me." A genuine Rabbinical 
 gloss truly. 
 
 Lit, what. 
 
 t The following passage from the Mishna illustrates the author's 
 meaning. It is found in the Treatise entitled Pirke Avoth, that is, 
 Maxims, or important Declarations of the Fathers, chap. vi. sect. 8. 
 See the edition of Surenhusius, vol. iv. p. 489. The holy blessed God 
 has acquired five possessions in his world, and they are these : The 
 law is one possession ; heaven and earth are one possession; Abraham 
 is one possession ; Israel is one possession ; the holy house is one pos- 
 session. As to the law, how is this proved ? Because it is said, the 
 Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of 
 old.* How as to heaven and earth ? Because it is written : thus 
 saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot- 
 stool; where is the house that you will build for me? and where is 
 the place of my rest ?t How as to Abraham ? Because it is written, 
 and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of the most high 
 God, possessor of heaven and earth.f How as to Israel ? Because 
 it is written, until thy people pass over, O Lord, until the people pass 
 over which thou hast purchased : and he (or it) eays, to the saints 
 
 * Prov. viii. JB. < Isa. Ixvi. I. J Gen. xiv. 19. E.xod.xv. J6.
 
 172 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 and thou sayest, exchange them for another people! 
 When he knew that he had sinned, he stood up 
 to seek mercies for himself. The h'ly and blessed 
 one said to him, while thou art seeking mercies 
 for thyself, seek mercies for Israel. Immediately 
 he began with blessings and said, and the num- 
 ber of the children of Israel shall be like the sand 
 of the sea.* But Jonathan explains the matter 
 as a parable, and his exposition is right. 
 
 3. And he went and took Gomer, the daugh- 
 ter of Diblairn : the name of a well known harlot 
 of that time. And she conceived and bare him a 
 son. He says a son, for Jeroboam, the son of 
 Joash, was strong in his kingdom, as the male, 
 who is stronger than the female ; and he reigned 
 forty-one years, and restored the coast of Israel 
 from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the 
 plain.f And Jonathan's exposition is : and he 
 went and prophesied concerning them ; and he says, 
 that if they will repent and so forth. Gomer ex- 
 
 that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.* 
 How as to the holy house? Because it is written, the place, O Lord, 
 thou hast made for thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, (which) 
 thy hands have established, t Also, it says : and he brought them to 
 the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain (which) his right hand 
 had purchased.t This is a fair specimen of Talmudieal trifling. 
 
 * The serious reader will probably be shocked at perusing this 
 piece of Rabbinical impertinence. Such gross and irreverent fables 
 arc by no means unfrequent in very ancient Jewish writings. At 
 present, it is to be hoped, a better feeling and taste prevail. 
 
 t 2 Kings xiv. 23. 
 
 * Pe. xvi. 3. t Exod. xv. 17. J Ps.lxxviiL 54.
 
 KIMCHI, ON HOSE A I II. 1. 173 
 
 presses the idea of fulness, as if he had said, he 
 will fill up on them their transgressions, and will 
 pardon their iniquity. And the meaning ot dib- 
 laim is equivalent to a cake of figs. 
 
 4. And the Lord said unto him, call his name 
 Jezreel. This is Jeroboam, the son of Joash, 
 strong in his kingdom, as we have explained. Ac- 
 cordingly he says, for yet a little while : for he 
 did not visit in the days of Jeroboam, for he pros- 
 pered in his kingdom ; but he visited the blood of 
 Jezreel upon the house of Jehu in the days of 
 Zechariah his son, who reigned only six months, 
 and was slain, and the kingdom* of Jehu ceased. 
 And why does he say, the blood of Jezreel ? (He 
 means) the blood of the house of Ahab, which he 
 (Jehu) shed in Jezreel. And although he did, in 
 this matter, that which was right in the eyes of 
 the Lord : yet, as he did not observe to walk in 
 the law of the Lord, and did not turn from all the 
 sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the blood which 
 he shed was reckoned to him as innocent blood. 
 And thus we see that Baasha was punished on 
 account of the blood of Nadab, son of Jeroboam, 
 even although he was wicked ; as it is said, and 
 because he killed him.t And I will cause to cease 
 the kingdom of the house of Israel : for the king- 
 dom of Israel continued (but) a little while after 
 
 By kingdo.-u, he evidently means, dynasty, 
 t 1 Kings xvi. 7.
 
 174 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 this, for in the days of Hosea, son of Elah, they 
 were utterly destroyed : and respecting the time 
 of Jehu it is said, in those days the Lord began to 
 cut Israel short and so forth.* And Jonathan ex- 
 plains the verse thus : and the Lord said unto him, 
 call his name dispersed and so forth. 
 
 5. And it shall be in that day, that I will 
 break : In that day when I shall visit all the 
 blood of Jezreel, I will break the bow of Israel ; 
 meaning, their strength and their power. The 
 vau in "if'ni'Dl is redundant, on account of his 
 having (before) said i^nEm- In the valley of 
 Jezreel ; their bow which was in the valley of 
 Jezreel ; for the head of the kingdom of Ephraim 
 was Samaria and Jezreel, for the royal house of 
 Ahab was in Samaria and in Jezreel : and so of 
 the kings who succeed him. And Jonathan ex- 
 plains it thus : And it shall come to pass, in that 
 time, that I will break the strength of the warriors 
 of Israel in the valley (or plain) of Jezreel. 
 
 6. And she conceived again and bare a daugh- 
 ter. After she had borne a son, who, as we have 
 explained it, was parabolical of Jeroboam the son 
 of Joash, she bare a daughter. And thist was 
 parabolical ofZechariah his son, and of Shallum, 
 
 2 Kings x. 32. 
 
 t The Hebrew is JJM the ordinary meaning of which is, and 
 he. But, as the context shows that the child is regarded as a symbol 
 of the feebler monarch, it must have a corresponding sense : unless 
 indeed the text ought to be Xfclfn in the feminine.
 
 KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I II. 1. 175 
 
 son of Jabesh, who reigned after him. For they 
 were feeble like a female, for Zechariah reigned 
 only six months and then was slain, and Shallum 
 was slain after reigning a single month. 
 
 7. For I will no more add I will have mercy 
 upon the house of Israel : (that is,) I will no more 
 add that I will have mercy : like, do not increase 
 you talk, (for) that you talk ; then shall we know 
 we follow, (for) that we follow.* 13 &TQJ5 fctfCIS 
 Qtlb : For I will certainly raise up to them :t(that is, 
 I will bring) the enemy upon them, who will take 
 them captive, and lay waste their land. Or, Qnb 
 may be explained by fitTUS an ^ tnus we have, 
 they slew AbnerJ (li^jab 1Vin) equivalent to 
 "iDSJS "!& The meaning will be, I will take them 
 away to the land of their enemies. But it may 
 be explained thus : for until now I have been for- 
 giving (taking away) their sin, for I have been 
 showing mercy to them, but I will not continue 
 (to do so) any more. 
 
 7. But I will have mercy upon the house of 
 Judah: for observe the kingdom of Judah contin- 
 ued after the captivity of Israel, from the sixth year 
 of Hezekiah until the destruction of the temple, 
 
 * Kimchi means, that in these places there is an ellipsis of the 
 particle that ; and to show his meaning, I have been compelled to 
 translate according to the Hebrew idiom. The texts referred to are, 
 1 Sam. ii. 3. Hosea vi. 3. 
 
 t " But I will utterly destroy them." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t 2 Sam. Hi. 30.
 
 176 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 and he saved them from the hardy Sennacherib, 
 not by sword and by bow and by war, by horses 
 and by horsemen ; for the angel of the Lord smote 
 in the camp of the Assyrians, as it is written.* 
 
 8. And she weaned Lo-ruhamah, and con- 
 ceived and bare a son. He says, and she weaned, 
 inasmuch as the days of the feeble one were pro- 
 tracted in the time of Zechariah and Shallum : 
 also in the days of Menahem, the son of Gadi, who 
 reigned ten years ; for in his days came Pul, the 
 king of Assyria. Also in the days of Pekahiah 
 his son, who reigned two years, until Pekah, the 
 son of Remaliah stood up and strengthened him- 
 self in the kingdom, and reigned twenty years, and 
 violently attacked the kingdom of Judah, and slew 
 120,000 men in one day. Also he besieged Jeru- 
 salem, with Resin king of Syria. And of him he 
 speaks in this parabolical language, and she con- 
 ceived and bare a son. 
 
 9. And of his generation it is said, call his 
 name Lo-ammi : for of him it is said, and he did 
 evil in the sight of the Lord, he did not depart 
 from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.f 
 And the wise Rabbi, Abraham ben Ezra of bless- 
 ed memory, explains and she weaned paraboli- 
 cally : after the ten tribes had gone into captivity, 
 and had begotten children in (the land of,) their 
 captivity, and settled there and did not return to 
 
 * 2 Kings xix. 35. t 2 Kings xv. 28.
 
 KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I. II. 1. 177 
 
 their own land, (he says,) therefore call their name 
 Lo-ammi, (not my people.) And so also the Tar- 
 gum of Jonathan. And he said : this has been 
 explained. 
 
 10. And the number of the children of Israel 
 shall be : although they are now called Lo-ammi, 
 yet a time shall come, when the number of the 
 children of Israel shall be as the sand which can- 
 not be numbered. It cannot be measured, much 
 less can it be numbered ; and thus we have, nei- 
 ther truth nor mercy.* The term measure is ap- 
 plicable to the sand, but not to the stars, in refer- 
 ence to which we use the word number. The 
 prophet Jeremiah therefore distinguishes them, 
 when he applies a comparison to their years,t and 
 says, as the host of Heaven cannot be numbered, 
 nor the sand of the sea measured. And, although 
 he makes this comparison respecting two families 
 of Israel, and this prophet makes it of all Israel, 
 there is nothing surprising in this ; for in each it is 
 hyperbolical, and simply denotes multitude.J 
 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where 
 it was said to them, ye are not my people : in- 
 stead of what was said in that time, ye are not 
 my people ; (namely,) on account of their evil 
 works : it shall be said to them ; (meaning) at that 
 
 * Hose a iv. 1. 
 
 t The years of the people. Jer. xxxiii. 22. 
 t Lit., the intention is only to express by them the idea of mul- 
 titude.
 
 178 COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 time. Sons of the living God : for they will return 
 to God, and he will cause their captivity to return, 
 and will have mercy on them. The reason of the 
 expression* sons of the living God (is this :) 
 Because, at that time (people) were devotingf 
 (their) sons to other Gods not living ; for even 
 the living ones among them, that is, the stars, are 
 not living except by virtue of him who gave life 
 to them, whilst he, the blessed one, has in him- 
 self the essential principle of life.J. But Jona- 
 
 * Lit., and the meaning of. 
 
 t Lit, making for. 
 
 t Lit., is living without any producing cause. The Rabbles re- 
 garded the heavenly bodies as animated and glorious beings, and the 
 language of Kimchi accords with this theory. Thus Maimonides, in 
 his Treatise on the Foundations of the Law, chap. iii. sect. 11, which 
 is thus translated by Bernard. " All the planets and orbs are beings, 
 possessed of soul, mind, and understanding. Moreover, they are alive, 
 they exist, and know him who spake [the word], and the universe 
 existed. All of them, in proportion to their magnitude and to their 
 degree, praise and glorify their Creator just as the angels [do ;] and 
 in the same way as they know the Holy One, blessed be he ! so do 
 they also know themselves. They also know the angels that are 
 above them. Now the knowledge of the planets and of the orbs is 
 less than the knowledge of the angels, yet it is greater than the 
 knowledge of the sons of men." pp. 97, 98. Nor must it be sup- 
 posed that such notions are merely Rabbinical figments. They were 
 main tabled by several of the ancient Greek philosophers ; and, how- 
 ever strange it may appear to us, even distinguished Christian writers 
 have held similar opinions. This is clearly shown by Vossius, in his 
 learned work on the Origin and Progress of Idolatry, Lib. II. chap. 
 xxx. pp. 454 460. Origen has expressed himself perhaps more 
 plainly on this point than any other of the fathers. He speaks of the 
 stare as " animated beings, as living creatures endowed with reason
 
 KIMCH1, ON HOSEA I II. 1. 179 
 
 than explains in the place according to its lit- 
 eral meaning, (thus :) And it shall come to pass, 
 (that) in the place where they were carried away 
 captive among the nations when they transgressed 
 the law, and it was said to them, ye are not my 
 people, they will repent and become glorious, and 
 it shall be said to them, people of the living God. 
 (In other words they shall be so called.) 
 
 11. Then shall the children of Judah and the 
 children of Israel be gathered together. And this 
 will come to pass, at the gathering of the captivity 
 in the time of the Messiah ; for during the second 
 temple only Judah and Benjamin, who were made 
 captive in Babylon, went up, and not the children 
 of Judah and the children of Israel together. And 
 appoint for themselves one head: this is king Mes- 
 siah. And thus the Targum of Jonathan : and 
 they will appoint for them one head of the house 
 of David. And they shall come up out of the 
 land ; from the land of their captivity they will go 
 up to their own land. But those who interpret 
 this clause (they shall go up) into captivity, 
 are wrong.* For (then) what would be themean- 
 
 and power, and illuminated by that wisdom which is the ray Of 
 eternal light ; " and he distinguishes between their sensible and their 
 intellectual light. See the quotations in SUICER'S Thesaurus Ecclesi- 
 asticus, under *c<{, II. 2, torn. I. p. 560. He speaks also of " the 
 rational heavenly powers suffering dismay and derangement, and 
 being suspended from their functions." See his Comment on Matt 
 xxiv. 29, 30, quoted in the Catena Aurea. Oxford, vol. I. part Hi. p 
 822. Lit., without support.
 
 ISO COMMENTARY OF RABBI DAVID 
 
 ing of and they will appoint for themselves one 
 head for whoever shall go into captivity ? and 
 also and they shall come up out of the land ? 
 whereas,* he should have said, they shall go down ; 
 or, they shall go out : for the land of Israel is high- 
 er than all (other) lands, and he that goeth to it 
 goeth up, and whoever goeth out of it comes 
 down.f The vau in I^T and they shall come up 
 out of the land is to be explained thus,J " after they 
 shall have come up, like the vau in behold thou 
 art angry and we have sinned ; and$ he came 
 from offering the sin offering and the burnt offer- 
 ing; and it bred worms and$ stank ; and other 
 similar places. For the Messiah will not be their 
 head until they shall be in Jerusalem. And there 
 are some who by one head understand the prophet 
 Elijah, who will bring them up from the captiv- 
 ity. For great (is) the day of Jezreel : the day, 
 (that is,) the time that their bow has been broken 
 in the valley of Jezreel, is great and exceedingly 
 protracted ; the time of their captivity and the 
 completing of their punishment in the captivity 
 that the time is very much protracted. || But my 
 
 * Lit., for. 
 
 t A goodly reason truly, and illustrative of the learned Rabbi's 
 topographical knowledge. 
 
 t Lit., they explain it. 
 
 Isa. Ixiv. 4, (5.) Levit. ix. 22. Exod. xvi. 20. He means that 
 in these places, as in the text, the vau has the meaning of after. 
 
 || Or, it may be translated thus : their punishment in the cap- 
 tivity, which is protracted, is a long time.
 
 KIMCHI, ON HOSEA I II. 1. 
 
 respected father of blessed memory explains (it 
 thus :) A long time and great were they sown 
 among the nations, but now I will gather them ; 
 therefore he calls the name of Israel, Jezreel ; be- 
 cause God hath sown them among the nations. 
 And the Targutn of Jonathan (is,) behold, great 
 is the day of their gathering, (or congregation.) 
 
 II. 1. Say ye lo your brethren, Ammi, (my 
 people :) Rabbi Saadias Gaon, of blessed mem- 
 ory interprets (this as follows.) He says to the 
 tribe of Judah and of Benjamin, (as to) your breth- 
 ren, the ten tribes, who were called Lo-ammi 
 when they were doing evil in the sight of the 
 Lord, say to them in the time of the captivity, 
 Ammi. And to your sister, Ruhamah :* And, in- 
 much as the parable (or symbol) comprehended 
 both son and daughter, he says your brethren 
 and your sister. And the word Q^mrifcO* ( afi d 
 your sister,) is with one plural only : for he might 
 have said with a twofold plural QDifiTn!fc 
 my brethren and my sisters, 
 
 * Meaning she on whom mercy has been shown. 
 
 t Josh. ii. 13, the kri or marginal reading. Kimchi means, that 
 the first form is singular with a plural suffix, whereas the second has 
 not only the plural suffix, but is also a plural noun.
 
 TARGUM OF JONATHAN 
 
 ON HOSEA l.-II. 1. 
 
 1. THE word of the prophecy from before the 
 Lord which came_to* Hosea, the son of Beeri in 
 the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz (and) Heze- 
 kiah, kings of the house of Judah, and in the days 
 of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel. 
 
 2. Beginningof the word of the Lord by Hosea : 
 and the Lord said to Hosea, go, prophesy against 
 the inhabitants of the idolatrous city who sin ex- 
 ceedingly^ for the inhabitants of the land will 
 commit idolatry (or fornication,) againstj the ser- 
 vice of the Lord. 
 
 3. And he went and prophesied concerning 
 them, that if they would repent he would pardon 
 them, and if not. they should fall like the falling of 
 the leaves of the fig-trees. But they persisted in 
 doing|| evil works. 
 
 * Lit., which was with. t Lit, add to sin. 
 
 t Lit:, from after. 
 
 This is in allusion to the meaning of 
 
 II Lit, they added and did.
 
 TARGUM OF JONATHAN ON HOSEA I II. 1. 
 
 4. And the Lord said to him, call their name 
 dispersed, for yet a little while and I will visit the 
 blood of the idolaters which Jehu shed in Jezreel, 
 whom he slew because they served Baal. They 
 turned to commit idolatry after the calves of Beth- 
 el ; therefore will I reckon innocent blood against 
 the house of Jehu, and will make the kingdom of 
 the house of Israel to cease. 
 
 6. And it shall come to pass in that time, that 
 I will break the strength of the warriors of Israel 
 in the valley (or plain,) of Jezreel. 
 
 6. And they continued to do evil works : and 
 he said to him, call their name, for I will not con- 
 tinue to show mercy to the house of Israel ; but if 
 they will return, I will surely pardon them. 
 
 7. But I will show mercy on the house of Ju- 
 dah, and I will deliver them by the word of the 
 Lord their God, and they shall not be delivered 
 by bow and by sword and by warriors, by horses 
 and by horsemen. 
 
 6. But the generations of those who have been 
 carried away captive among the children of the 
 nations are found (to be) those who have not mercy 
 shown on their works j and they continued to do 
 evil works. 
 
 9. And he said, call their name, not my peo- 
 ple, for ye are not my people, because ye do not 
 confirm (or continue to keep) the words of my 
 law ; my word was not among your helpers. 
 
 10. And the number of the children of Israel
 
 1S4 TARGUM OF JONATHAN ON HOSEA I II. 1. 
 
 shall be great, like the sand of the sea which is 
 neither measured nor numbered. And it shall 
 come to pass, (that) in the place where they were 
 carried away captive among the nations, when 
 they transgressed the law, and it was said to them, 
 ye are not my people, they will repent and be- 
 come glorious, and it shall be said to them, people 
 of the living God. 
 
 11 And the children of Judahand the children 
 of Israel shall be gathered together in perfect uni- 
 son,* and shall appoint for themselves one head 
 of the house of David, and they shall go up from 
 the land of their captivity, for great will be the 
 day of their gathering (or congregation.) 
 
 12. Prophets, say to your brethren, my peo- 
 ple, turn to my law, and I will have mercy upon 
 your congregation. 
 
 Lit., like one.
 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 
 THE GAON, 
 
 ON DANIEL IX. 2427. 
 
 24. SEVENTY weeks are determined upon thy 
 people : If we reckon, we shall know how 
 many years these are. Ten times seven amount 
 to seventy. Now seventy weeks are four hun- 
 dred and ninety years.* Deduct from them the 
 seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, from 
 the time of the destruction of the temple by Ne- 
 buchadnezzar to the second year of Darius, (and) 
 four hundred and twenty years will remain ; and 
 thist was the duration of the second house. That 
 is to say, he decrees seventy weeks for thy people 
 and thy city Jerusalem, thy holy city, which is 
 about to be built. Observe as respects its contin- 
 uance,! (that,) comprehending the (time of the) 
 Babylonian captivity and the duration also of the 
 
 The beet of the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and 
 Abarbanel, agree with Saadiaa in considering Daniel's weeks aa 
 weeks of years. 
 
 t Lit., for thus, or which thus. 
 
 t That of the whole period.
 
 186 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 
 
 second temple, there are seventy weeks, which 
 are equivalent to four hundred and ninety years ; 
 seventy for the (period of the) destruction, and 
 four hundred and twenty for that of the building. 
 To finish the transgression : which they had 
 committed. And to make K an end of sins : that 
 the holy and blessed God will make an end of 
 the sins. And to make reconciliation for : Israel's 
 iniquities. And to bring in everlasting righteous- 
 ness : this (refers to) the house of the sanctuary, 
 as it is written, a settled place for thee to abide 
 in forever,* and it is called the everlasting house 
 of the sanctuary ; (or, the house of the sanctuary 
 of the worlds.f) In the world was the first build- 
 ing ; and in the world the second building ; and 
 in the world the third building, which shall stand 
 for ever and ever ; (or, for all worlds.f) And ta 
 seal up vision and prophecy : for after the build- 
 ing of the second house no prophet arose in Israel, 
 except such as were favored with the Bath Kol.J 
 
 * 1 Kings viii. 13. 
 
 t The reader of the original will note the word Ebl2? rendered 
 world, and the plural Qlfobl^ ^fabl^' expressive of perpetuity. 
 The allu-ion which the latter contains to the former cannot be pre- 
 served iu an English translation. 
 
 t Lit., made use of. Bath kol means the daughter voice, or 
 of the voice. It is a phrase employed to denote certain modes of 
 communicating divine intimations inferior to those direct methods 
 which we read of in the Old Testament. It is often applied to merely 
 incidental concurrences. In this case the Bath kol is the same sort 
 of superstition as that practised among the ancients under the name
 
 THE GAON, ON DANIEL IX. 2427. 187 
 
 And to anoint the holy of holies : that the glory 
 of the greatness of the second house might be 
 greater than that of the first, as it is written the 
 glory of this latter house shall be greater than 
 that of the former.* And this is the meaning of 
 anointing, which denotes dignity, as to be an- 
 ointed by them, which the Targumists explain 
 by to make great.t Yet} there are expositors 
 
 of sortes Virgiliance. The Jews say, that after the time of the last 
 prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the spirit of prophecy 
 departed from Israel. Still, however, they were favored with the 
 Bath kol. This was a voice from heaven accompanying thunder ; 
 and by this voice, they maintain, that the authority of their great 
 masters, especially Hillel, was confirmed The other kind of Bath 
 kol may be illustrated by a story from the Talmud. " Rabbi Eliezer 
 says : they follow the hearing," that is, the leading " of the Bath 
 kol. Rabbi Johauan and Rabbi Simeon desired to see the face of 
 Samuel : let us follow, say they, the hearing of Bath kol Travelling 
 therefore near a school, they heard a boy's voice reading and 
 Samuel died.* They observed this, and so it came to pass ; for 
 Samuel of Babylon was dead." And again : " Rabbi Jonah and 
 Rabbi Josah went to visit Rabbi Acha lying sick. Let us follow, say 
 they, the hearing of Bath kol. They heard the voice of a certain 
 woman, speaking to her neighbor the light is put out ; to whom she 
 said, let it not be put out, nor let the light of Israel be quenched." 
 Lightfoot's Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations on Matthew iii. 17, 
 and x. 34. Works, Vol. II. pp. 129, 181, folio, London, 1684. The 
 reader may find several fortuitous coincidences somewhat like these 
 mentioned by Prideaux in his Old and New Testament Connected, 
 Part II. Book V. Anno. 107, Vol. II. p. 330. 
 
 Hag. ii. 9. 
 
 t So the Targum of Onkelos on Exodus xxix. 29, the text re- 
 ferred to. 
 
 t Lit., and. 
 
 * 1 Sam. xxv. 1. 

 
 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS, 
 
 
 who say, that mttftb means (here) to stretch out 
 a measure, explaining it by the Chaklee fctfimEfaj 
 a measure, in accordance with what is said and 
 a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.* 
 
 25. From the going forth of the command- 
 ment : from the time that the word proceeds from 
 the Creator, and the decree is determined to bring 
 back the captivity from Babylon, and to build 
 Jerusalem under the auspicesf of Cyrus. iJf 
 'T35 rVOfaj unt 'l tne chief is anointed^ (that is,) 
 until the king, who is the chief, shall become 
 great, so as to build Jerusalem, (there shall) yet 
 (be) seven weeks. These seven weeks are forty- 
 nine years : from the time that the Creator an- 
 nounced to them the joyful tidings that Jerusalem 
 should be built, even to the second year of Darius 
 king of Persia. And afterwards Jerusalem shall 
 be built, and shall continue stand ing four hun- 
 dred and twenty years. Here now are|| seventy 
 weeks, wanting ten years, (and) these ten years 
 Either stood.^f And when they have gone up to 
 
 * Z >ch. i. 16. t Lit, at the hand. 
 
 t U .to the Messiah the prince. Eng. Trans. 
 
 $ Lit, and shall stand in its structure. 
 
 || Lit , behold. 
 
 T I have given a literal translation of the words of Saadias, as 
 they stand in the printed text of Buxtorf and the Bomberg Bible. 
 The 420 years do not amount to within ten years of the 70 weeks or 
 490 years. They want ten weeks or 70 years of this period. If it 
 were allowable to translate the original ten of years, we might sup- 
 pose the author to mean ten weeks of years. The difficulty would
 
 THE GAON, ON DANIEL IX. 2427. 139 
 
 Jerusalem, the street shall be built, that is, Jeru- 
 salem and its walls. 'y'nrn'* These are forti- 
 fiedf trenches lately made by the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, in order to prevent people from pass- 
 ing over. And in troublous times : that is, as 
 regards^ the courts of the temple,^ the charges 
 and stations of the priests and Levites : as if 
 he had said, all these years Jerusalem shall be 
 desolated. 
 
 26, 27. 'Qisipffl CpD b?1- C]5D is equivalent 
 to *p, (hand, power.) He means to say, as long 
 as the power (influence) of those who ate swine's 
 flesh, the abomination and the mouse|| prevailed. 
 After the sixty-two weeks, the anointed shall be 
 cut off, and the dominion (shall) not (continue) to 
 him : (namely,) after the destruction of the house, 
 and the desolation of the temple. And until the 
 
 thus be removed, but it is very doubtful whether the translation is 
 admissible. Bither or Bithra was a place of reat strength, enclosing 
 a very considerable spice, near Jerusalem according to some ac- 
 counts, and according to others not far from the Mediterranean Sea. 
 It is famous as the scene of extraordinary carnage during the reign 
 of the emperor Adrian, and for the destruction of the false Messiah, 
 Bar Chocheb, who had taken refuge there. The accounts of these 
 and other matters connected with Bither are greatly exaggerated by 
 the Jewish writers. If the reader wishes to peruse them, he may 
 gratify his curiosity by consulting B.isn '.jo, Took VII. chap. xii. 
 28, 29,30; Jost, Book Xll. chap, xii., and the Appendix, 34, 35, 36; 
 and Buxtorf's Lexicon, Chal. Tal. et Rab. Col. 372. 
 
 * And the ditch. Eng. Trans. i Lit, enclosed. 
 
 t Lit, these (are.) $ Lit., the house of the sanctuary. 
 
 || Isa.lxvi. 17. 

 
 190 COMMENTARY OF RABBI SAADIAS. 
 
 consummation and that determined : shall come 
 on the desolated. This is Jerusalem ; and he shall 
 make sacrifice and oblation to cease. People of 
 the prince that shall come and the end thereof 
 with a flood ; this is the emperor Adrian, who 
 destroyed the temple, and make sacrifice and 
 oblation to cease, and destroyed the place of the 
 daily service. 053 ^y\ : And on account of those 
 who eat swine's flesh and the abomination, he 
 makes Israel desolate, even until what is fully 
 determined* is poured out on the captivity of 
 Israel the desolated. 
 
 * Lit., completed and determine 1.
 
 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMEN- 
 TARY ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 
 
 GEN. XLIX. 10. One that exercises authority 
 shall not depart from the house of Judah, nor a 
 scribe from his children's children forever, until 
 Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and whom 
 the nations shall obey. Chal. Targ. of Onkelos. 
 
 Kings shall not cease from the house of Judah, 
 nor skilful teachers of the law from his children's 
 children, until the time that king Messiah comes, 
 whose is the kingdom, and whom all the king- 
 doms of the earth are about to serve. Jerusalem 
 Targum. 
 
 The Samaritan agrees very nearly with the 
 Hebrew. 
 
 For the views of Jarchi and Aben Ezra, the 
 reader is referred to my Companion to the Book 
 of Genesis, p. 372374. 
 
 Psalm II. Aben Ezra considers this Psalm 
 to have been written in honor of David, on occa- 
 sion of his being anointed king, or else in celebra- 
 tion of the Messiah. Jarchi comments thus on 
 the first verse. Why do the heathen rage ? Our
 
 192 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 Rabbies explain this of king Messiah, but in its 
 simple meaning, it is evidently explicable of Da- 
 vid himself, according to what is said and the 
 Philistines heard that they had anointed David 
 king over Israel,* and they gathered together 
 their hosts, and they fell into his hand : and of 
 them he says, why do the heathen rage and all 
 of them assemble together. 
 
 It will require much more than the Rabbi's 
 assertion to persuade the reader, that the inter- 
 pretation which explains the whole Psalm of 
 David is the most literal or natural. It is most 
 clearly explicable of the Messiah, as applied in 
 the New Testament. See Acts. iv. 25, 26 : xiii. 
 33. Heb. i. 5. The admission of Jarchi, how- 
 ever, is highly important, namely, that the most 
 ancient Jewish expositors interpreted the Psalm 
 of the Messiah. 
 
 XLV. 1. This Psalm relates either to David, 
 or to the Messiah his son, as he is called and 
 my servant David shall be their prince fbrever.f 
 Aben Ezra. He expounds several clauses either 
 of David or the Messiah. 
 
 3. Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is superior 
 to (that of) the sons of men. Chal. Targ. 
 
 LXX1I. 1. ByJ Solomon, it is said prophet- 
 ically, O God, give the course^ of thy judgments 
 
 2 Sam. v. 17. t Ezek. xxxvii. 25. 
 
 t Lit, by the hand of. 
 
 It may be translated, way, reason, ground.
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 193 
 
 to king Messiah, and thy righteousness to the son 
 of kins David. Chal. Tars:. 
 
 Cj O 
 
 A prophecy of David or one of the poets, re- 
 lating either to Solomon or to the Messiah. Aben 
 Ezra. 
 
 16. This is expressive of increase and multi- 
 tude, and our Rabbies explain it by abundance 
 of meal to make bread, in reference to the days 
 of the Messiah, and the whole Psalm (they ex- 
 plain) of king Messiah. Jarchi. 
 
 17. They of the house of Yenoi say, that 
 Yenon is his name, (that is, Messiah's,) as it is 
 said, his name shall live forever, with the sun 
 his name shall be perpetuated, ("115% Yenon.) 
 Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrim, fol. 98. 2 ; or 
 as quoted in Essay on our Lord's discourse at 
 Capernaum recorded in the sixth chapter of St. 
 John, p. 87. 
 
 Isaiah xlii. 1. Behold my servant Messiah, 
 I will bring him near, my choice one in whom 
 my word delighteth, I will give him my Holy 
 Spirit. Chal. Targ. 
 
 Behold my servant: this is king Messiah, as 
 we explain it. I will uphold him; this is figura- 
 tive, as a king is supported by his faithful servant. 
 I have put my Spirit upon him; as he says also 
 concerning him ind the Spirit of tlie Lord shall 
 rest upon him.* David Kimchi ; who then pro- 
 
 Isa. xi. 2. 
 9*
 
 194 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 ceeds with this exposition, and illustrates it by 
 several other quotations. 
 
 Jeremiah, xxiii. 5. Behold, the days come, 
 saith the Lord, when I will raise up to David 
 Messiah of righteousness,* and a king shall reign 
 and prosper, and shall execute judgments of right- 
 eousness and justice in the land, (or earth.) 
 
 6. And in his days the house of Judah shall 
 be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this 
 is the name which they shall call him ; justice 
 shall be done to us from the Lord in his days. 
 Chal. Targ. 
 
 5. A righteous branch : This is Messiah ; and 
 he calls him a branch, because his coming forth 
 in the world will be like the coming forth of a 
 branch (or sprout) of the field, which increases 
 greatly. Thus, as he is righteous, there will be 
 with him righteous people in abundance in the 
 world, as it is written in his days shall the 
 righteous burst forth ;f and it is said he shall 
 pass right sentence on many people.J And a 
 king shall rule as king. He repeats the word in 
 
 Thus the Antwerp Polyglott. The London and Buxtorf read, 
 Messiah of the just, but the other reading is preferable. 
 
 t Ps. Ixxii. 7, " flourish." Eng. Trans. 
 
 t Isa. ii 4, or Mic iv. 3, " he shall judge among many people." 
 Eng. Trans. 
 
 The proper translation would be, " a king shall reign." I have 
 employed the above to enable the English reader to understand what 
 follows. The Hebrew uses, in the form of a verb, the same word 
 which occurs immediately before, as a noun ; on which Kimchi 
 refines somewhat.
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 195 
 
 order to strengthen the meaning :* for in mention- 
 ing the action, he mentions also the noun with 
 it,f and the introduction of the noun (immedi- 
 ately) afterwards is intended to add force, as 
 to gain dishonest gain not to rain rain upon it 
 all treacherous actors of treachery ;J and thus 
 (here), a king shall rule as king. From what 
 he is said to do we know indeed his regal char- 
 acter ; but the addition of the noun which ex- 
 presses it is designed to declare emphatically, 
 that his kingdom shall extend over all the earth, 
 and not be confined to Israel, as it is said of him 
 he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and 
 from the river even unto the ends of the earth.|| 
 ^DtDrn* shall prosper : thus the Targum of Jona- 
 than ; and thus (it is said) and David prospered 
 in all his ways,^[ and in other similar places. 
 
 6. And this is his name and so forth : Israel 
 will call the Messiah by this name, the Lord our 
 righteousness, because in his days the righteous- 
 ness of the Lord will be established with us con- 
 tinually, never more to depart. The name is here 
 applied in the same way as it is employed by 
 Moses our master, on whom be peace, who calls 
 
 * Lit., the action. 
 
 t That is, in speaking of the act of reigning, he speaks also of 
 a king who reigns. 
 
 t Ezek. xxii. 27. Isa. T. 6. Jer. xii- 1. In theso three places 
 the Hebrew corresponds with that in the text. 
 
 Lit, in his saying shall reign we know that he is a king. 
 
 || Ps. Ixxii. 8. ^ 1 Sam. xviii. 14.
 
 196 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 the altar, the Lord is my banner ;* and Jacob calls 
 the altar, God the God of Israel.f Each is to be 
 explained according to the nature of the case.} 
 Thusalsoitis said and the name of the city from 
 that day (shall be,) the Lord is there.<> Kimchi. 
 
 XXXI. 31. ss. This declaration shows, that, 
 in the time of the future redemption, God will give 
 to his people a new law, other and different from 
 that which we (now) have. But this is repug- 
 nant to the fundamental principle which we be- 
 lieve, that the law is perpetual and immutable. 
 Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel.|| 
 
 XXXIII. 15. In those days and in that time, I 
 
 * Exod. xvii. 15. t Gen. xxxiii. 20. 
 
 I Lit, according to the meaning which is found in it. 
 
 Ezek. xlviii. 35. 
 
 || The supposition, that Jeremiah has in view the substitution of 
 a new law, internal and spiritual, (as that of the Gospel confessedly 
 is,) in place of the Mosaic, is indeed at variance with the fundamental 
 principle which the leading Jewish authorities have assumed ; but 
 this only proves, that this fundamental principle of theirs is laid in 
 the sand, and is wholly indefensible. The admission of the Spanish 
 Rabbi is, however, all important ; and the reader will not fail to ob- 
 serve, how entirely it coincides with the view presented in the Epistle 
 to the Hebrews, viii. 6 13. Other Jewish expositors, among whom 
 is David Kimchi, suppose the prophet to speak of an increase of true 
 religion, in accordance with the ritual and tenor of the Mosaic 
 covenant. But the religious condition of Judaism has never been of 
 such a character as to justify so restricted an interpretation ; and, 
 from the nature of the system, from its practical imperfection, from 
 the limited capability of its application, it must be evident that it was 
 intended to be introductory to something better ; that it is not the 
 glorious temple itself, but merely the vest.oule of that great moral 
 building, which is to comprehend the innumerable multitudes of
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 197 
 
 will raise up to David Messiah of righteousness, 
 and he shall execute the judgment of equity and 
 righteousness in the earth. 
 
 16. And in those days the house of Judah shall 
 be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely ; and 
 this is its name whereby it shall be called, there 
 shall be done for us benefits from the Lord in the 
 midst of it. Chal. Targ. 
 
 15. A righteous branch. This is king Messiah. 
 
 16. And this is what they shall call it the 
 Lord our righteousness. The holy one, blessed 
 be he, shall call Jerusalem the Lord our righte- 
 ousness ; meaning, that its inhabitants shall say, 
 the Lord our righteousness. (He then gives the 
 explanation from the Targum, and proceeds thus.) 
 Above he says of the king Messiah, and this is 
 his name which they shall call him, the Lord our 
 righteousness : both amount to the same thing, as 
 we have (already) explained the matter. Kimchi. 
 
 Joeliii. 1. (ii.28.) And it shall come to pass after- 
 ward : like and it shall come to pass in the latter 
 days ;* that is, in the time of the Messiah, as it is 
 said for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
 the Lord.t 
 
 mankind wherever scattered throughout the world. Would to God, 
 that the Israelites would candidly consider their system in this light ! 
 They might thus be prepared to examine dispassionately the claims 
 of Christianity, and to ':onsid?r calmly the grand question, " what 
 is the character of the Messiah, and the system to bo established by 
 him, as delineated by the Hebrew prophets?" 
 
 Micah iv. 1. t Isa. xi. 9.
 
 198 EXTRACTS FROM JKWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 2. (29.) My Spirit and that is, the spirit of 
 knowledge and understanding, as he says and 
 the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him *; which 
 he afterwards explains by the spirit of wisdom 
 and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, 
 the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the 
 Lord. Kimchi. 
 
 Micah. iv. 7. last clause. And the kingdom 
 of the Lord shall be revealed to them in mount 
 Zion from this time and forever.f 
 
 8. But thou, Messiah of Israel, who art hid- 
 den$ on account of the sins of the congregation of 
 Zion, to thee shall come the kingdom, and the for- 
 mer dominion shall come to the kingdom of the 
 congregation of Jerusalem. Chal. Targ. 
 
 IV. 1. " After having spoken of the devasta- 
 tions of Zion and Jerusalem, he gives them this 
 consolation. It shall be in the latter days : which 
 are those of the Messiah. The mountain of the 
 house of the Lord : which he says shall be as the 
 high places' of the forest,^ shall hereafter be estab- 
 lished on the top of the mountains. He does not 
 mean that this mountain shall be raised in bulk, but 
 that the nations shall exalt and honor it, and shall 
 
 * Isa. xi 2. t Lit., and until forever. 
 
 t Strange as it may seem to the merely English reader, some 
 such idea as this is given in the Syriac, Arabic, Septuagint and Vul- 
 gate versions. Perhaps it originated from a Jewish notion, that the 
 Messiah was to be concealed ; perhaps it gave rise in part to that 
 notion. Comp. John vii. 27. 
 
 iii. 12.
 
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 199 
 
 go there to worship the Lord. And, inasmuch as ihe 
 nations worshipped their gods upon high mountains 
 and hills, he says that then they shall worship the 
 Lord with one consent, and shall exalt this moun- 
 tain above all others that have ever been exalted 
 and glorified. 
 
 2. The teacher is king Messiah, of whom he 
 (afterwards) says, and he shall judge. Kimchi. 
 
 1. There is no doubt that this prophecy re- 
 lates to the future ; therefore he says in the latter 
 days. And the meaning is this ; inasmuch as he 
 mentioned above that the mountain of the house 
 should become high places of the forest, he (now) 
 turns to comfort Israel ; for the glory of the house 
 shall again return. It is (well) known that the 
 mountain of the house was not high ; but observe 
 that the sense is this ; its fame shall be widely 
 extended, and from all corners (of the earth) peo- 
 ple shall repeatedly bring offerings to it. It is as 
 if it were on the tops of all the mountains and 
 were elevated above the hills, so that all the in- 
 habitants of the earth might see it. 
 
 2. For out of Z ion shall go the law : (namely) 
 to all the nations, as it is written that they may 
 all call upon the name of the Lord and serve him 
 with one consent.* 
 
 3. And he shall judge : the judge is the Mes- 
 siah. Aben Ezra. 
 
 Zeph. iii. 9.
 
 200 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 V. 2. From thee shall come forth the Messiah, 
 to exercise dominion over Israel. Chal. Targ. 
 
 From thee shall come forth for me Messiah, 
 the son of David ; and thus he says, the stone 
 that the builders refused.* Jarchi. 
 
 He says of Bethlehem although thou art lit- 
 tle among the nations of Judah, (yet) from thee 
 shall come forth for me a judge to be ruler in Is- 
 rael : and this is the king Messiah. 
 
 3. His brethren : the Messiah's, t 
 
 4. After the trouble,! king Messiah shall stand 
 and feed Israel in the strength of the Lord. The 
 name of the Messiah shall now be great, after the 
 judgment of the wicked. 
 
 5. This peace is that of the Messiah, who shall 
 be the cause of peace, as it is said, and he shall 
 speak peace unto the heathen. The shepherds 
 and principal men are the princes of king Messiah ; 
 both terms denote the same thing. But why does 
 he say seven, eight ? It is like give a portion 
 to seven, and also to eight. || and denotes many. 
 "Pb5^ i s equivalent to "17337, and means with king 
 Messiah. 
 
 Ps. cxviii. 22. 
 
 t Lit., the pronoun in his brethren, (relates) to the Messiah. 
 
 t He alludes to that spoken of by Daniel xii 1, whom he had just 
 before quoted. 
 
 $ Zech. ix. 10. || Ecles. xi. 2. 
 
 IT The English is "against him," meaning the enemy. Kimchi 
 considers the preposition to denote connection with the Messiah, and 
 refers for a similar use of it to Numbers ii. 20, where our translation 
 has " by."
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 201 
 
 10. I will cut off thy horses : that is, there shall 
 be no need of horses and chariots ; for after the war 
 with Gog and Magog, thou shall have perpetual 
 peace. 
 
 11. And I will cut off the cities of thy land : 
 that is to say, I will multiply you and give you 
 peace, as if I were to cut off the walls of your 
 cities, so that they should not be called cities, but 
 open places. Kimchi. He then refers to Zech. 
 ii. 8. (4.) 
 
 V. 1. It is clear to me that the judge of Israel 
 is either the Messiah or Zerubbabel, according to 
 what follows, and thou Bethlehem Ephratah. The 
 scripture speaks in reference to the purpose, as 
 they parted my garments among them,* and re- 
 specting Balak he fought against Israel, t because 
 he says, perhaps I may be able to fight against 
 them ;| and the men pursued after them to Jor- 
 dan ; while yet the spies had escaped. 
 
 10, 11. I *ill cut off thy horses ; to make war, 
 for they shall be unnecessary. And I will cut off the 
 cities of thy land which are surrounded by walls ; 
 for, unless a man feared enemies, it would be best 
 for him to dwell in unwalled places, where the 
 air is free. The sense is, there shall be peace in 
 the land, and no need of defenced places. Aben 
 Ezra. 
 
 Ps. xxii. 18. t Joeh. xxiv. 9. 
 
 t Nam. xxii. 11. $ Josh. ii. 7.
 
 202 EXTRACTS FROM JEWISH COMMENTARY 
 
 Zechariah ii. 9. At that time, when this pro- 
 phecy is about to be fulfilled,* ye shall know that 
 the Lord of hosts hath sent me : and this shall be 
 hereafter, in the time of the Messiah. 
 
 10. Sing and rejoice. This prophecy as far as 
 his holy habitationf must be explained of the 
 future, of the days of the Messiah, because it is 
 said and many nations shall be joined (and,) 
 be silent O all flesh :J which we did not see du- 
 ring the second temple. Kimchi. 
 
 III. 8. Behold, 1 will bring out my servant, 
 the Messiah, and he shall be manifested. Chal. 
 Targ. 
 
 Branch : that is, Zerubbabel. But some ex- 
 plain it of king Messiah ; as if he had said, al- 
 though I bring you this deliverance, yet will I 
 bring you a greater, when I shall bring my servant 
 the branch. Thus Jonathan. Kimchi. 
 
 Branch : this is Zerubbabel, as it is said his 
 name is the branch; and the end of the section 
 refers to Zerubbabel. But many commentators 
 explain it of the Messiah, called Zerubbabel, be- 
 cause of his posterity, as (it is said) and David 
 my servant (shall be) a prince over them forever. 
 Aben Ezra. 
 
 Lit., draws near. t Verse 13. 
 
 $ Verses 11, 13. Dr. M'Caul, in his translation of Zechariah, 
 seems to have read f^J-j instead of j^j-j from v. 13, as in Buxtorf 
 and the Bomberg ; for he translates it, " that is," and regards it as 
 explanatory of the words " many nations." 
 
 Ezek. xxxvii. 25.
 
 ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. OQ3 
 
 VIII. 1. ss. This section is one of consolation, 
 and refers to the time of the Messiah, when Gog 
 and Magog shall come to make war upon Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 12. I will cause to possess. This ma possi- 
 bly relate to the second temple, but the following 
 verse shows that it refers to the coming of the 
 Messiah, for it says, O house of Judah and house 
 of Israel, and the Israelites did not return during 
 the second temple. 
 
 20. This will take place when Messiah comes. 
 Kimchi. 
 
 IX. 9. ss. It is not possible to explain this of 
 any other than king Messiah, of whom it is said 
 he shall rule from sea to sea, and no such ruler 
 appeared during the continuance of the second 
 temple. Jarchi.* 
 
 XII. Iss. This will take place on the return of 
 Israel with Messiah the son of Joseph to Jerusalem. 
 
 10. And I will pour : I will pour the spirit of 
 peace and supplications upon the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem. Before this trouble shall come upon 
 them at the beginning, because they killed Mes- 
 siah son of Joseph. Then the Lord will be an- 
 gry, and will destroy all the nations that came 
 
 * Kimchi gives the same explanation. Aben Ezra interprets this 
 and several other places in Zechariah,of some one of the Asmoneean 
 princes. But Abarbanel expresses his surprise at such an exposition 
 of this place, and shows in detail that the exposition of Aben Ezra a 
 untenable. See M'Caul on Zechariah, p. 94.
 
 204 COMMENTARY ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 
 
 against Jerusalem. And this is (what is meant 
 by) and they shall look on him ; then all the na- 
 tions will look to me, to see what I will do to those 
 who pierced Messiah, son of Joseph. 
 
 XIV. 4. And his feet shall stand : Behold a 
 sign and a wonder which the Lord will perform 
 in that day ; nothing of which has been accom- 
 plished *until the present time. 
 
 11. And they shall dwell in it : securely, with 
 the Schekinah. Then will come Messiah, son 
 of David. Aben Ezra.
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES.
 
 TRADITIONARY DECISIONS, 
 
 OR 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS RELATING TO THE WORSHIPPERS 
 
 OF STARS AND PLANETS, AND STATUTES 
 
 REFERRING TO THEM. 
 
 CHAPTER FIRST. 
 
 1. IN the time of Enos, mankind committed a 
 great error, and the counsel of the wise men of 
 that generation became brutish, and Enos himself 
 was one of those who erred. Their error was 
 this. They said, inasmuch as God created the 
 stars and orbs to regulate the world, and set them 
 on high, and gave them glory, as they are attend- 
 ants that serve before him, they are worthy of 
 being praised and honored and of having glory 
 give to them. And this is the will of God, the 
 blessed one, that we should magnify and honor 
 whomsoever he hath magnified and honored, as a 
 king is pleased to honor those who stand in his 
 presence : and this (indeed) is to honor the king 
 himself.
 
 208 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 2. After this consideration* had arisen in their 
 minds, they began to build temples to the stars, 
 and to present offerings to them, and to praise and 
 honor them in words, and to worship before them, 
 in order to obtain the favor of the Creator through 
 their mischievous opinion. This was the founda- 
 tion of idolatry, and thus did they affirm who 
 practised it and knew on what ground it rested ; 
 not that they maintained that there was no God 
 but the stars. And thus Jeremiah says : who 
 would not fear thee, O king of nations ? for to 
 thee doth it appertain ; (or, thee doth it become ;) 
 forasmuch as among all the wise men of the 
 nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none 
 like unto thee, but they are altogether brutish and 
 foolish, the stock is a doctrine of vanities :f that 
 is to say, they all know that thou art God alone,J 
 but their error and their folly consist in ima-ining 
 that vanity to be thy will. 
 
 3. But after a long time, false prophets rose 
 up among men, who alleged that God had com- 
 manded them to worship some particular star 
 or the stars in general, to present offerings and 
 libations to it according to some prescribed man- 
 ner,^ to build a temple for it, and to make an 
 
 * Lit., thing, matter. He means the train of thought just ex- 
 pressed, t x. 7, 8. 
 
 t The Hebrew is simply fcOH !"l"l5$ but the meaning is as I 
 have given it. Comp. {SOP! "O&S an( ^ tae context in Isa. xliii. 13. 
 
 Lit, thus and thus.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 209 
 
 image of it, in order that all the people, the women 
 and children, and other inhabitants of the country, 
 might worship it. He* also showed them an im- 
 age of his own devising,f and said, that this was 
 the image of that particular star which had been 
 made known| to him in his prophecy. In this 
 way they began to make images in temples, and 
 under the trees, and on the tops of the mountains, 
 and on the hills ; and they assembled together 
 and worshipped them, and s;tid to all the people, 
 that this image did good and evil, and it was 
 proper to serve and fear it. The priests told 
 them also, that by serving it they would multiply 
 and prosper, and prescribed to them what they 
 should do, and what they should avoid. $ 
 
 4. Other deceivers then began to arise, and 
 to declare, that the star itself or the orb or the 
 angel spake with them, and said to them, worship 
 me in this or that manner, and taught them the 
 mode of his service, directing what they should 
 do, and what they should avoid. And this matter 
 spread over all the world, so that the images were 
 worshipped || with services differing from each 
 
 * That is, some one of the false prophets. 
 
 t Lit, which he had devised of his heart. See 1 Kings xii. 33. 
 
 t Lit, which they had made known. 
 
 The original is in the future and imperative. Literally : you 
 shall multiply and prosper, and do so and so, and you shall not do so 
 and so. 
 
 || Lit, to worship images. 
 
 10
 
 210 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 other, and offerings were presented, and adora- 
 tion was paid to them. 
 
 5. Again, after a long time, the glorious and 
 venerable God was forgotten* by all men,t and 
 ceased to be mentioned or thought of, and they 
 became ignorant of him. And all the people of 
 the earth, and the women and children, were 
 found to know nothing but the image of wood and 
 of stone, and the temple of stones, to which from 
 childhood they were taught to pay adoration and 
 divine worship, and by the name of which they 
 were accustomed to swear. Even the wise men 
 that were among them, as their priests and others 
 of that class, thought that there was no God but 
 the stars and the orbs, on whose account and in 
 whose likeness those images were made. But 
 the everlasting rockj there was not a man who 
 acknowledged him, neither did any know him, a 
 few individuals in the world excepted, as Enoch 
 and Methuselah, Noah, Shera and Eber. And in 
 this way was the world going On and revolving, 
 
 * Lit., was forgotten from the mouth of all men and from their 
 minds. I have followed the text as given in the edition of the Yad, 
 which was published by JOSEPH ATHIAS, at Amsterdam, in four vo- 
 lumes, folio, 1702, which has nDfltSD' Vossius however reads 
 was destroyed, perished. If this reading be preferred 
 perhaps be best rendered the name, referring to the 
 appellation Jehovah, and the character of God, which it implies. 
 
 t Lit, every living thing. See Gen. vii. 4, 23. 
 
 t Or, the rock of the world. See the note on the seventh chapter 
 on the foundations of the law, section 10.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 
 
 until the pillar* of the world was born, our father 
 Abraham. 
 
 6. After this mighty one was weaned, he began 
 to revolvet in his mind while yet a child, and he 
 began to think day and night, and it was a sub- 
 ject of wonder to him, how it was possible that 
 this orb should be continually moving on, while 
 there was no one to cause and direct its move- 
 ments. And who causes it (to move) ? since it 
 is impossible that it should cause itself. But he 
 had no teacher, none who could tell him anything; 
 on the contrary, he was overwhelmed, in Ur of 
 the Chaldees, among stupid idolators ; and his 
 father, and his mother, and the whole nation, 
 worshipped the stars and planets, and he along 
 with them. But he revolved in his mind and 
 considered until he reached the way of truth, and 
 comprehended the rule| of righteousness by his 
 own correct understanding. And thus he knew 
 that there is one God, and that he caused the orb 
 to move, and he created all things, and that among 
 all beings he alone is God. He knew also that 
 the whole world was in error, and that the cause 
 of their falling into this error was, that they had 
 
 * Comp., tho use of frvioi in Gal. ii. 9, and of columen in Horace, 
 Carm. Lib. ii. Od. 17, 5. 
 
 t Lit., to move to and fro. See Dan. xii. 4. It conveys the idea 
 of careful investigation and search. Although much of the author's 
 statement is evidently founded on tradition, a large proportion of it 
 is in itself highly probable. 
 
 t Lit., line.
 
 212 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 worshipped the stars and the images, until the 
 truth was lost from their minds. And Abraham 
 was forty vears old when he knew his Creator. 
 
 7. On obtaining a proper knowledge of him,* 
 he began to enter into controversy with the people 
 of Ur of the Chaldees, and to reply to their argu- 
 ments,! and to say, the course ye are pursuing 
 is not that of truth. And he broke the images, 
 and began to teach the people, that the only being 
 to whom divine worship ought to be paid was the 
 God of the world, and that to him adoration ought 
 to be given, and offerings and libations presented, 
 in order that all future generations:): should know 
 him ; and that it was right to destroy and break 
 in pieces all the images, lest they should be em- 
 ployed to lead all the people into the same error 
 as they had fallen into who imagined, that there 
 was no other God but these. 
 
 8. After he had prevailed against them by his 
 reasons, the king endeavored to put him to death, 
 but a miracle was wrought for him,<> and he went 
 
 * Lit., after he had acknowledged and known. 
 
 t The reader of the original will perceive, that I have transposed 
 the author's arrangement, in order to adapt it to our mode of speaking. 
 The literal translation is as follows : he began to return answers to 
 the children of Ur of the Chaldees, and to enter into controversy with 
 them. 
 
 t Lit., all the creatures that are coming. 
 
 The author alludes to the Rabbinical tale of Abraham's mira- 
 culous deliverance from the fire (Heb. ^HJ^,) f tae Chaldees, into 
 which the king had commanded him to be thrown.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 313 
 
 out to Haran, and began to stand* and proclaim 
 with a loud voice to all the people ,f and to teach 
 them that there is one God of the whole world, 
 who ought to be served. And he went on, pro- 
 claiming and collecting the people, from city 
 to city and from kingdom to kingdom, until he 
 arrived at the land of Canaan, and he (continued) 
 proclaiming, as it is said and he called there on 
 the name of the Lord, the God of the world.f 
 
 9. And after the people had assembled to 
 him, and made inquiries of him respecting his 
 discourses, he instructed each individual accord- 
 ing to his intellectual ability, until he brought him 
 back to the way of truth, until thousands and 
 myriads assembled to him. And these were the 
 men of Abraham's house, and he implanted in 
 their minds this great fundamental principle, and 
 composed books in relation to it, and taught it to 
 his son Isaac. And Isaac settled as instructor 
 
 Vossius renders this, ibique consistent But the in- 
 finitive is evidently connected with the words that precede and follow, 
 and although Abraham did spend a considerable tune in Haran, it 
 was not the author's intention to say any thing on this subject. He 
 either refers to the patriarch as a public speaker standing up in the 
 presence of the multitude, or, as I rather think, employs the word to 
 denote his attention and perseverance in proclaiming the doctrine of 
 the one true God. The Hebrew word is thus used. See Geteniui in 
 1)3$ ! 2 ; and comp. Isa. Ixi. 5. Mic. v. 3. (4.) 
 
 t Lit., the world. 
 
 t Gen. xxi. 33. Our English translation renders Q^nV ^K 
 everlasting God. And this is most probably correct, but the context 
 shows that Maimonides understood it as I have rendered it
 
 214 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 and admonisher, and Isaac taught it to Jacob, and 
 appointed him to teach, and he settled* as in- 
 structor and admonisher of all those who attached 
 themselves to him. And Jacob our father taught 
 all his sons, and he separated Levi, and appointed 
 him head, and placed him in a school, to teach 
 the way of God, and to observe the commands 
 of Abraham ; and he commanded his sons not to 
 separate from the sons of Levi the chief, in order 
 that the doctrine should not be forgotten. 
 
 10. Thus the trutht was continually increas- 
 ing in strength among the sons of Jacob and their 
 adherents, and there was formed in the world a 
 people that knew the Lord, until the Israelites had 
 spent a long time among the Egyptians. Then 
 they turned to learn their works, and to worship 
 stars and planets like them, except the tribe of 
 Levi who adhered to the commandments of the 
 fathers, and never practised idolatry. Thus the 
 fundamental principle which Abraham had im- 
 planted was almost cut off and rooted out, and 
 
 * The original is J^Wl. If this is the root, the meaning will 
 be as given in the text. But if it be derived from H ** to return, it 
 must be taken adverbially, thus: and again Isaac or Jacob became 
 an instructor ; intimating that the heads of the patriarchal family 
 were successively teachers of true religion. In this case, however, 
 the ordinary usage would require this verb to be immediately fol- 
 lowed by another. Maimonides seems to have confounded the future 
 divine choice of the family of Levi with some supposed arrangement 
 of the patriarch Jacob. 
 
 t Lit., the thing or word.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 215 
 
 the children of Jacob returned* to the error of the 
 world and their impieties. 
 
 11. But God, on account of his love towards 
 us, and because he would keep the oath (which 
 he sware) to Abraham our father, constituted 
 Moses our master the master of all the prophets, 
 and sent him. After Moses our master had exer- 
 cised his prophetic office, and God had chosen 
 Israel for an inheritance, he crowned them with 
 the commandments and taught them the way of 
 his service, and what judgment should be pro- 
 nounced on those who worship stars and planets, 
 and on all who imitate their error. 
 
 This is a literal translation of the original. Mr. Bernard seema 
 disposed to modify the direct assertion of Maimonides respecting their 
 ancestors. He introduces in brackets the qualifying phrase " had 
 nearly," and adds in a note " literally : and the children of Jacob 
 (would have] come back or returned." The Old Testament exhibits 
 .abundant evidence, that such modification is entirely unauthorized.
 
 TRADITIONARY DECISIONS 
 
 OR 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS ON THE FOUNDATIONS 
 OF THE LAW. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTH. 
 
 1. IT belongs to the foundations* of the law, to 
 know that God enables men to prophesy. And 
 prophecy falls only on a wise man, eminent for 
 wisdom, mighty in subduing his propensities, whose 
 natural inclination does not overpower him in any 
 thing, but who continually conquers by his knowl- 
 edge his natural inclination, and who is a man of 
 an enlarged and well regulated mind.f 
 
 2. [The author then proceeds to say, that in 
 such a man, intelligent, wise, holy, removed from 
 all worldly associations, and absorbed by heavenly 
 contemplations, the Holy Spirit will rest ; that he 
 
 * By this phrase the author intends to denote first principles, as 
 he says in the very beginning of his work . the foundation of founda- 
 tions and the pillar of wisdom is, to know that there is a first being, 
 and he is the producer of every other being. 
 
 t Or, the original may be rendered thus : who possesses exten- 
 sive and well arranged knowledge.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. gi7 
 
 intermingles with that grade of angels who are 
 called ishim,* and becomes quite a different being 
 from what he was before.] 
 
 3. There are different grades of prophets. As 
 one wise man is superior in wisdom to his com- 
 panion, so also one prophet is greater in prophecy 
 than another. But they all see the prophetic ap- 
 pearance only in a dream, in a vision at night or 
 by day, after a deep sleep hath fallen on them ; as 
 it is said, I will make myself known unto him in a 
 vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.f And 
 (as to) all of them, when they prophesy, their 
 limbs tremble, and their physical strength fails, 
 and their thoughts become overwhelmed. Then 
 the mind is left free to comprehend what it may 
 perceive ; as it is said of Abraham and lo, a hor- 
 ror of great darkness fell upon him :| and as it is 
 said of Daniel, and my comeliness was turned 
 in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.|| 
 
 * QTQIfcfci men. This term is applied by the Rabbles to their tenth 
 and lowest degree of angels, because they are supposed to be nearest 
 to men, and to make communications to the prophets. Chap. ii. 
 sect 8, 9, 10. 
 
 t Num. xii. 6. t Gen. xv. 12. $ Dan. x. 8. 
 
 || Vorst, in his notes on this section, remarks, that Rabbi Albo 
 reduces the prophetic grades to four. The first and lowest is, when 
 a man by the Spirit bursts out in the praises of God, so as to carry 
 away his hearers in admiration by deep wisdom and graceful oratory, 
 while he himself does not know whence this knowledge has coiue to 
 him. To this class of prophets David and Solomon are referred. 
 The second grade is, when the imaginative and rational faculties are 
 both equally affected. The third, when appearances of things are 
 
 10*
 
 218 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 4. Things which are made known to a pro- 
 phet in prophetic vision, are made known to him 
 parabolically (or by symbol,) and immediately the 
 interpretation of the parable (or symbol,) is en- 
 graven on his mind in prophetic vision, and he 
 kn >\vs its meaning. Thus the ladder which our 
 father Jacob saw, on which angels were ascen- 
 ding,* was a symbol of kingdoms and their sub- 
 jection. Thus also the living creatures which Eze- 
 kiel sa\v,f and the boiling pot and the rod of an 
 almond tree which Jeremiah saw,| and the roll 
 which Ezekiel saw,f and the ephah which Zech- 
 ariah saw ; and thus of the other prophets. Some 
 among them, like these, relate the symbol and its 
 interpretation ; some the interpretation only : and 
 others again often relate the symbol merely with- 
 out the interpretation, as (is the case) partly with 
 the language of Ezekiel and Zechariah : but all of 
 them prophesied by parable (or symbol,) arid enig- 
 matically. || 
 
 * 
 
 really discerned, and the intellectual faculty prevails over the ima- 
 ginative: as was the casein the visions of Ezekiel. The fourth, 
 which is the highest degree, is when the prophetic revelation is per- 
 ceived without the aid of the imaginative faculty, and accomplished 
 without the sight of any appearance or angel. Whoever has arrived 
 at this grade, it it is said, ought not to be denominated a man, but an 
 angel. This excellence is peculiar to Moses. 
 
 * Gen. xxviii. 12. t L 5, BB. ; ii. 9. 
 
 ti. 11, 13. v. 6. 
 
 || Vorst observes, that, in addition to this method of prophesying 
 by objects of sight or signs, another may be added, namely, by worda 
 or actions. By words, as when Messiah, Antichrist, the state of the
 
 YAD OF MAIMOMDES. 219 
 
 6. All the prophets did not prophesy at any 
 time, according to their inclination ; but they pre- 
 pared their minds and sat alone, joyous and cheer- 
 ful, since prophecy does not dwell with sorrow 
 and inertness, but with joy. The sons of the pro- 
 phets, therefore, (had) before them the nabla,* and 
 the tabret and the pipe and the harp, and (thus) 
 they sought prophecy :t and this is what is meant 
 by and they prophesied ;} that is, they went in 
 the way of prophecyt until they did prophesy ; as 
 if you should say, such an one makes himself 
 great. Those who sought to prophesy were called 
 sons of the prophets : but notwithstanding their 
 preparation of mind, it still remained uncertain 
 whether the shechinah would rest upon them 
 or not. 
 
 6. All that we have said relates to the mode 
 of prophecy common to all the prophets, both for- 
 mer and later, except Moses our master, the chief 
 of all the prophets. And what is the difference 
 between the prophetic gift of Moses and that of 
 all the other prophets? That all the prophets 
 saw in a dream or in a vision, but Moses our mas- 
 ter saw while awake and standing, as it is said ; 
 
 Church, and so forth, are predicted ; and by actions, as when Ezekiel 
 is commanded to do certain things. Several of the latter cases, how- 
 ever, are comprehended under the author's idea of parable or symbol. 
 
 A sort of lyre or harp. 
 
 t He means, they adopted the proper means-to fit themselves for 
 becoming prophets, they behaved like prophets. 
 
 t Or, made themselves prophecy :
 
 220 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 and when Moses went to the tabernacle of the 
 congregation to speak with him, then he heard the 
 voice of him speaking to him.* 
 
 7. The prophets in general (received divine 
 communications) through the instrumentality of an 
 angel ; therefore they saw what they saw in para- 
 ble (or figure, or symbol,) and enigmatically : 
 Moses our master not through an angel, as it is 
 said with him will I speak mouth to mouth.f 
 And it is said and the Lord spoke to Moses face 
 to face :J and again and the similitude of the 
 Lord shall he behold .f By all which it is indi- 
 cated,^ that there was no figure (or symbol,) but 
 he saw the thing clearly without any figure. And 
 this is what the law attests respecting him : in 
 evident appearance, and not in enigmas ;|| (mean- 
 ing) that he did not prophesy in a dark, enigmat- 
 ical manner, but perspicuously, because he saw 
 the thing clearly. 
 
 8. The prophets in general were afraid and 
 troubled, and melted away (as it were through 
 terror,) but Moses our master was not so. And 
 this is implied where it is said^f as a man speak- 
 eth with his friend ; that is, as a man is not troub- 
 led at the words of his companion, so was there 
 
 Num. vii. 89. t Num. xii. 8. 
 
 t Exod. xxxiii. 11. Lit., that is to say. 
 
 H Num. xii. 8. The English translation is, " even apparently 
 and not in dark speeches." 
 
 7 Exod. xxxiii. 11. Lit , this is what the scripture saith.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. g21 
 
 force of mind in Moses our master, to understand 
 the words of prophecy, and to stand firm and un- 
 moved.* 
 
 9. The prophets in general did not prophesy 
 whenever they were disposed to do so. With 
 Moses our master the case was otherwise, for the 
 Holy Spirit came upon himf and prophecy rested 
 on him at any time that he desired ; neither was 
 it necessary for him to compose and prepare his 
 mind for it, for indeed he was (always) composed 
 and prepared, and stood like the ministering angels. 
 Therefore he prophesied at any time, as it is said 
 stand and I will hear what the Lord will com- 
 mand concerning you.J And by this God gave 
 him confidence, as it is said go, say to them, 
 
 * Lit., and he stands perfectly (or safely) in his position. The 
 original is, J321J3 1*1 5337 23? T^Sl^ fcOni' which is rendered by 
 Vorst, et perfectus in sua permanebat coustantia, and by Bernard, 
 " whilst retaining all its faculties unimpaired." The idea given by 
 these learned men is undoubtedly implied, but the direct meaning of 
 the words is, I think, as I have translated them. There appears to 
 be a reference to what is said in Daniel viii. 17, 18: "so he came 
 near where / stood," "i*J725 " anc ' he touched me and set me up- 
 right" ^"1?3}J 53? "OT'ft^T he made me stand in my place 
 This agrees with what the author had said before, in the sixth section, 
 " Moses saw while awake and standing" ^fo"\y* 
 
 t Lit., clothed him. Comp. Judges vi. 34, and other similar places. 
 Here it may be remarked, that in scripture the figure of clothing does 
 not denote the outward appearance merely. It is almost always 
 employed to express the reality of the character, or disposition, or 
 influence with which it is connected. Sco Job viii. 22. Pa. xxxv. 
 26 ; cix. 17-19. (18-20.) Isa. lix. 17 ; Ixi. 10. Bom. xiii. 14. 
 t Num. ix. 8.
 
 222 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 return to your tents, but do thou stand here by 
 me.* 
 
 10. Hencet you learn that the prophets in gen- 
 eral, when the prophecy departed from them, re- 
 turned to their tents, that is, (yielded) to all their 
 bodily requirements, like other people ; and con- 
 sequently they did not live apart from their wives. 
 But Moses our master did not return to his former 
 tent, therefore he kept apart from the woman (or 
 wife) forever, and from every other,J and his 
 mind became firmly attached to the everlasting 
 rock, and the glory never departed from him, and 
 his face shone, and he became (or appeared) sanc- 
 tified like the angels. 
 
 11. The prophetic gift of a prophet may in- 
 deed be intended exclusively for himself, to en- 
 large his mind and to increase his knowledge, 
 until he became acquainted with what he did not 
 before know of these great matters. But he may 
 also be sent to some of the various nations of the 
 earth, || or to the men of a city or kingdom, in or- 
 der to direct them aright, and to show them what 
 
 Deut v. 30, 31. t Lit, behold, 
 
 t Lit, from the like of her. See the note on Kimchi's Commen- 
 tary on Hosea, p. 170. It is unnecessary to note, that this Rabbinical 
 gloss adopted by Maimonides is far fetched and extravagant 
 
 Or, the rock of the world, as Vorst and Bernard render the 
 original. The author most probably refers to Isaiah xxvi. 4, where 
 the Syriac and Septuagint both have everlasting. And this agrees 
 best with the context and the general style of scripture. 
 
 II Lit, to a people of the peoples of the earth.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 
 
 they ought to do, or with the view of restraining 
 them from the wicked works which they were 
 practising.* And when he is sent, a sign or a 
 wondert is givenj to him, in order that the people 
 may know, that God hath really sent him. 
 
 * Lit, which were in their hands. 
 
 t A sign or a wonder ; that is, the power of working one. Thus, 
 in Psalm Ixxii. 1, "judgment and righteousness" are used for the 
 faculty of exercising them ; in 1 Cor. xii. 7, " the manifestation of the 
 Spirit" signifies the ability to display certain gifts which he had im- 
 parted ; and most probably, in Matt. xiv. 2, < cfc/rx^um means the 
 power of working miracles, which Herod imagined to be influencing 
 the risen John. 
 
 t The words in the original are plural, and the agent is implied. 
 The literal translation would be ; when they send him, they give 
 him. And so in the next section, where the participles are in the 
 plural, although I have translated the clauses " he is sustained we 
 sustain them." In the preceding chapter also, ou the origin of idolatry, 
 section third, what is rendered " which had been made known to 
 him," is literally, which they had made known to him. This usage 
 is very common in Hebrew. Thus Maimonides says " they pardon 
 him," for, he is pardoned ; " they judge him," meaning, he is 
 judged, (for future judgment is the subject,) " according to his ac- 
 tions ; " and immediately afterwards " they award to him good, 
 and evil." See his Treatise on Repentance, chap. i. sect. 7 ; chap. 
 v. sect. 6. Several other instances of this idiom may be found in 
 the same work, as in chap v. sect. 6, towards the end ; chap. vi. 
 sect. 2, whore the plural occurs twice for it (or he) should be pun- 
 ished ; chap. vii. sect. 8, and other places. We find also the same 
 usage in the book of Daniel. Thus, in ii. 30 : " this secret is not 
 revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, 
 but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the 
 king:" literally, in order that they may make known, &c. Our 
 English translation is exceedingly unfortunate ; indeed it gives uo 
 intelligible sense, and betrays a want of acquaintance with the idiom 
 of the original : " for their sakes that shall make known the inter-
 
 224 EXTRACTS FROM THE 
 
 12. But we do not believe every one that works 
 a sign or a wonder to be a prophet, but only the 
 man whom we have known from the beginning* 
 to have been fit for prophecy : to have raised him- 
 self by his wisdom and his works above all the 
 men of his age, and to have walked in the way of 
 prophecy, in holiness and separation.! After- 
 terwards, (if) he come and do a sign or a wonder, 
 and say that God hath sent him, the command is to 
 hear him, as it is said unto him shall ye hearken.J 
 
 13. It is possible also that (a man) may work 
 a sign or a wonder without being a prophet. In 
 such a case the sign is suspicious, and still the 
 command is to hearken to him. Inasmuch as he 
 was a great and wise man, and fit for prophecy, 
 he is sustained (as a prophet,) on the presumptive 
 evidence of his claims. For thus we are com- 
 manded ; as we are also commanded to decide a 
 
 pretation to the king." Also in iii. 4, " it is commanded," is literally, 
 they command ; iv. 13, (16.) " let his heart be changed," is literally, 
 let them change ; and this is followed by the passive singular " and 
 let a beast's heart be given." Comp. also 22, (25,) and v. 21. 
 See also Num. xv. 34, where the Hebrew tS^lS' was explained, 
 made known, is translated in the Sept. <rim*g/(tir. It is not impro- 
 bable, that the plural "they may receive," in Luke xvi. 9, may be 
 used in accordance with the same idiom. The language of the whole 
 verse has nn evident bearing on the narration before given of the 
 unjust steward's conduct ; but this is not at all inconsistent with the 
 supposition just stated. 
 
 * Lit., from his beginning. It may mean, from his early years. 
 
 t Separation from whatever is carnal and worldly. 
 
 t Deut. xviiL 15.
 
 YAD OF MAIMONIDES. 225 
 
 cause on the authority* of two proper witnesses. 
 They may indeed have testified falsely ; yet, in- 
 asmuch as, in our estimation,! they are proper 
 persons, we sustain them on the presumption that 
 they are so.} And respecting these and other 
 similar matters, it is said ; the secret things be- 
 long unto the Lord our God, but those things 
 which have been revealed, to us and to our chil- 
 dren ; and it is said for man looketh on the out- 
 ward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the 
 heart. || 
 
 Lit, at the mouth. t Lit, with us. 
 
 t Lit, on account of their fitness. 
 
 Deut xxix. 28, (29.) II 1 Sam. xvL 7.
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 MOREH NEVOCHIM OF 
 MAIMONIDES.
 
 FROM THE MOREH NEVOCHIM. 
 
 PART II. CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 IT is not necessary for me to explain the meaning 
 of a dream, but (only of) a vision, of which it is 
 said,* I will make myself known unto him in a 
 vision ; and this is what is called prophetic vision, 
 and it is denoted also by the phrase the hand of 
 the Lord, and also by the word, ftTHfa* sight. It 
 is a fearful thing, producing terror, which seizes 
 the prophetf in a time when he is awake, as it is 
 evidently stated in Daniel, where he says : and I 
 saw this great vision, and there remained no 
 strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in 
 me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 
 And (again) he says : and I was in a deep sleep 
 upon my face, and my face toward the ground.! 
 And indeed the discourse of the angel, and his 
 making him stand up, all took place in prophetic 
 vision. And, in such circumstances the senses are 
 
 * Lit, and as to it they say. Num. xii. G. 
 
 t Lit, is joined to. t Dan. x. 8, 9.
 
 230 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 quiescent ;* and this influence comes to the rational 
 faculty, and hence effects the imaginative, and 
 thus perfectly accomplishes its work.f Some- 
 times prophecy begins in prophetic vision, and af- 
 terwards that terror increases, and the deep dis- 
 tressj which takes place, when the operations of 
 the imagination are completed ; and then comes 
 prophecy. And thus it came to Abraham, of 
 whom it occurs in the beginning of the<> prophecy, 
 
 * Lit., cease from their operations. 
 
 t The author's meaning is, that in divine communications there 
 is made to the imagination a representation of what is predicted, the 
 nature and import of which are perceived by the understanding, 
 which of course retains its natural ability, and is so divinely influ- 
 enced as to enable it to comprehend the meaning of what is thus 
 communicated. Hence it is well remarked by Dr. John Smith, in 
 his valuable discourse on Prophecy, " that the prophetic spirit doth 
 never alienate the mind, seeing it seats itself as well in the rational 
 powers as in the sensitive, but always maintains a consistency and 
 clearness of reason and solidity of judgment, where it comes ; it doth 
 not ravish the mind, but inform and enlighten it." This he proceeds 
 to contrast with a pretended spirit of prophecy, of which he says 
 afterwards : " The prince of darkness comes not within the sphere of 
 light and reason to order affairs there, but that is left to the sole 
 oeconomy and sovereignty of the Father of lights. There is a clear 
 and bright heaven in man's soul, in which Lucifer himself cannot 
 subsist, but is tumbled down from thence, as often as he essays to 
 climb up into it." Smith's Ten Discourses were published in one 
 quarto volume, in 1660, and this on Prophecy may be found in Wat- 
 son's Theological Tracts, Vol. IV. pp. 297 362. It contains the 
 views on this subject of the more prominent of the Jewish Rabbles. 
 The passages above quoted may be found on pages 314 and 317 of 
 the Tracts. 
 
 % Lit., strong suffering. 
 
 Lit., that. He means the one referred to immediately after.
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 231 
 
 the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vis- 
 ion, and in the end of it, and a deep sleep fell 
 upon Abram, and so forth ; and afterward, and 
 he said to Abram.* 
 
 Know also, that all the prophets who men- 
 tion prophecy as coming to them, ascribe it either 
 to an angel, or to the blessed God, although it was 
 by means of an angel without doubt. On this point, 
 our rabbies of blessed memory long ago delivered 
 their opinion, in explaining, and the Lord said to 
 her,f thus : by means of an angel. And know 
 further, that whenever it is written that an angel 
 spake with one, or that the word of the Lord came 
 to him, this has not taken place in any other way 
 than in a dream or in prophetic vision. 
 
 There is an ancient agadaj respecting com- 
 munications made to the prophets, as they are 
 recounted in the prophetic books, which states 
 that they were made in four ways. First : the 
 prophet makes known that the communication 
 was made by an angel in a dream or vision. Sec- 
 ondly : he merely mentions the communication of 
 the angel to him, without explaining that it was 
 made in a dream or vision, because of the well 
 established principle, || that prophecy is confined 
 
 * Gen. xv. 1, 12, 13. t Gen. xxv. 23. 
 
 t This word is used by the Rabbles to denote a discourse, histori- 
 cal, theological, or mystical, on some portion of scripture. 
 Lit., according to which. 
 || Lit., became it rests on what was before known.
 
 232 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 to one or other of these two methods : I will make 
 myself known to him in a vision, I will speak unto 
 him in a dream.* Thirdly : the angel is not men- 
 tioned at all, but the communication is ascribed 
 to God the blessed one, who speaks it to him, but 
 who makes known that it comes to him in a vis- 
 ion or dream. Fourthly: the prophet simply de- 
 clares that God spoke to him, or said to him, do 
 this, or, say this, without explaining either by 
 mentioning an angel or by mentioning a dream, on 
 account of the well established fundamental prin- 
 ciple, that prophecy or prophetic revelation comes 
 only in dream or in vision, and through the agen- 
 cy of an angel. 
 
 As an illustration of the first of these ways, it 
 is said ; and the angel of God spake unto me in a 
 dream, Jacob :f and the angelj said unto Balaam. 
 Of the second, we have as follows : and God said 
 unto Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel ; and God said 
 unto him, thy name is Jacob ; and the angel of 
 the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the 
 second time :|| and God said to Noah.^f Of the 
 
 Num. xii. 6. t Gen. xxxi. 11. 
 
 t Num. xxii. 12. In the original the word is ^flbiS' which 
 M aimonides understands of an angel. But he is undoubtedly mis- 
 taken, as there is no reason for abandoning the usual sense of the 
 term. 
 
 Gen. xxxv. 1, 10. 
 
 || Gen. xxii. 15. It is quite preposterous to suppose that this was 
 done in a dream or vision, the circumstances in which Abraham was 
 placed, show that it was an audible communication made to him 
 while awake. T Gen. vii. 1.
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 33 
 
 third is that which is said : the word of the Lord 
 came to Abram in a vision.* Of the fourth are 
 such as these ; and the Lord said unto Abraham ; 
 and the Lord said unto Jacob, return ; and the 
 Lord said unto Joshua ; and the Lord said unto 
 Gideon.t And thus also, it is often said, and the 
 Lord said unto me ; and the word of the Lord was 
 to me ; and the word of the Lord was -, and behold, 
 the word of the Lord was to him ; the beginning 
 of the word of the Lord by Hosea; the hand of 
 the Lord was upon me.J This class is exceed- 
 ingly numerous. 
 
 Whatever is communicated in any of these 
 four ways is prophecy, and the speaker a prophet. 
 But that of which it is said, and God came to such 
 an one in a dream at night, is not necessarily pro- 
 phecy, nor the man (of whom it is said) a prophet : 
 for such communication may be merely sugges- 
 tion from God to that man, and afterwards it is 
 explained to us that the suggestion was made in 
 a dream. For, inasmuch as God is the occasion, 
 that one man is incited to deliver another or to put 
 him to death, so is God the occasion (cause) 
 
 Gen. xii. 1. 
 
 t Gen. xxxi. 3. Joshua iii. 7. Judges vii. 2. 
 
 { Isa. viii. 1. Ezek. xxhr. 20, BB. 1 Kings xix. 9. Hosea i. 1. 
 Ezek. xxxvii. 1. 
 
 Lit, for the sense of it may be, that suggestion came from God. 
 I have rendered the original word !"n2?n suggestion, supposing it 
 to be from *|1^i to rouse, wake up, excite attention. But I am by 
 no means certain that this is the author's meaning. 
 11
 
 234 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 of the production of those things which he wishes 
 to be produced in a dream at night. For we can- 
 not doubt that Laban the Syrian was a thoroughly 
 wicked man, and also an idolater ; and although 
 Abimelech was a good man among his people, 
 yet of old Abraham our father said of* his country 
 and of his kingdom surely the fear of God is not 
 in this place.f And yet of each of these two, that 
 is to say, of Laban and Abimelech, the same lan- 
 guage occurs : and God came to Abimelech in a 
 dream by night.J Observe also this, and consider 
 the difference between its being said,< and God 
 came, and its being said, and God spake ; and be- 
 tween its being said, in a dream by night, and its 
 being said, in vision, by night. Of Jacob it is said, |} 
 and God spake unto Israel in visions of the night ;^f 
 but of Laban and Abimelech, and God came and 
 so forth. And all this is explained by Onkelos, 
 (thus :) and the word came from the Lord ; but he 
 does not say of those two, and the Lord revealed 
 himself. 
 
 Furthermore it ought to be known,** that the 
 expression and the Lord said to such an one is 
 
 Buxtorf, in his translation adds, of himself, de ipso. On what 
 authority I do not know. It would seem to be inconsistent with what 
 the author had said immediately before, that Abimelech was a good 
 man among his people, when it is considered that he sets him in 
 contradistinction to the idolatrous and wicked Laban. 
 
 t Gen. zx. 11. t Gen. xx. 3. xxxi. 24. 
 
 $ Lit, hie saying. II Lit, it comes, occurs. 
 
 * xlvi. 2. Lit., knew then
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 235 
 
 used, when, strictly speaking, he has no prophetic 
 vision,* but the communication is made to him by 
 means of a prophet. And thus it is A* ritten ; and 
 she went to enquire of the Lord.f And theyj say 
 plainly, (she went) to the school of Shem and 
 Eber, and he answered her ; and yet|| it is said 
 in reference to him, and the Lord said to her. And 
 although the expression and the Lord said unto 
 her is elsewhere^] explained to mean, through the 
 agency of an angel ; yet this must be understood, 
 either of Eber himself, the term angel, (mes- 
 senger,) being often applied to a prophet, as I have 
 proved ; or the angel who came to Eber in that 
 prophecy is signified ; or else it will be (intended) 
 to show, that whenever you find the communica- 
 tion ascribed directly and absolutely to God, it 
 was made by means of an angel. And this was 
 the case with respect to the other prophets, as we 
 have shown. 
 
 * Lit., and this was not to such an one, and prophetic vision did 
 not come to him at all. 
 
 t Gen. xxv. 22. t That is, the Rabbles. 
 
 That is, one of them, meaning Eber, whom he afterwards 
 mentions. Or, it, that is, the school. 
 
 U I have followed the Latin nihilominus of Buxtorf, which the 
 context seems to require The Hebrew is Tn^S?^ Does the 
 author mean, m the continuance, passing on, of the narrative ? 
 
 T By the Rabbles. The literal translation is, although it is also 
 said, and the Lord said unto her, by means of an angel. The reader 
 cannot fail to perceive that the Rabbinical exposition which the author 
 here sanctions is unfounded and extravagant.
 
 236 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREII 
 
 CHAPTERS XLII XLV. 
 
 The author continues the subject in these 
 chapters. He remarks, that it is a matter of indif- 
 ference whether the appearance of an angel is 
 originally mentioned ; or whether it would seem, 
 from the narrative, that at first the prophet suppo- 
 ses him to be a mere man, but towards the end 
 becomes satisfied that he is an angel. He illus- 
 trates this principle by the remarkable instances 
 stated in Gen. xviii. and xxxii. and even applies 
 it to the history in Num. xxii. which he supposes 
 to have taken place in prophetic vision ; and also 
 to Josh. v. 13. and other places. In the 43rd 
 chapter, he treats of parabolical representations or 
 symbols ; in the 44th, of the various ways of which 
 the prophet perceived and recognized the divine 
 communications ; and in the 45ih, of the various 
 grades of prophecy, the term being understood in 
 a wide and comprehensive sense. He makes 
 seven of these grades, as follows. 
 
 1. When a man is excited by divine aid to do 
 some great and good action. This is the grade 
 of all the judges of Israel, and of their most dis- 
 tinguished chiefs. The spirit which influenced 
 them did not impart the faculty of speaking, but 
 of acting. 
 
 2. When a man feels inwardly a matter pres- 
 sing upon him, and a power inciting him to speak,
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 237 
 
 and he speaks in wisdom, or expresses his emo- 
 tions in praises or elevated exhortation, or in 
 moral and divine strains ; and all this in a wakeful 
 state, and with the exercise of his senses. Such 
 an one is said to speak by the Holy Spirit. Mul- 
 titudes of instances occur in scripture, so that any 
 specification is unnecessary. 
 
 3. This is the first of that class to which is 
 applied the language and the word of the Lord 
 came unto me or what is equivalent. Here the 
 prophet sees the parable or symbol, in a really 
 prophetic dream, in which also the meaning of 
 the symbol is explained to him. This applies to 
 the prophecies of Zechariah. 
 
 4. When the prophet distinctly hears the com- 
 munication in the prophetic vision, without seeing 
 the speaker ; as in the case of Samuel. 
 
 5. When in a dream a man is made to com- 
 municate ; as in some prophecies of Ezekiel, for 
 example that in chapter xl. See verse 4.* 
 
 6. When an angel speaks in a dream, which 
 is very common. 
 
 7. When it appears to the person in a pro- 
 phetic dream, as if God were speaking with him : 
 as in the case of Isaiah, vi. 1, and of Micaiah, 
 1 Kings xxii. 19.t 
 
 * It is surprising that Maimonides should not have recollected 
 what he had stated in the 42nd chapter, for the seeming man a 
 doubtless an angel. 
 
 t It is evident, that neither of these instances illustrates the 
 author's statement. The former was probably a vision, and the latter 
 a parabolical representation.
 
 238 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 8. When a revelation is made to one in pro- 
 phetic vision, and he sees parabolical representa- 
 tions or symbols ; as in Gen. xv. 
 
 ft. When he hears words in a vision ; as in 
 Gen. xv. 4. 
 
 10. When he sees a man speaking with him 
 in prophetic vision ; as Abraham did among the 
 oaks of Mamre, and Joshua at Jericho. 
 
 11. When he sees an angel speaking with 
 him in vision j. as on the occasion of the binding 
 of Isaac. 
 
 Immediately afterwards the author expresses 
 hi ; doubts respecting the three last, and seems 
 disposed to reduce the whole number to eight. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 FROM a single individual, you may draw a con- 
 clusion* respecting all the individuals of the class, 
 and (thus) it becomes known that the character 
 of all the others is the same. And it is my wish 
 in this discourse, that from the character of one 
 of the prophetic narrations, you may (be able to) 
 form a conclusion respecting all the narrations of 
 the same kind. 
 Agreeably to this design, it is to be understood, t 
 
 Lit., take a proof. t Lit, thou wilt know.
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 339 
 
 that, as in a dream a man may seem to have for- 
 merly gone to a certain country, to have married a 
 wife, and spent a considerable time there, to have 
 had by her a son called by some particular name, 
 and (to have done) various other matters ; * the 
 same is the case also with regard to those pro- 
 phetic parables (or symbols) which are seen or 
 done in prophetic vision. Whatever that symbol- 
 ical representation teaches respecting any of the 
 actions or things which the prophet does, the 
 space of time indicated by it as intervening be- 
 tween different actions, and removals from one 
 place to another; all these take place in prophetic 
 vision, and they are not to be considered as real 
 and sensible actions, although some of them may 
 be mentioned in the prophetic books with great 
 particularly. For, after it became known that 
 
 * I am not certain that I have given the true meaning of the 
 author in this last clause. The original is {f^ lU^S^i Wll, 
 <"Pnt2J which Buxtorf understands of the son, and intending to give 
 the general thought, translates, et qui tails aut tails fuerit. So also 
 Smith, in his discourse on Prophecy, ubi. sup. chap. vi. p. 328 : " of 
 such a disposition and the like." Having occasion to quote the pas- 
 sage in my Companion to the Book of Genesis, Note 69, p. 252, and 
 supposing also that the words referred to the son, I had endeavored 
 to express the idea loosely, thus : " and of whom thi and that may 
 be said." It would seem more probable, that Maimonidea has in view 
 the principal character of his illustration, the man who is dreaming. 
 If so, he may mean what I have expressed in the text ; or he may 
 refer to the man's business, and the correct translation may be " of 
 a certain occupation." The words literally rendered would be, " and 
 there was of his matter (or occupation,) that which was."
 
 240 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 the whole communication was made in prophetic 
 vision, it became unnecessary, in mentioning any 
 particular portion of the parabolical representa- 
 tion, to repeat that this took place in prophetic 
 vision ; as the prophet says, and the Lord said 
 unto me, and it is (equally) unnecessary to ex- 
 plain that it was in a dream. But the people in 
 general think, that these actions and removals and 
 inquiries and answers did all take place really 
 and to sensible apprehension, and not in prophetic 
 vision. I will therefore state some instances be- 
 yond all doubt, adding to them others of the same 
 class, which may serve to explain the cases which 
 I have not introduced.* 
 
 Among the instances which are too clear to 
 admit of a doubt, is the discourse of Ezekiel :f I 
 was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah 
 were sitting before me, and so forth. And the 
 spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heav- 
 en, and brought me in the visions of God to Jeru- 
 salem. Thus also what he says,! an< l I arose 
 and went out into the plain. But it was in vis- 
 ions, as it is said of Abraham, and he brought him 
 forth abroad and said ; which was in vision.^ 
 
 * For the reader who may not be much accustomed to the author's 
 style, I subjoin as close a translation of this sentence as the English 
 idiom will bear. " And I will mention to thee of such (lit. this,) that 
 which a man will not doubt about, and I will add to it some which 
 are of its kind ; from this some (or part) that which I have not men- 
 tioned shall be made clear to thee." 
 
 t Chap. viii. sss. J iii. 23. See Gen. xv- 5, 1.
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. g41 
 
 Thus it is said, and he set me down in the midst 
 of the valley ;* but it was, in the visions of God. 
 And in that vision in which he was transported to 
 Jerusalem, Ezekiel mentions a matter in this lan- 
 guage :f and behold, a hole in the wall. Then 
 said he unto me, son of man, dig now in the wall; 
 and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door, 
 and so forth. And as he perceived in visions that 
 he was commanded to dig in the wall until he 
 could enter and see what they were doing there, 
 and he dug, (as it is mentioned) in the visions of 
 God,! and entered by the hole, and saw what he 
 saw ; all this was in prophetic vision. So also 
 what is said to him, take thee a tile (or brick) and 
 so forth ; and lie thou upon thy left side and so 
 forth ; and take thou unto thee wheat and barley 
 and so forth. And also what is said to him, and 
 cause it (the razor,) to pass over on thy head and 
 on thy beard :$ all this was done in prophetic vis- 
 ion. He appeared to doj| those actions which he 
 was commanded to do. For it is inconsistent with 
 the character of God, to suppose that, he would 
 make^[ his prophets like foolish persons and drunk- 
 ards, and command them to act like such, and 
 like the insane. Besides the last command was 
 at variance with the law ;** for (Ezekiel) was a 
 
 Ezck. xxxvii. 1. t viii. 7, 8, 9. t v. 3. 
 
 $ iv. 1, 4, 9 ; v. J. || Lit, he saw that he did. 
 
 T Lit, far be it from God to make. 
 
 ** The original here is very obscure. I have followed the Latin 
 translation of Buxtorf.
 
 242 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 priest, and bound to obey the two negative pr c 
 cepts respecting the corners of the beard and of 
 the head.* Certainly it all took place in prophetic 
 vision. And so also where it is said, as my ser- 
 vant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot rt 
 this truly took place in visions of God. Persons 
 of weak mind indeed do suppose, that in all this 
 the prophet is relating that he was commanded to 
 do thus, and that he did (so.) Thus he tells us, 
 that he was commanded to dig in the wall which 
 was on the mountain of the house,^ while at the 
 same time he was in Babylonia. He states also 
 that he dug ; as he says, and I dug in the wall : 
 but he had before plainly declared that this was 
 done in the visions of God. And, as it is said of 
 Abraham, the word of the Lord came unto Abram 
 in a vision, saying ; and it is said in that prophetic 
 vision, and he brought him forth abroad, and said, 
 look now toward heaven and number the stars ; 
 this manifestly took place in prophetic vision ; he 
 seemed to be brought out from the place in which 
 he was until he saw the heavens, and afterwards 
 it was said to him, and number the stars, and he 
 proceeded to number ; this is as it appeared to 
 him. And thus I say, in the matter which was 
 commanded to Jeremiah,* that he should hide the 
 
 The author alludes to the precepts in Levit. xxi. 5, prohibiting 
 the priests from " making baldness upon their head, and from shaving 
 off the corner of their beard." 
 
 t Isa. xx. 3. t That is of the temple. 
 
 b xiii. 4, 5, 6.
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 2 43 
 
 girdle near the Euphrates, and that he hid it, and 
 then after a long time went to look for it, and 
 found that it had long been decayed and ruined ; 
 all these are parabolical representations (or sym- 
 bols,) and Jeremiah did not go out of the land of 
 Israel to Babylonia, neither did he see the Eu- 
 phrates. So also what is said to Hosea,* take 
 unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of 
 whoredoms, and that whole matter, the birth of 
 the children and the calling of them by particular 
 names ; all of it took place in prophetic vision. 
 For after it has been explained that these are par- 
 ables (or symbols,) no room is left for doubt that 
 each has a real existence ; but as it is said of them, 
 the vision of all is become unto them like the 
 words of a book and so forth.t And thus it ap- 
 pears to me, that the affair of Gideon with the 
 fleece, and others of a similar kind, were indeed 
 in vision. But I would not call it perfect pro- 
 phetic vision ; for Gideon had not arrived at the 
 grade of prophets, much less that of miracles, and 
 his highest distinction^ was to have attained (to a 
 degree) like the (other) judges of Israel : and hence 
 it is that of old they reckoned him among the 
 light men of the world, as we have shown. It 
 all took place in a dream, like that of Laban and 
 Abimelech, as we have already mentioned. And 
 
 12. t Is*, xzix. 11. . I Lit, perfection. 
 
 t) He means, the Rabbles,
 
 244 EXTRACTS FROM THE MOREH 
 
 so the discourse of Zechariah,* and I will feed 
 the flock of slaughter and so forth, and the (whole) 
 subject even to the end of it, (where) goin^ downt 
 he seeks the price (or hire,) and receives it, and 
 counts the silver, and casts it in the house of the 
 potter ; all this he saw in prophetic vision : for the 
 command to do it,J and the act of obedience, oc- 
 curred either in prophetic vision or prophetic 
 dream. And this is a matter of which there can be 
 no doubt, and none can misapprehend it, except 
 such as confound possible things with impossible. 
 From what I have said, a judgment may be 
 formed respecting the cases which I have not ad- 
 duced. All are of the same class and character, 
 all are prophetic vision.^ And whatsoever may 
 be said in that vision, that the individual did thus, 
 or heard, or went out, or came in, or spoke, or 
 was spoken to, or stood, or sat, or went up, or 
 
 xi. 19, 13. 
 
 t The original is "in53' which I suppose to be f)H5 w ' tn ^ e 
 prefix. Buxtorf omits it entirely. 
 
 t The Hebrew is, lJnffi5>5' Should it not be written with a 
 
 It is presumable, that the author intended this remark to be 
 limited to cases similar to tbote before adduced by him. Doubtless 
 there are very many instances of symbolical teaching, which cannot 
 be explained on the principle laid down. The prophets often taught 
 by real actions openly performed in the presence of the people, with 
 a view to illustrate and impress the predicted declarations or warnings. 
 In order to determine when the language is that of prophetic vision, 
 and when it describes some sensible action, we must be acquainted 
 with the usage of the prophets, and be guided by good sense and a
 
 NEVOCHIM OF MAIMONIDES. 245 
 
 came down, or walked in the way, or asked, or 
 was asked : the whole is in prophetic vision. And 
 although the things related may be detailed at 
 length, and circumstances of time and persons 
 connected with them may be indicated, and also 
 of place ; (yet) after it has been plainly shown 
 you that the action is parabolical, (or symbolical,) 
 you may be fully confident* that it took place in 
 prophetic vision. 
 
 sound and religious discretion. It is very probable that some few of 
 the cases adduced by Maimonides as illustrations of the former prin- 
 ciple, admit of more satisfactory explanation by applying the latter 
 * Lit., know thou true knowledge.
 
 By the same Author. 
 
 COMPANION 
 
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 ESSAY 
 
 OUR LORD'S DISCOURSE AT CAPERNAUM, 
 
 RECORDED IN THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF 
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