Jewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach and also some modern translations into English with notes are listed.
Earliest printing The complete Tanakh in Hebrew, with commentaries by Rashi, Radak, Ramban, and Ralbag was printed in 1517 by Daniel Bomberg and edited by Felix Pratensis under the name Mikraot Gedolot.
The Tanakh was handed down in manuscript form along with a method of checking the accuracy of the transcription known as mesorah. Many codices containing the Masoretic Text were gathered by Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah and were used to publish an accurate text. It was published by Daniel Bomberg in 1525. Later editions were edited with the help of Elia Levita. Various editions of Mikraot Gedolot are still in print.
Translations
Targum A Targum is a translation of the Bible into Aramaic. The classic Targumim are Targum Onkelos on the Chumash (a Torah in printed form), Targum Jonathan on Nevi'im (the Prophets), and a fragmentary Targum Yerushalmi. There is no standard Aramaic translation of the Ketuvim.Megilla 3a
Targum Onkelos Targum Onkelos is the most often consulted literal translation of the BibleEncyclopaedia Judaica:Bible:Targum Onkelos:third paragraph with a few exceptions. Figurative language is usually not translated literally but is explained (e.g., Gen. 49:25; Ex. 15:3, 8, 10; 29:35). Geographical names are often replaced by those current at a later time (e.g., Gen. 10:10; Deut. 3:17).
According to the Talmud,Bavli, Megilla, 3a as understood by the Marshah, Chidushai Agadot on Nedorim, 9b. See also the Yam Shel Shlomo on Yebomot chapter 12 the Torah and its translation into Aramaic were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, because Egyptian slaves spoke Aramaic. After the Babylonian exile, the Targum was completely forgotten. Onkelos, a Roman convert to Judaism, was able to reconstruct the original Aramaic. Saadia Gaon disagrees and says the Aramaic of Onkelos was never a spoken language. He believed that Onkelos's Aramaic was an artificial construct, a combination of Eastern and Western dialects of Aramaic.Encyclopaedia Judaica: Bible
The major commentary on Targum Onkelos is Netinah LaGer ("a gift to the Convert" נתינה לגר) written by Nathan Marcus Adler.
Targum Jonathan According to some scholars, Targum Jonathan's Chumash was not written by Jonathan ben Uzziel and thus they refer to it instead as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica,Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., vol. 3, p. 591 internal evidence shows that it was written sometime between the 7th and 14th centuries CE. For example, Ishmael's wife's name is translated into Aramaic as Fatima (who was Mohammed's daughter) and therefore Targum Pseudo-Jonathan must have been written after Mohammed's birth. The classic Hebrew commentators would turn this argument around, and say that Mohammed's daughter was named after Ismael's wife. Both sides will agree, however, that stylistically Jonathan's commentary on the Chumash is very different from the commentary on Nevi’im. The Targum Jonathan on Nevi’im is written in a very terse style, similar to Onkelos on Chumash, but on the average Targum Jonathan on Chumash is almost twice as verbose. Adler produced a commentary here also - Ahavat Yonatan ("Jonathan's Love" אהבת יונתן). ר' נתן מרקוס הכהן אדלר , nechama.org.il
Targum Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Targum exists only in fragmentary form. It translates a total of approximately 850 verses, phrases, and words. No one knows who wrote it. Some speculate that it was a printers error. The printer saw a manuscript headed with "TY" and assumed it was a Targum Yerushalmi when actually it was an early version of Targum Yonathan. Others speculate that it was written by a R. Yosef or R. Hoshea (Yihoshua).Eisenstein's Otzer Yisrael, v. 10 p. 308
Modern translations
Commentaries
Methodology For comparing one verse to another, see Talmudical hermeneutics For understanding one verse, see Pardes (Jewish exegesis)
Rishonim (1000–1600)
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki; 1040–1106) is the most influential Jewish exegete of all time. He is the preeminent expounder of Peshat. Rashi wrote, "I, however, am only concerned with the plain sense of Scripture and with such Aggadot that explain the words of Scripture in a manner that fits in with them."Rashi's commentary on Genesis 3,8 There have also been many super-commentaries written on Rashi's basic commentary, including: Be'er Mayim Chaim, by Chaim ben Betzalel (1515–1588), the older brother of Judah Loew ben Bezalel Amar Nekeh, by Obadiah ben Abraham Bartenura (c. 1440–1516), a leading rabbi of Italy and Jerusalem, best known for his commentary on the Mishnah Divrei David, by David HaLevi Segal (1586–1667), a Polish rabbinical authority known as the Taz for his classic commentary on the Shulchan Aruch Gur Aryeh al haTorah, by the Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1526–1609), known for this work and his fundamental works on Jewish philosophy and mysticism Maskil le-David, by David Pardo (1710–1792) Sefer HaMizrachi, by Elijah Mizrachi (1450–1525), which itself spawned multiple supercommentaries such as Yeri'ot Shlomo by Solomon Luria and Leshon Arummim by Barzillai ben Baruch Jabez Nachalas Yaakov Sefer Ha-zikaron, by Abraham Lévy-Bacrat, who lived through the Spanish Expulsion of 1492 Siftei Chachamim, by Shabbethai Bass, which analyzes other supercommentaries on Rashi and is considered important enough that a shortened version, Ikkar Siftei Chachamim, is often printed with the commentary of Rashi Rashbam (Samuel ben Meir; 1085–1158) was the grandson of Rashi and the brother of Rabbeinu Tam. Tobiah ben Eliezer (11th century Greece) was a Romaniote scholar and paytan, who wrote the Leḳaḥ Ṭov or Pesiḳta Zuṭarta, a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot. The Talmudic passages he cites in connection with the halakhot are often interpreted according to his judgment and are different from Rashi's. Like many other Biblical commentators, he translates certain words into the language of the country where he lived, namely, Greek.*Kaufmann, Eine unbekannte messianische Bewegung unter den Juden, in Jahrbuch für Jüdische Geschichte und Literatur, i. 148 et seq., Berlin, 1898 Abraham ibn Ezra (1092–1167) was a contemporary of the Rashbam. His commentary on Chumash was reprinted under the name Sefer HaYashar. He separates the literal meaning of a biblical verse from the traditional meaning, upon which the halacha is based, and from the homiletic meaning drush. He explains that the traditional and homiletic meanings do not attempt to imply meaning to the verse; they use the verse only as a mnemonic. David Kimhi (1160–1235) followed the methodology of Ibn Ezra. He deemphasised homiletics and emphasised the Talmudic interpretations when they reached his standard of peshat. He strove for clarity and readability in his exegesis, as opposed to his predecessors, who emphasised conciseness. His commentaries are said to have "a remarkably modern flavor" Of the Chumash, only Radak on Breishit survives. Nachmanides (Moses ben Nahman, or Ramban; 1194–1270) was the first biblical commentator to introduce kabbalistic concepts into his exegesis.Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. vol 14 page 741 He differed from the Zohar in that he believed that the transcendent nature of God is absolutely unknowable by man, whereas the school of Zoharists believed that transcendence is comprehensible through revelation, ecstasy, and in the contemplation of history.Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. vol 14 page 745 Ramban expressed his views through the Sod aspect of his commentary. In his commentary, he also expressed his belief that all mitzvot had a comprehensible and rational explanation. Jacob ben Asher (1270–1340) was the author of the Arba'ah Turim, a precursor of the Shulchan Aruch. Jacob ben Asher wrote a commentary on the Torah in which he anthologised the Pshat element of his predecessors. At the beginning of each section, he wrote, as brain teasers, some explanations using Remez. These were gathered and printed under the name Baal HaTurim. The Baal HaTurim is printed in all modern editions of Mikraot Gedolot. The full commentary titled Perush ha-Tur ha-Arokh al ha-Torah was published in Jerusalem in 1981.Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. vol. 11 page 31 Gersonides (Levi ben Gershon, or the Ralbag; 1288–1344) based his exegesis on three principles: What can be learned through the nine principles (he believed that four of them were not allowed to be used in post-Talmudic times). Every story in the Bible comes to teach us ethical, religious, and philosophical ideas. Most of what we call Remez can be clearly understood by resorting to exact translation and grammatical analysis. He also condemned allegorical explanations.Eisenstein's Ozer Yisrael vol. 6 page 11 Hezekiah ben Manoah (13th century France) based his kabbalistic commentary, Chizkuni, primarily on Rashi, but also used up to 20 other sources, including Dunash ben Labrat. Isaac Abarbanel (1437–1508), in his commentary on Tanach, before each section, would list a series of questions exploring the conceptual problems in the section from both exegetical and theological perspectives. His commentary would attempt to answer these questions through Pshat and Medrash. He distinguished between Medrashim, which was part of Mesorah, and those that were mere opinions and could be safely disregarded.
Acharonim (1600–present)
Me'am Lo'ez 1730–1777 Metsudot 18th century – A commentary on Neviim and Ketuvim by Rabbi David Altschuler. When he died, his son Yechiel completed it and divided it into two sections: Metsudat Zion, a glossary of difficult words, and Metsudat David, a restatement of difficult ideas.Jewish Encyclopedia in the section on Altschul Malbim (Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser; 1809–1879) – his exegesis is based on several assumptions: There are no extra words or synonyms in the Bible. Every word is meaningful. Drush is as explicit as Pshat is, except that Drush has different rules of usage and syntax. The basis of the whole of the Oral law is explicit in the Bible, either through Pshat or Drush. The only exception is when the Oral Law states that the law is not found in the Bible and is designated as Halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai. Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) was a German rabbi during the early modern period. His commentary focuses on the grammar and structure of the language of the Tanakh to facilitate understanding the laws being given. His commentary includes the Five Books of Moses and other various parts of the Tanakh. Torah Temimah (1860–1941) – Baruch Epstein was a bank worker by profession who devoted all of his extra time to Jewish studies. To write the Torah Temimah, he gathered excerpts from the Talmud and other sources of the Oral Law and arranged them in the order of the verses of the Written Law to which they refer. He then wove the excerpts into a commentary on the Bible and annotated each excerpt with critical notes and insights. Nechama Leibowitz (1905–1997) – In the early 1940s, Leibowitz began mailing study sheets on the weekly Torah reading to her students throughout the world. The study sheets included essays on the weekly portion, source notes, and questions. She encouraged her students to send their answers to her for correction. Soon, she sent out thousands of sheets and corrected hundreds of answer sheets weekly. These study sheets were collected and published in English and Hebrew in the mid-1960s and are still in print. "Her specific collection of sources was based solely on each one's contribution to understanding peshat and to the revelation of the significance of that text."Encyclopaedia Judaica, second edition, volume 12, page 621