Nethanel ben Isaiah
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Nethanel ben Isaiah (14th century) was a Yemenite Jewish
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
,
Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
commentator and poet of the fourteenth century. He is best known as the author of a homiletic commentary on the Torah entitled ''Nur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm,'' translated into Hebrew as ''Sefer Me'or ha-Afelah'' ().


His work

The first notice of this work was given by Jacob Saphir, who saw a manuscript of it at Hirbah, a small town in Yemen, in 1863. But the beginning of the manuscript was missing, and Saphir's statement that the author's name was Isaiah and that the title was ''Al-Nur wal-Zulm'' depends only upon hearsay. Two other manuscripts, one in Berlin and one in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, bear the author's name, Nethanel ben Isaiah, and the full title of the work, ''Nur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm wa-Ikhraj al-Ma'ani fi al-Wujud Ba'd al'Adm.''
Alexander Kohut Alexander (Chanoch Yehuda) Kohut (April 22, 1842 – May 25, 1894) was a rabbi and orientalist. He belonged to a family of rabbis, the most noted among them being Rabbi Israel Palota, his great-grandfather, Rabbi Amram (called "The Gaon," who die ...
published a monograph on this work, giving some extracts, under the title "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom" (New York, 1894). This title is given by Kohut as the translation of the Arabic title, though "Light out of Darkness" would be a more fitting translation, since Nethanel's introduction shows that his object was to comment on the obscure passages so as to make sure that their meanings should not escape the student. Nethanel began his work on the 15th of
Tammuz Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shep ...
, 1640 of the Seleucidan era (June 23, 1328). Its references to Al-Yemen,
San‘a’ Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
, and
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
make it appear probable that he wrote it in Yemen, although Steinschneider doubts this. It is written in a mixture of Arabic and Hebrew, and the nature of the work is more midrashic than
exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
. Nethanel quotes both Talmudim and the Targumim, but he is chiefly influenced by the Midrash Rabbah. Of the post-Talmudic authors, he mentions (besides the Geonim and Masoretes)
Ibn Janah Jonah ibn Janah or ibn Janach, born Abu al-Walīd Marwān ibn Janāḥ ( ar, أبو الوليد مروان بن جناح, or Marwan ibn Ganaḥ Hebrew: ), (), was a Jewish rabbi, physician and Hebrew grammarian active in Al-Andalus, or Islamic ...
,
Nathan ben Jehiel Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (Hebrew: נתן בן יחיאל מרומי; ''Nathan ben Y'ḥiel Mi Romi'' according to Sephardic pronunciation) ( 1035 – 1106) was a Jewish Italian lexicographer. He authored the Arukh, a notable dictionary of Talmud ...
(under the designation of "the author of the "Arukh"), and especially Maimonides, who was the paramount authority among the Yemenites and from whom he merely copied long passages. Finally, he mentions such Arabic and Greek sources as the
Almagest The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...
, al-Farabi, and Plato. Nethanel's commentary comprises explanations according to the numerical value of the letters ( gematria), some philological notes, and polemical flings at both Christianity and
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
: for instance, in his commentary on he designates Muhammad the "madman" ("''meshugga''"). Nethanel calls the five books of the Pentateuch (1) Sefer ha-Yashar, (2) Sefer Mekilta, (3) Torat Kohanim, (4) Homesh ha-Pequdim, and (5) Mishneh Torah, and he gives an Aramaic mnemonic formula for the weekly lessons; he is followed in both cases by Mansur al-Dhamari in his ''Siraj al-'Uqul.'' Nethanel illustrated his commentary with numerous figures and diagrams—e.g., of the Cave of Machpelah, the altar, the candlestick, etc. He inserted in his work three Hebrew poems, two of which were published by Kohut in his above-mentioned "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom." Nethanel is often quoted under the designation of "ibn Yesha'yah" by Mansur al-Dhamari and by Daud al-Lawani in his philosophical commentary on the Pentateuch entitled ''al-Wajiz al-Mujna''.Neubauer, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS." No. 2493.


References

It cites: :*Neubauer, in '' Jewish Quarterly Review'' vii. 350; :*Steinschneider, ''Hebr. Bibl.'' xiii. 59; ::*''idem, Die Arabische Literatur der Juden'', § 188. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nethanel Ben Isaiah 14th-century Yemenite rabbis Jewish poets