The ''Yalkut Shimoni'' (), or simply ''Yalkut'', is an

aggadic Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

compilation on the books of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' The work contains two sections, which are numbered separately: * The first part covers the Pentateuch and contains 963 sections as follows: ** §§ 1–162 to Genesis ** §§ 163–427 to Exodus ** §§ 428–682 to Leviticus ** §§ 683–788 to

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

** §§ 789–963 to

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

* The second part contains 1,085 sections, covering the Prophets and the Writings: ** §§ 1-252 being devoted to the first prophets (

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

, Judges,

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

, and Kings) ** §§ 253–335 to

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...

** §§ 336–384 to

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...

** §§ 385–514 to Book of Isaiah ** §§ 515–595 to the twelve minor prophets ** §§ 596–609 to

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

** §§ 610–890 to

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

** §§ 891–928 to

Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

** §§ 929–965 to

Book of Proverbs The Book of Proverbs (, ; , ; , "Proverbs (of Solomon)") is a book in the third section (called Ketuvim) of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)/the Christian Old Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon and his students. When translated into ...

** §§ 966–979 to

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

** §§ 980–994 to the

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

** §§ 995–1043 to Lamentations ** §§ 1044–1059 to

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...

** §§ 1060–1066 to Book of Daniel ** §§ 1067–1071 to Ezra and Nehemiah ** §§ 1072–1085 to Book of Chronicles The order of books follows the Talmudic order,

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; ) is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law. Originally it, to ...

14b except that Esther precedes Daniel, while the reverse order is followed in the Talmud. The division into subsections (known in Hebrew as ''Remazim'', sing. ''Remez'') is arbitrary, and the sections are very unequal in length. For example, in the Vilna edition

818 containing only five lines, while Deuteronomy 938 comprises eighteen columns. Each passage, often in the text itself, indicates the sources from which the explanations are derived. In the Salonica edition they are given at the beginning of each corresponding Biblical passage, although in later editions they were placed in the margin. In many instances, however, the sources are given in an inconvenient place or are entirely eliminated, while some references are even indicated by a later redactor, as, for example, Job 921, where mention of the source ( Exodus Rabbah) is a later addition, the original redactor being unacquainted with Exodus Rabbah.

Sources

The sources embrace not only the major portion of halakhic and

literature during the ancient and

geonic ''Geonim'' (; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy , Pumbedita, in t ...

epochs, but also the aggadic literature as late as the 12th century. The author made use of the older midrashic works, such as Seder 'Olam,

Sifra Sifra () is the Midrash halakha to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called Torat Kohanim, and in two passages ''Sifr ...

, Sifre, Sifre Zuṭa, Mekilta, the Baraita on the Thirty-two Middot, the Baraita on the Forty-nine Middot, and the Baraita on the Erection of the Tabernacle ("Meleket ha-Mishkan"), and he availed himself also of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

, both Talmudim, and Semaḥot, Kallah, and Soferim. He drew from the ethical and historical aggadah, such as Abot de-Rabbi Natan, Tanna debe Eliyahu (Rabbah and Zuṭa), Derech Eretz, Massechet Gan Eden, Midrash Vayisa'u, the Chronicle of Moses, and the Midrash on the Death of Moses. The author's chief source, however, was the explanatory midrashim, such as the Midrash rabbot on Pentateuch (with the exception of Exodus Rabbah), Pesiḳta, Pesikta Rabbati, Medrash Yelammedenu, Tanḥuma, Debarim Zuṭa, Midrashim Abba Gorion, Esfah, Tadshe, and Abkir; Pirḳe Rabbi Eli'ezer; and the midrashim on

, Proverbs, and Job. The latter works are often cited simply as "Midrash," without any more definite identification. In that portion of Yalkut Shimoni which covers the books of Samuel, Psalms, and Proverbs, the term "Midrash" designates the midrash on the respective books. The term "Midrash" is used also to indicate the source of passages which belong to older or more recent works. In these few instances the author was apparently either uncertain of his references or he used an older collection known under the name of "Midrash," but did not have access to the original documents. It must also be borne in mind that the redactor failed to use various sources, such as the Midrash on the Ten Commandments and the Midrash on the Death of Aaron, and that he likewise ignored the Targumim and writings relating to esoteric doctrines, with the exception of the Otiyyot de-R. Akiba, to which he alludes in Genesis 1, § 1.

Author and date

The author cannot be determined with certainty. The title-page of the

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

edition ascribes the composition of the work to R. Simeon of Frankfort, "the chief of exegetes" ("rosh ha-darshanim"), and this was accepted by David Conforte and the Hida, who called him Simeon Ashkenazi of Frankfort. J.L. Rapoport maintained that R. Simeon (11th century, the father of R. Joseph Ḳara) was its author, but this assertion is untenable since Yalkut Shimoni includes midrashim of a later date. If Yalkut Shimoni was so old, moreover, it would be difficult to explain why R. Nathan b. Jehiel and

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

fail to mention it. A. Epstein inclines to agree with Zunz that the author of Yalkut Shimoni flourished in the early part of the 13th century. According to Zunz, the work was written by R. Simeon Ḳara, who lived in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at that period, and the title "ha-Darshan" was bestowed upon him probably at a later date. It is certain that a manuscript of Yalkut Shimoni, mentioned by Azariah dei Rossi, existed in 1310; but despite this, there is scarcely any allusion to the work during the 14th and 15th centuries. This may be ascribed, however, to the unhappy position of the German Jews and to the repeated persecutions of the period; for peace and prosperity were necessary for the copying of so extensive a work, and the Jews of Germany had neither. After the beginning of the 15th century, on the other hand, the work must have been disseminated in foreign countries, for it was used by Spanish scholars of the latter half of that century, Isaac Abravanel being the first to mention it.Compare A. Epstein, l.c. p. 134

Editions

Older editions

The

editio princeps In Textual scholarship, textual and classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts. These had to be copied by han ...

of Yalkut Shimoni was printed in Salonica in 1521; the part relating to the Prophets and Writings appeared first. The part relating to the Pentateuch appeared between 1526 and 1527, and the entire work was later published in

(1566) with certain emendations and deviations from the Salonica edition. All later texts are merely reprints of the Venetian edition, with the exception of one published at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

(1650–1659), which contained additions and corrections as well as a commentary by R. Abraham Gedaliah. The latest text prior to 1900 (Vilna, 1898) is based on the editions of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, and Livorno, and contains footnotes giving the sources, a glossary of difficult words, and an index of the chapters and verses of Biblical passages. To this edition is appended a brief commentary by Abraham Abele Gumbiner of Kalisz entitled ''Zayit Ra'anan.''

Current editions

* ''Yalkut Shimoni: Midrash al Torah, Neviim u-Khetuvim.'' Yarid ha-Sefarim, Jerusalem 2006 * ''Midrash Yalkut Shimoni: Torah, Nevi'im, u-Khetuvim.'' Machon HaMeor, Jerusalem 2001

Translations

References

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* Zunz, G. V. pp. 295–303; * J.L. Rapoport, in Kerem Ḥemed, vii. 4 et seq.; * Abraham Epstein, Rabbi Shimeon Ḳara veha-Yalkut Shim'oni, in Ha-Ḥoḳer, i. 85–93, 129–137; * Emil Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 146. {{Authority control Aggadic Midrashim Jewish medieval literature Oral Torah Sifrei Kodesh Hebrew-language literature