KIMCHI
81
KINAH
lexicons, or glossaries, and grammars, were based on the labors of Kimclii, and the notes accompanying the Latin Bibles of Mmister and Stephen are derived from him. Excerpts of his Commentary on Isaiah were translated into Latin by Minister, and a Latin version of the whole of it was published by Malanimeus (Florence, 1774). Leusden published Latin versions of Joel (Utrecht, 1656) and Jonah (Utrecht, 1657). De Muis published a Latin translation of Malachi (Paris, 1618). Yehe published a German translation of Amos (Col. 1581), and Dr.M'Caul translated the Commentary on Zechariah and the Pref- ace to the Psalms into English (London, 1837). A Lat- in translation of the Commentary on the Psalms was made by Janvier (Constanz, 1544). His grammatical labors embraced in the Miklol was translated into Latin by Guidacier (Paris, 1540), and a Latin version of the Roots was published in 1535. See Steinschneider, Cata- lof)us Lib. Hebr. in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, col. 868-875 ; Flirst, Bibliotheca Judaica, ii, 183 sq., and his Litrod. to Ilabi-ew Dictionary ; the masterly biography of Kimchi by Geiger in Ozar Nechmad (Vienna, 1857), p. 157 sq. ; Dukes, Die Familie Kimchi (^Literaturblatt des Orients, 1850) ; Griitz, Gesch. der Juden, vi, 236 sq.; Kitto, Bibl. Ci/clop. s. V.
Kimchi, Joseph, Ben-Isaac, a distinguished Jewish liabbi, father of the preceding (David), was born in Spain in the latter half of the 11th centiurj', but was obliged to quit Spain during the terrible persecutions by tlic Mohammedans, and settled at Narbonne, France. Just as little is known of his personal history as of his son's. lie ^vas well versed in the science of the He- brew language and Biblical exegesis, and by the intro- duction into Southern France of that thorough scholar- ship for which the Spanish Jews in his day are so cele- brated, gave a new impetus to the study of the O.-Test. Scriptures in the original. As has been pithily said, he became the Aben-Ezra of Southern France. He died about 1180. He wrote a number of valuable contribu- tions to exegetical theology, but it is as a theologian, especially as a polemic, that Joseph Kimchi excelled. His most important works are: ri'i"i3ri ^£& (^Booh of the Covenant^, a treatise against Christianity, in the form of a dialogue between a Jew (iMaamin or believ- er) and a Christian (Min or heretic), and which was published in the Milchemeth hu-iihem (Constantinople, 1710,8vo):— dtrn Th^nb-q "iS&,againstaJewnamed Peter Alphonse, who had become a Christian : this work was never published. He also wrote in Hebrew verse the maxims of Solomon ben-Gabirol (of this fragments ap- peared in the Zion [Francf. 1842, 8vo], ii, 07-100) ; some Hebrew hymns, which were inserted in the Aijalcth ha- (SAac/iH?- (published by Mard.Jare [Mantua, 1612, 8vo]); a Hebrew translation of Bachia ben-Joseph's morals, printed in the works of the latter (Leipzig, 1846, 12mo) ; besides commentaries on most of the books of the O. T. The last are as follows: (1.) Commentary on the Penta- teuch, entitled min ^30 {The Book of the Laic) ; frag- ments are extant in MS., De Eossi 166, and in the quo- tations of his son D. Kimchi: — (2.) Commentary on the earlier Prophets, called n3p"2i"i "13D, The Bill of Pur- chase, in allusion to Jer. xxxii, 11: — (3.) Commentary on the later Prophets, called ^^^mI 13D {The unfolded Bool; in allusion to Jer. xxxii, 14). These works, too, have not as yet come to light, and we only know them through the numerous quotations from them dispersed through David Kimchi's Commentaries on the I'roph- ets : — (4.) Commentary on Job, of which defective IMSS. are preserved in the Bodleian Library and at Jlunich, 260: — (5.) Commentary on Proverbs, a perfect IMS. of which exists in the Munich Library, No. 242 : — (6.) Hebrew Grammar, called "jliaT 'n£& (The Booh of Re- membrance), which is the first written "by a Jew in a Christian country, and is quoted by D. Kimchi in the Miklol, X5p, 6; — (7.) Another grammatical work, en- V,— F
titled Xiphil 11:20 ISO, also quoted in the 3Iiklol, 1 bp, a. " Both as a commentator and a grammarian," says Ginsburg (in Kitto, Bibl. Cyclop, vol. ii, s. v.), "Jo- seph Kimchi deserves the highest praise; and, though his works still remain unpublished, his contributions to Biblical literature produced a most beneficial influence, inasmuch as they prepared the way in Christian comi- tries for a literal and sound exegesis. His son, David Kimchi, who constantly quotes him, both in his com- mentaries and vuider almost every root of his Hebrew Lexicon, has familiarized the Hebrew student with the grammatical and exegetical principles of this deservedly esteemed Hebraist." See, besides the works cited under David Kimchi, Biesenthal and Lebrecht's edition of D. Kimchi's Radicum Liber (Berlin, 1847), col. xxiv sq. ; and Geiger's excellent treatise in Ozar Nechmud (Vien- na, 1856), i, p. 97-110 ; Bartolocci, May. Biblioth. Rabbin. iii, 327; LiteraturblaU des Orients, 1850; 'Suxst, Biblioth- eca Judaica, ii, 186 sq. (J. H.W.)
Kimchi, Moses, ben-Josepii (also called Remak, from the initial letters p'nl = in^p ntJa S), eldest son of the preceding (Joseph), flourished about 1160- 1170. Though far inferior in ability to his father and brother, he has earned an honorable place as a commen- tator and grammarian. His works are : (1.) Commenta- ry on Proverbs (or "^"C^ "ISD 513113) (prmted in the Rabbinic Bibles of Jacob ben-Chajim,Ven. 1526, 1548; Buxtorf, Basel, 1619; and Frankfurter, Amst. 1724-27). This work has been falsel}' ascribed to Aben-Ezra. Com- pare Reifmann, in Literatui-blatt des Orients, 1841, p. 760, 751 ; Zion (F. a. JI. 1841), i, 76 ; Lippmann, in Zion (F. a. M. 1842), ii, 113-117, 129-133, 155-157, 171-174, 185- 188: — (2.) Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah (also printed in the Rabbinical Bibles, and erroneously at- tributed to Aben-Ezra) : — (3.) A grammatical work, en- titled ri"in "ib^n'iJ ibriTO (or Joumey on the Paths of Knowledye'), which became a manual for both Jews and Christians beginning the study of Hebrew grammar. It was highly commended by Elias Levita, ^vho anno- tated and edited it in 1508. It was afterwards publish- ed, with a Latin translation, by Seb. IMmister (Basel, 1531), and since frequently, with diverse additions and modifications. '■ The chief merit of this little volume consists in the fact that j\I. Kimchi was the first to em- ploy therein the word IpS as a paradigm of the regular verbs, instead of the less appropriate verb meditc guttu- ralis b"3, which had been used by his predecessors, in imitation of Arabic grammarians :" — (4.) A grammati- cal treatise on the anomalous expressions, entitled "l3D- !n01!irir!, quoted by D. Kimclii in the Miklol. See Biesenthal and Lebrecht's edition of D. Kimchi's Radi- cum Liber (Berlin, 1847), col. xxxviii sq. ; FUrst, Bibli- otheca Judaica, ii, 187 sq. ; Steinschneider, Catalogus Lib?: Hebr. in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, col. 1838-1844; by the same author, Bihlioyraphisches Handbuch (Leipzig^ 1859),p.74sq. ; Ge'igcr s Ozar Xechmad, ii, 17 sq.; Gins- burg, in Kitto, Bibl. Cyclop, ii, s. v.