From Persia with Love

The Judaeo-Arabic Translation and Commentary of Salmon ben Yerōḥām on the Book of Esther

Series: 

This volume comprises an edition and translation of one of the earliest specimens of Jewish programmatic commentary on the book of Esther. The commentary’s author, Salmon b. Yerōḥām, is a central early figure in the “Golden Age” of Karaism (late-9th–11th cent.), a Jewish scripturalist and penitential movement centered at that time in Jerusalem. Among the various facets of Salmon’s commentary that we explore in our introduction are his translation technique, exegetical method, homiletical emphases, and polemical concerns. We also explore his use of sources, both explicit and tacit (in the latter case to a surprisingly broad degree as regards rabbinic sources and Saadia), as well as the reception of Salmon’s commentary in subsequent Jewish exegetical tradition.
Copyright Year:
2025
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ISBN:
978-90-04-26903-3
Publication:
14 Apr 2025
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-19133-4
Publication:
24 Apr 2025
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Michael G. Wechsler, Ph.D. (2006), University of Chicago, is co-editor of Brill’s Karaite Texts and Studies series and, in addition to authoring numerous articles on pre-modern Jewish Bible exegesis, has edited and translated the commentaries on Esther by Saadia Gaon (Brill, 2015) and Yefet ben ʿEli (Brill, 2008), as well as the commentaries on Ruth and Esther by Tanḥum ha-Yerushalmi (Magnes, 2010).
Preface
Transliteration Tables

Introduction



Overview: Salmon’s Exegetical Enterprise

Methods and Themes in Salmon’s Commentary on Esther
 1 The Linguistic-Contextual Foundation
 2 Homiletical Themes
 3 Polemics in the Service of Piety
 4 Circumspect Use of Previous Sources

The Reception of Salmon’s Commentary on Esther
 1 In Judaeo-Arabic Exegetical Tradition
 2 In Hebrew Exegetical Tradition

Written Witnesses Employed for the Present Edition
 1 Primary Witnesses to Salmon’s Commentary on Esther
 2 Secondary Witnesses to Salmon’s Commentary on Esther: Judaeo-Arabic Reworkings, Citations, and Shared Sources
 3 Relationship of the Manuscript Witnesses

Editorial Method
 1 The Basic Text and General Principles
 2 The Apparatuses

Some Methodological Remarks on the Annotated English Translation

Signs, Sigla, and Abbreviations

English Translation



English Translation

Appendix1: Two Judaeo-Arabic Reworkings of Salmon’s Commentary on the Book of Esther
Appendix2: Salmon’s Linguistic Terminology: A Preliminary Inventory
Appendix3: Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Qirqisānī, Kitāb al-anwār wa-ʾl-marāqib, SectionIX, Chapters15–17
Bibliographical Abbreviations
Index of Manuscripts
Index of Hebrew Bible
Index of Rabbinic Literature
Index of Medieval and Early-Modern Authors and Works
General Index
Plates

The Edited Text



The Edited Text

This volume will be of immediate interest to all institutions and libraries that treat the subjects of biblical studies, Jewish studies, religious studies, Near Eastern literature, and medieval Near Eastern history.
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Publisher:
Brill
Language:
English
Pages:
xviii, 500 pp.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004269033

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