Tanchum Yerushalmi, born c.1220 probably in Jerusalem, but spent most of his life in Egypt where he died in 1291, mastered Hebrew and other Middle Easter languages as well as Greek philosophy, which makes of his commentary - edited in the present book - a welcoming contribution to the understanding of the highly symbolic book of The Song of Songs.

This book contains two commentaries on The Song of Songs by Tanchum Yerushalmi (c. 1220-1291), one of the best representatives of rational exegesis in the Middle Eastern rabbinical school of thought. His in depth knowledge of the Bible as well as his acquaintance with Greek philosophy, added to familiarity with his own Jewish tradition allowed him to write rich biblical commentaries. In so doing he showed himself as a worthy disciple of Saadia Gaon, Hai and Ibn Janah whom he mentions in his commentary on The Song of Songs. The extent of his knowledge can easily be seen in both his philological and philosophical commentaries on one of the most intriguing books of the Bible.

Autorentext

Joseph Alobaidi is professor of Bible Theology and Languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. USA. His publications deals mainly with the Judeo-Arabic literature.