Yefet ben Ali

Yefet ben Ali (Hebrew: יפת בן עלי הלוי (הבצרי))[1] was perhaps the foremost Karaite commentator on the Bible, during the "Golden Age of Karaism". He lived about 95 years, c. 914-1009.[2] Born in Basra in the Abbasid Caliphate (now in Iraq), he later moved to Jerusalem between 950 and 980, where he died. The Karaites distinguished him by the epithet maskil ha-Golah (teacher of the Exile).[3]

Yefet ben Ali
NationalityKaraites
Era10th century CE
Known forCommentator on the Bible

His commentaries were written in Judeo-Arabic, and covered the entire Hebrew Bible. They were accompanied by a very literal translation of the Hebrew text, which often violated the rules of Arabic grammar. These writings influenced the rabbinical sage Abraham ibn Ezra, who quotes Yefet forty-two times in his commentary of the minor prophets.

Approach

Yefet's commentary is largely a compilation of others' views, though he also includes many original interpretations, but in general his Karaite sources are lost.[4] Unlike his Karaite predecessors in the field of Bible exegesis, Yefet realized the importance of grammar and lexicography for the interpretation of Scripture, although he did not excel in either. The interest which his commentaries present lies chiefly in the accumulation of material for the history of the differences between traditional Judaism and the Karaites; for he enters into lengthy disputes with traditional rabbis, especially with Saadia, from whose commentaries on the Bible and polemical works, including some no longer in existence, he gives many extracts. Thus in regard to Ex. xxxv. 3 he discusses with Saadia the kindling of a fire by a non-Jew on Sabbath, a practise which the Karaites considered to be forbidden. Yefet reproaches Saadia with being unfaithful to the principles he himself had laid down for the interpretation of the Law, according to which no deductions by analogy are admissible in definite revealed precepts. On Lev. xxiii. 5 Yefet cites fragments from Saadia's "Kitab al-Tamyiz", a polemical work against Karaism, in which the author states that there are three sects which are divided on the question of the new moon: (1) the Rabbinites, who, except in special cases, determine it by the molad; (2) the sect of the Tiflis, which follow the molad absolutely; and (3) a sect which is guided by the first appearance of the moon.[3]

Exegesis

Yefet claims full freedom for the exegete, refusing to admit any authority for the interpretation of the Torah; and, although he sometimes uses the thirteen hermeneutic rules laid down in the Mishnah, he denies their authority: they are to be applied, he claims, only when it is not possible to explain the passage literally. Thus, notwithstanding his veneration for Anan ben David, the founder of Karaism, and for Benjamin Nahawandi, he often rejects their interpretations.[3] He follows the Targum very closely (he is the first known Karaite commentator to do so[5]), though he never acknowledges it as a source, and he quotes Talmudic teachings frequently, likewise without attribution. In his style and idioms also he bears a deep debt to Talmudic writings, and his interpretations are very often borrowed from the exegetical works of Saadia Gaon or the doctrines of Mutazilism.[4]

Yefet was an adversary of the philosophico-allegorical treatment of scripture. He, however, symbolizes several Biblical narrations, as, for instance, that of the burning bush, in which he finds a representation of Jews, whom enemies can not annihilate; and he admits that the Song of Songs is an allegory.[3]

Yefet attacked Islam with the greatest violence. For him the words of Isaiah, "Ha, you ravager" (Book of Isaiah 33:1), refer to Muhammad, who robbed all nations and dealt treacherously with his own people, and Isaiah 47:9 ("Suddenly, in one day: / Loss of children and widowhood / Shall come upon you in full measure") to the downfall of Islam. In the following verse, he sees an allusion to the sufferings inflicted by Muslim rulers on the Jews, who are loaded with heavy taxes, compelled to wear badges, forbidden to ride on horseback, etc.[3]

Yefet was no less bitter in his attacks on Christianity and on rabbinic Judaism, to which he refers many prophecies. Unlike his predecessors, he was not an opponent of secular science. To him the word "da'at" (Proverbs 1:7) denotes "the knowledge" of astronomy, medicine, mathematics, etc., the study of which is to be undertaken before that of theology.[3]

Influence

Yefet's commentaries were much used by succeeding Karaite exegetes and were often quoted by Abraham Ibn Ezra. Written in Arabic, some of them were rendered into Hebrew either in full or abridged.[3]

Editions

Nearly the whole Arabic text on all the Biblical books is extant in manuscripts in European libraries (Leiden, Oxford, British Museum, London, Paris, Berlin, etc.). The parts which have been published are:

Other works

He was also known for his expertise of Hebrew grammar, and for his polemics against Rabbinic Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. One of his comments about the Rabbanites, writing on his Arabic commentary on Isaiah, Yefet ben Ali digresses as follows: "This section refers to the people of the Diaspora and to the best among them as well. They are at present divided into four classes :

  1. The Exilarchs who pretend to be the possessors of knowledge;
  2. The common people who neither desire wisdom nor think about it; they know no more about religion than to go to the Synagogue from Sabbath to Sabbath and to say "Amen" and "Shema Yisrael";
  3. The studious among the common people, whom the Exilarchs teach them the nonsense of the Talmud, and sorcery, instead of what might profit them;
  4. The "Maskilim" (Karaite teachers) who, endowed with the knowledge of the Torah, are generous with the dissemination of their wisdom, in return for which they accept no recompense).

Before devoting himself to Biblical exegesis Yefet wrote several other works of lesser importance. Among these were:[3]

  • an epistle in rimed prose refuting the criticism on Karaism by Jacob ben Samuel, surnamed by the Karaites "ha-'Iḳḳesh" (= "the intriguer"), published by Pinsker in his "Liḳḳuṭe Ḳadmoniyyot", p. 19. Yefet endeavors in this epistle to demonstrate that there is no trace of oral tradition in Scripture, and consequently the Mishnah, Talmud, and other rabbinical writings fall under the prohibition "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you" (Deut. iv. 2).
  • "Sefer ha-Miẓwot", treating of the precepts, and containing many controversies with the Rabbinites; mentioned by Yefet in the commentaries to I Sam. xx. 27; Dan. x. 3. Some fragments of this work were found in the Library of St. Petersburg and published by A. Harkavy.
  • "'Iyyun Tefillah", in ten chapters, treating of all that pertains to prayer; extant in manuscript (Paris MS. No. 670).
  • "Kalam", perhaps a liturgical work, extant in manuscript. Levi, Yefet's son, mentions in his "Muḳaddimah" to Deuteronomy another work by his father, entitled "Safah Berurah", the contents of which are unknown (the supposition of Fürst that it was a grammatical treatise is considered to be erroneous).[3]

Further reading
  • D. S. Margoliouth (ed.), Jephet Ibn Ali the Karaite, A Commentary of the Book of Daniel, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889.
  • M. Polliack and E. Schlossberg, Yefet Ben `Eli`s Commentary on Hosea, Bar-Ilan University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-965-226-343-8
  • Joshua A. Sabih, Japheth ben Ali´s Book of Jeremiah, Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84553-664-0
  • Michael G. Wechsler, The Arabic Translation and Commentary of Yefet ben 'Eli the Karaite on the Book of Esther, Leiden: Brill, 2008. ISBN 978-9-00416-388-1

Notes
  1. Also Japheth ben Ali, Japheth ha-Levi; Judeo-Arabic: Abu 'Ali Ḥasan b. 'Ali al-Lawi al-Baṣri (אבו עלי חסן בן עלי אלללוי אלבצרי). The name Ḥasan ("handsome") was seen as an Arabic equivalent of Yefet, based on the contemporary derivation of Yefet from י-פ-ה.
  2. Pinsker, Simḥah (1860). לקוטי קדמוניות: לקורות דת בני מקרא והליטעראטור שלהם : ע״פ כתבי יד עבריים וערביים (in Hebrew). דרוק פאן א. דעללא טאררע.
  3.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: K.; I. Br. (1901–1906). "Japheth ha-Levi". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved Jul 26, 2017. Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography:
    • Pinsker, Liḳḳuṭe Ḳadmoniyyot, passim;
    • Salomon Munk, in Jost's Annalen, 1841, pp. 76 et seq.;
    • Jost, Gesch. des Judenthums und Seiner Sekten, ii. 348;
    • Julius Fürst, Gesch. des Karäert. ii. 124 et seq.;
    • Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. v. 28;
    • Poznanski, in J. Q. R. viii. 691, x. 246;
    • Bacher, in R. E. J. xxviii. 151 et seq.;
    • Moritz Steinschneider, in J. Q. R. x. 533, xi. 327;
      • idem, Hebr. Uebers. p. 941;
      • idem, Die Arabische Literatur der Juden, § 44.
  4. Birnbaum, Philip (1941). "Yefet ben 'Ali and His Influence on Biblical Exegesis". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 32 (1): 51–70. doi:10.2307/1452331. ISSN 0021-6682. JSTOR 1452331.
  5. Nemoy, Leon (1943). Birnbaum, Philip (ed.). "The Arabic Commentary of Yefet ben 'Ali on Hosea". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 33 (4): 501–506. doi:10.2307/1452006. ISSN 0021-6682. JSTOR 1452006.
  6. Ali (ha-Levi), Japheth ben; Wechsler, Michael G. (2008). שרח מגלת אחשורוש: ל[ל]שיך אלפאצל אלמעלם אבו עלי ... BRILL. pp. XVI. ISBN 978-90-04-16388-1.
  1. Then anonymous.
  2. Then anonymous.
  3. Then anonymous.
  4. Eleazar Iser Szadzunski is the E. Lawrence Marwick whose preliminary edition of the commentary to the Minor Prophets was published posthumously in 2003. His dissertation is possibly lost.
  5. Then anonymous.
  6. Byzantine translation of, misattributed to Salmon ben Yeruham.
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