, a rabbi of the sixteenth century, by birth a German, passed the
, a rabbi of the sixteenth century, by
birth a German, passed the greater part of his life at Rome
and at Venice, where he taught the Hebrew tongue to
many of the learned of these two cities, and even to some
cardinals. Of all the critics that have arisen among the
modern Jews, he has the reputation of being the most enlightened, and had the candour to reject as ridiculous
fables, the greater part of their traditions. To him the
learned are obliged for, 1. “Lexicon Chaldaicum,
” Isnae,
Traditio DoctrinsB,
” in Hebrew, Venice,
Collectio locorum in quibus Chaldseus paraphrastes
interjecit nomen Messiae Christi; Lat. versa a Genebrardo,'
Paris, 1572, 8vo. 4. Several Hebrew Grammars, 8 vo, necessary for such as would penetrate into the difficulties
of that language. 5.
” Nomenclatura Hebra'ica,“Isnae,
1542, 4to. The same in Hebrew and Latin, by Drusius;
Franeker, 1681, 8vo. He rejected, among other ancient
prejudices, the very high origin of the Hebrew points,
which have been carried as far back as the time of Ezra,
and referred them with more probability to the sixth century. Father Simon says of him,
” Solus Elias Levita inter
Judaeos desiit nugari;" and adds, that he was so much
hated by the other Jews for teaching the Christians the
Hebrew tongue, as to be obliged to prove formally that a
Jew might do this with a good conscience.
, was a rabbi of the sixteenth century, who rendered himself famous
, was a rabbi of the sixteenth century, who rendered himself famous by the collection of the Masora, which was printed at Venice in 1525 with the text of the Bible, the Chaldee paraphrase, and the commentaries of some rabbies upon Scripture. This edition of the Hebrew Bible, and those which follow it with the great and small Masora compiled by this rabbi, are much esteemed by the Jews; there being nothing before exact or accurate upon the Masora, which is properly a critique upon the books of the Bible, in order to settle the true reading. In the preface to his great Masora he shews the usefulness of his work, and explains the keri and ketib, or the different readings of the Hebrew text: he puts the various readings in the margin, because there are just doubts concerning the true reading; he observes also, that the Talmudish Jews do not always agree with the authors of the Masora. Besides the various readings collected by the Masorets, and put by this rabbi in the margin of his Bible, he collected others himself from the ms copies, which must be carefully distinguished from the Masora.