Letters to the Editor
Gevaryahu adds a commentary Michael Avioz's survey of Da'at Mikra passed over — Avraham Kahana's Tanach im Perush Mada'i, published from 1902 and reprinted in Israel, which Segal's own history of exegesis also ignored. Eder answers Israel Stein on sacred space and holy time by listing the other holinesses the Tanakh knows: God Himself, a kingdom of priests, the sons of Aaron, the nazirites, and even holy water.
Sir,
In the excellent article “The Da’at Mikra Commentary Series: Between Tradition and Criticism” (Mosad Harav Kook) (Vol. XXXIV:4, October- December 2006), Michael Avioz lists four of the prior “modern Hebrew commentaries” of the Bible as: A.B. Ehrlich, M.Z. Segal, S.L. Gordon and M. Artom. It is implied by the list that “modern” is limited to the 20thcentury Bible commentaries. The list neglected to list the Tanach im Perush Mada’i (yotze behishtatfut lamdanim mumchim) by Avraham Kahana [1874- 1946], a prolific scholar who, inter alia, also translated the Apocrypha into Hebrew. Kahana’s Bible commentary was published from 1902/03 to 1929/30 in Eastern Europe and also reprinted in Israel in the 1960s. It is noteworthy that M.H. Segal also ignored this commentary by Kahana in his own book Parshanut Ha-Mikra [The Exegesis of the Bible], which was printed in Jerusalem in 1943 and listed the more important commentaries to the Bible throughout history. The last commentary of significance for Segal was Shadal [Shemuel David Luzzato 1731-1796]. For a partial assessment of Abraham Kahana’s life and literary output see: Eliav Yaron-Tzvi, Kiriat Sefer 68 (Mussaf) pp. 7-19 (1998).
Gilad J. Gevaryahu
Bala-Cynwyd, PA
Sir,
In Israel C. Stein’s article “Sacred Space and Holy Time” (Vol. XXXIV:4, October-December 2006), the author focuses on these two aspects: Space and Time. Yet, the Tanakh knows some more aspects: (a) The Lord God of Israel reveals Himself I am Holy (Lev. 11:44, 45; et al). (b) Holy People: Israel is termed a Kingdom of Priests, and holy people (Ex. 19:6; 19:2; Num. 15:45; et al). Especially noteworthy is the injunction of Leviticus 11:44,45, which declares abstaining from things of blood and from impure animals as a hallmark of Israel’s holiness. (c) the Sons of Aaron (priests) are holy unto their God (Lev. 21:56,7); d) the Nazarites are holy unto the Lord (Num. 6:8). (e) The Tanakh speaks also of holy water (Num. 5:17).
Asher Eder
Jerusalem
Cite this article
Gilad J. Gevaryahu and Asher Eder. "Letters to the Editor." Jewish Bible Quarterly 35, no. 3 (July – September 2007).
Gilad J. Gevaryahu and Asher Eder. "Letters to the Editor." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 3, 2007.