The Alba Bible is a 1430

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

containing a translation of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

made directly from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

into mediaeval Castilian. The translation was carried out under the direction of ,

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community of

Maqueda Maqueda is a Spanish town located 80 kilometers from Madrid and 45 kilometers from Toledo. Located within the autonomous community Castilla-La Mancha and the province of Toledo, Maqueda is located in the comarca of Torrijos. The town is best k ...

in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

province of Toledo, at the behest of Grand Master of the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

.Noticiasdot.com (2004).
El fabuloso patrimonio de los Alba, Grandes de España pero de con Mayúsculas
''. Retrieved October 19, 2006.

History

During the 15th century, many people within Spanish society held hostile views toward Jews. In the aftermath of a series of anti-Jewish riots centered in Madrid,University of Wisconsin (2001).

''. Retrieved October 19, 2006. Don Luis de Guzmán believed that he could help heal the rift and build a bridge of understanding between Christians and Jews by commissioning a Castilian translation of the Old Testament from the original

, accompanied by commentary from Jewish scholars interpreting the text of their holy book. On April 5, 1422, Don Luis de Guzmán initiated his project by sending a letter to rabbi Moses Arragel inviting him to compose ''"vna biblia en rromançe, glosada e ystoriada."'' It is not known what convinced rabbi Arragel to accept as he initially demurred in an extensive reply letter to Guzmán. Nevertheless, eight years later the bible was completed. From 1492, the year in which the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ( Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Arag ...

issued mandating the expulsion of all Jews from Spain, until 1622, when it resurfaced in the Palace of Liria owned by the

House of Alba The House of Alba de Tormes ( es, Casa de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as the House of Alba, is a prominent Spanish noble family that descended from 12th-century nobility of post-conquest Toledo. The family's claim to Alba de Tormes dates fro ...

, the whereabouts of the Alba Bible were unknown. In 1922 an illustrated facsimile edition of 300 copies was published by the scholar Antonio Paz y Meliá. In 1992, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the expulsion, Mauricio Hatchwell Toledano, President of the Fundacion Amigos de Sefarad published 500 copies in an exact

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

edition, one of which was given to

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Nov ...

, the reigning

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

.Facsimile Editions Limited (2006).
The Alba Bible: HISTORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT
'. Retrieved October 19, 2006. Today the original Alba Bible is preserved by the

, and is on exhibition in the

Palace of Liria The Liria Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio de Liria'') is a neoclassical palace in Madrid, Spain. It is the Madrid residence of the Dukes of Alba. History Built around 1770 to a design by the architect Ventura Rodríguez, it was commissioned by James ...

, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The original Bible has been valued at 2.5 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s. Copies of the 500 limited edition

copies reproduced in 1992 are sold for more than US$44,000.

Juda-makabejsky-utok-na-akru-alpska-bible

The work contains 513 folios. Inserted at the beginning of the work are 25 folios of correspondence between Rabbi Arragel and Don Luís Guzmán as well as between the rabbi and various Franciscans involved in illustrating the translation and discussing matters related to the collaboration. The Alba Bible contains a series of comments on the writing of both Jewish and Christian theologians, including Abraham ibn Ezra,

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

Joseph Kimhi Joseph Qimḥi or Kimchi (1105–1170) ( he, יוסף קמחי) was a medieval Jewish rabbi and biblical commentator. He was the father of Moses and David Kimhi, and the teacher of Rabbi Menachem Ben Simeon and poet Joseph Zabara. Grammarian, ...

Asher ben Jehiel Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...

Shlomo ben Aderet Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet ( he, שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת or Solomon son of Abraham son of Aderet) (1235 – 1310) was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: ), the Hebrew acronym ...

, Ya'acob and

Nissim of Gerona Nissim ben Reuven (1320 – 9th of Shevat, 1376, he, נִסִּים בֶּן רְאוּבֵן) of Girona, Catalonia was an influential talmudist and authority on Jewish law. He was one of the last of the great Spanish medieval Talmudic scholars. ...

. There is also commentary taken from rabbinic literary sources such as the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

and the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

. Although the text of the Alba Bible was the product of Rabbi Arragel, the elaborate artistic detail is wholly the product of

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

of Toledo. The work contains 334 miniatures that illustrate passages from the religious text. Six of these occupy whole pages.Carl-Otto Nordström
''The Duke of Alba's Castilian Bible: A Study of the Rabbinical Features of the Miniatures''
(Uppsala, 1967), p. 25.

References

External links

*(Ladino)AKI YERUSHALAYIM
*{{in lang, es}

15th-century biblical manuscripts 15th-century illuminated manuscripts Illuminated biblical manuscripts Jewish illuminated manuscripts Jewish Spanish history Bible translations into Spanish

History

Contents

See also

References

External links