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 ...
-language
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
-based
Mossad Harav Kook
Mossad HaRav Kook ( he, מוסד הרב קוק, "Rabbi Kook Institute") is a religious research foundation and publishing house based in Jerusalem.
Mossad Harav Kook is named after Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British ...
and constitutes a cornerstone of contemporary
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
scholarship. The project was headed by
Yehuda Kiel
Yehuda Kiel (Hebrew: יהודה קיל; born 1916, died 16 June 2011) was an Israeli educator and Bible commentator.
Biography
Yehuda Kiel was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Following the Russian Revolution, he moved with his family to Panev� ...
, who received the
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
for his part in the enterprise.
Overview
The singularity of ''Da’at Miqra'' lies in its combination of a
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
outlook and the findings of modern research. The ''Da’at Miqra'' editors have sought to present an interpretation based primarily upon ''
Peshat
''Peshat'' (also ''P'shat'', ) is one of the two classic methods of Jewish biblical exegesis, the other being Derash. While ''Peshat'' is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text,Goldin, S. (2007). Unloc ...
'' — the direct, literal reading of the text — as opposed to ''Drash''. They do so by incorporating
geographic
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...
references,
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
findings and textual analysis, presenting a clear link between the commentary's traditional approach and contemporary methodology. There has been some suggestion that the ''Da’at Miqra‘''s dualistic approach reflects an underlying polemic against
biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
, without directly addressing the views and queries of
bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
critics but via a commentary aimed at debunking their methodology.
Editors of the series include Yehuda Elitzur of
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
Amos Hakham
Amos Hakham ( he, עמוס חכם) (1921 – 2 August 2012) was the first winner of the International Bible Contest, who went on to become a Bible scholar and editor of the Da'at Miqra Bible commentary.
Biography
Amos Hakham was born in Jerusa ...
Mordechai Breuer
Mordechai Breuer ( he, מָרְדְּכַי בְּרוֹיֶאר; May 14, 1921 – February 24, 2007) was a German-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi. He was one of the world's leading experts on Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and especially of the text of the ...
.
Methodology and structure
''Da’at Miqra'' relies upon the
Aleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...
for its basic text. The commentary includes clarifications of difficult words and
etymological
Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...
references—particularly with regard to the names of locations mentioned—and contains various notes aimed at demonstrating, expanding upon or presenting alternate views on the text. Each book of the ''
Jewish Bible Quarterly
The ''Jewish Bible Quarterly'' is a journal about the Hebrew Bible. It is published by the Jewish Bible Association. The editor is Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron.
''JBQ'' was established in 1972 as ''Dor le Dor''. It was published by the World Jewish Bible S ...