The Book of Leviticus, Warsaw edition, 1860, title page

Book of Leviticus, Mikraot Gdolot, Warsaw edition, 1860, Page 1

A ''Mikraot Gedolot'' (''Great Scriptures''; in

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 ...

: ), often called the " Rabbinic Bible" in English, is an edition of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' masorah'' in its letters, vocalization, and cantillation marks * Aramaic

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

Jewish commentaries on the Bible Jewish commentaries on the Bible are biblical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) from a Jewish perspective. Translations into Aramaic and English, and some universally accepted Jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach ...

(most common and prominent are medieval commentaries in the '' peshat'' tradition) Numerous editions of the ''Mikraot Gedolot'' have been and continue to be published.

Commentaries

In addition to Targum Onkelos and

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

's commentary, the standard Jewish commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, the ''Mikraot Gedolot'' will include numerous other commentaries. For instance, the

Romm publishing house The Romm publishing house was a publisher of Jewish religious literature from 1788 to 1940. It is known for its 1886 Vilna Talmud, which still serves as a definitive edition. Barukh ben Yosef Romm founded the business originally in Grodno and it c ...

edition of the Mikraot Gedolot contains the following additional commentaries: * Targum Jonathan (For the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, Pseudo-Jonathan) * Targum Yerushalmi on the Torah * Rashbam *

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

on the Torah (Daat Zekenim) * Chaim ibn Attar (Or Hachaim) * Abraham ibn Ezra *

David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical comm ...

(Rada"k) *

Nachmanides 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 ...

* Gersonides *

Jacob ben Asher Jacob ben Asher (c. 1269 - c. 1343), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher), was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Master of the Columns"), after ...

(Ba'al Haturim) * Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno * Shabbethai Bass (Siftei Chakhamim) * Obadiah of Bertinoro (Emer Neka) * Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (Kli Yakar) *

Don Isaac Abrabanel Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel ( he, יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל;‎ 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel, or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator ...

* Joseph Kara Newer editions often include Baruch Halevi Epstein's Torah Temimah and other medieval commentaries, or more modern commentaries such as Malbim. Special editions exist of supercommentaries on Rashi or commentaries and targumim not included in older editions. Bomberg also included the

Masoretic The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

notes on the biblical text, but no modern edition does.

Editions of the Bomberg ''Mikraot Gedolot''

First published in 1516–17 by Daniel Bomberg in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the ''Mikraot Gedolot'' was edited by Felix Pratensis. The second edition was edited by the masoretic scholar Yaakov ben Hayyim in 1525. All of its elements – text, masorah,

, and commentaries were based upon the manuscripts that Ben Hayyim had at hand (although he did not always have access to the best ones according to some, Ginsburg and some others argued that it was a good representation of the Ben Asher text). The ''Mikraot Gedolot'' of Ben Hayyim, though hailed as an extraordinary achievement, was riddled with thousands of technical errors. Objections were also raised by the Jewish readership, based on the fact that the very first printing of the Mikra'ot Gedolot was edited by Felix Pratensis, a Jew converted to Christianity. Furthermore, Bomberg, a Christian, had requested an ''imprimatur'' from the Pope. Such facts were not compatible with the supposed Jewish nature of the work; Bomberg had to produce a fresh edition under the direction of acceptable Jewish editors. Nevertheless, this first edition served as the textual model for nearly all later editions until modern times. With regard to the biblical text, many of Ben Hayyim's errors were later corrected by Menahem Lonzano and Shlomo Yedidiah Norzi. The ''Mikraot Gedolot'' of Ben Hayyim served as the source for the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' King James Version of the Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

in 1611 and the Spanish

Reina-Valera The Reina–Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible originally published in 1602 untilAnon. ''¡Refrescante y más brillante que nunca!'' Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (1995) p.9 United Bible Societies in 1909 revised the earlier translation pr ...

translation. A scholarly reprint of the 1525 Ben-Hayyim Venice edition was published in 1972 by Moshe Goshen-Gottstein.M. H. Goshen-Gottstein (ed.), Mikraot Gedolot, Biblia Rabbinica, A Reprint of the 1525 Venice Edition (Makor, Jerusalem, 1972)

Recent printed editions

Most editions until the last few decades, and many editions even today, are reprints of or based on late nineteenth century Eastern European editions, which are in turn based more or less on the Ben Hayyim edition described above. In the last generation fresh editions of the ''Mikraot Gedolot'' have been published, based directly on manuscript evidence, principally (for the biblical text and Masoretic notes) the '' Keter Aram Tzova'', the manuscript of the Tanakh kept by the Jews of Aleppo. These also have improved texts of the commentaries based on ancient manuscripts. Three of these editions are: * the

Bar Ilan 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 academic i ...

''Mikraot Gedolot ha-Keter'', ed. Menaḥem Cohen (complete in 21 volumes: Genesis (2 vols.), Exodus (2 vols.), Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua & Judges (1 vol.), Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Minor Prophets, Psalms (2 vols.), Proverbs, Job, Five Megillot (1 vol.)), Daniel-Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles. * ''Torat Hayim'', published by Mosad ha-Rav Kook (15 vols thus far: Torah, Psalms, Proverbs, and five Megillot, plus several non-biblical texts). * Chorev Mikraot Gedolot, published by Hotzaat Chorev (now complete). * Mikraot Gedolot, published by ArtScroll Mesorah

References

{{reflist

Sources

* Menaḥem Cohen, "Introduction to the ''Haketer'' edition," in ''Mikra'ot Gedolot Haketer: A revised and augmented scientific edition of "Mikra'ot Gedolot" based on the Aleppo Codex and Early Medieval MSS'' (Bar-Ilan University Press, 1992).

External links

*
Mikraot Gedolot – Haketer
( Bar Ilan University website) *
Reconstructing the Bible (haaretz.com website)

Wikimedia projects

Wikisource's Mikraot Gedolot is available in

(has the most content) and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Editions available online

The Second Rabbinic Bible (Mikra'ot Gdolot)

Mikraot Gedolot AlHaTorah
– free customizable online edition, including up to 26 different commentators, some newly published or in critical editions * The Second Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot) (מקראות גדולות) Volume I, Yaakov ben Hayyim, 1524;
digital copy
Yaakov ben Hayyim, 1524: The Second Rabbinic Bible
(Genesis through Deuteronomy only) * 1912 Vilna Edition *
Volume I
(

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

) *
Volume II
(

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

) *
Volume III
( Leviticus) *
Volume IV
( Numbers) *
Volume V
(

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

) Ancient Hebrew texts Bible translations into Aramaic Bible versions and translations Biblical commentaries Biblical exegesis Books about the Bible Hebrew Bible Hebrew Bible studies Hebrew Bible versions and translations Hebrew Bible words and phrases Jewish education Jewish law Jewish prayer and ritual texts Jewish texts Jewish texts in Aramaic Law of Moses Midrashim Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic legal texts and responsa Rabbinic literature Religious books Sifrei Kodesh Talmud Targums Torah Torah study