![Cassuto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Cassuto.jpg)
Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a
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 ...
, and a scholar of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
and
Ugaritic literature, in the
University of Florence
The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled.
History
The first universi ...
, then at the
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
. When the 1938 anti-Semitic
Italian racial laws forced him from this position, he moved to the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
.
Early life and career
Cassuto was born in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
as the son of Gustavo and Ernesta Galletti in a traditionalist Jewish family. Cassuto studied there at the
University of Florence
The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled.
History
The first universi ...
(graduated in 1906), and the ''Collegio Rabbinico'' (ordained in 1908), where its principal
Samuel Hirsch Margulies
Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858 – March 12, 1922) was an Orthodox rabbi and scholar. He was born in Berezhany, western Ukraine (then mainly Polish speaking town with mixed Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish population in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lod ...
had a profound influence on him. After getting a degree and ''
Semicha
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...
'', he taught at both institutions. From 1922 to 1925, he was
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
of Florence. In 1925 he became professor of
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 ...
and literature at the
University of Florence
The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled.
History
The first universi ...
and then took the chair of Hebrew language at the
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
. When the 1938
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
laws forced him from this position, he accepted an invitation to fill the chair of
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
in 1939, where he taught until his death in 1951.
Work
Ugaritic translation and commentary
Cassuto was one of the first scholars who understood the importance of the archaeological finds from
Ugarit
)
, image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg
, image_size=300
, alt =
, caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit
, map_type = Near East#Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 300
, relief=yes
, location = Latakia Governorate, Syria
, region = F ...
in Syria, and the similarities between the
Ugaritic texts
The Ugaritic texts are a corpus of ancient cuneiform texts discovered since 1928 in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and Ras Ibn Hani in Syria, and written in Ugaritic, an otherwise unknown Northwest Semitic language. Approximately 1,500 texts and fragments ...
and the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
. His Ugaritic studies thus throw considerable light on the literary structure and vocabulary exegesis of the Bible. His treatise ''Ha-Elah Anat'' (1951, 1965; ''The Goddess Anath'', 1970), a translation with introduction and commentary of Ugaritic texts, particularly the
epic of Baal
The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE.
The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...
, is of special importance.
Origins of the Pentateuch
By the first half of the 20th century,
Julius Wellhausen
Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, he moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhausen contributed to t ...
's version of the
documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...
had become the dominant view on the origins of the
Pentateuch
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 sa ...
in academia. Cassuto's ''The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch'' (Hebrew, ''Torat HaTeudot'', 1941; English translation, 1961) offered a critique of Wellhausen; Cassuto proposed the Pentateuch was redacted by a school around the 10th century BCE. However, the question of when the Pentateuch was finally written does not affect any element of Cassuto's radical critique of the dominant theories about its actual make-up, which was his chief concern, and so he treats the historical question only at the end and as a secondary issue in ''The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch''. Cassuto insisted throughout this work that it was merely a summary, in eight lectures, of his much more detailed and thorough examination of the documentary hypothesis in his ''La Questione della Genesi'' (1934). He refers all serious students to the latter work in almost every chapter. Some idea of that more thorough consideration, however, is available in English in his ''Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) from Adam to Noah'' (1961) and ''(Part II) from Noah to Abraham'' (1964), and also his ''Commentary on the Book of Exodus'' (1967).
Cassuto's criticisms, while influential amongst many Jewish scholars, were dismissed by the overwhelming majority of Christian scholars at the time, although
Oswald Thompson Allis
Oswald Thompson Allis (September 9, 1880 – January 12, 1973) was an American Presbyterian theologian and Bible scholar.
Biography
He was born in 1880 and studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton Theological Seminary. He received ...
(1943) argued along parallel lines.
Most scholars have tended to ignore Cassuto's ''The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch'' beyond mentioning it in their footnotes listings.
[Cf. ]Brevard S. Childs
Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American Old Testament scholar and Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), who is considered one of the most influe ...
, ''Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture'' (1979). H. H. Rowley
Harold Henry Rowley (24 March 1890 – 4 October 1969) was an English Old Testament scholar from the Baptist tradition.
Biography
H. H. Rowley was born in Leicester on 24 March 1890 to Richard Rowley and Emma (née Saunt) Rowley. The family Ba ...
, ed., ''The Old Testament and Modern Study'' (1951), Herbert F. Hahn, ed., ''The Old Testament in Modern Research'', Expanded Edition (1966), and Douglas A. Knight and Gene M. Tucker, eds., ''The Hebrew Bible and Its Modern Interpreters'' (1985). Joseph Blenkinsopp, ''The Pentateuch: An Introduction to the First Five Books of the Bible'' (1992) Scholars such as
Rolf Rendtorff
Rolf Rendtorff (10 May 1925 – 1 April 2014) was Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg. He has written frequently on the Jewish scriptures and was notable chiefly for his contribution to the debate over the origins o ...
and
John Van Seters
John Van Seters (born May 2, 1935 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian scholar of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Ancient Near East. Currently University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, he was formerly ...
have put also forward theories on Pentateuchal historical origins very like Cassuto's, at least insofar as their views on its mode of composition are concerned. Modern ideas about the dating of the Torah, however, have not endorsed Cassuto's specific early historical dating, and the trend today is for the final act of composition to be seen as lying in the period 500–400 BC, or even later.
Text of the Hebrew Bible
Cassuto felt the need to produce the most accurate possible text of the Tanakh (
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
). He realised that the texts generally published at the time had mostly been edited by non-Jews, and Jews who had converted to Christianity. While Cassuto saw no reason to believe that major alterations had been made, he felt it was important to compare these printed editions with older manuscripts as a check.
Thus Cassuto sought to use the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of the Tanakh, dating back many centuries before the invention of printing. In particular, in 1944 he managed to visit the Great Synagogue of
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
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...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and study 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 ...
. He was one of the very few scholars to study this key manuscript before most of the Torah section and some of the Prophets and Writings sections disappeared in the
1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo
The 1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo were an attack on Syrian Jews in Aleppo, Syria in December 1947, following the United Nations vote in favour of partitioning Palestine. The attack, a part of an anti-Jewish wave of unrest across the Middle Ea ...
.
From his research, he concluded that the printed Bibles generally had an accurate text. However, he corrected the spelling of many words, and made a great many corrections to the
vowel points and musical notes. He also revised the layout of the text, its division into paragraphs, the use of poetical lines when he deemed it appropriate (for example, in
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
,
Proverbs
A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
and
Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
) and similar matters. Where he differed from other Bibles in any of these respects, it is likely that Cassuto has better authority. Cassuto's critical edition of the Hebrew Bible was published posthumously in 1953.
Bible commentaries
Cassuto's most enduring legacy may be his commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, his 1944 ''Shirat ha-Alilah be-Yisrael'' ("Fear of the Plot in Israel", later published in English in ''Biblical and Oriental Studies II'') was Cassuto's 'primary contribution'. He wrote a Hebrew commentary on the Bible that became very popular in Israel. He wrote a more detailed commentary on
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
* Ex ...
and at the time of his death had completed chapters 1–11 of a more detailed commentary on
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 ...
. Both of these latter commentaries were made available in English, and include his views on the documentary hypothesis.
Works available in English or Italian
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''La Questione della Genesi''. Florence: 1934.
* Cassuto, Umberto. . Pp. xvi, 212. Florence: Casa editrice Israel, 1938
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch: Eight Lectures by U. Cassuto''. Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: Shalem Press, Jerusalem, 2006
2006 pdf version* Cassuto, Umberto. ''A Commentary on the book of Genesis. From Adam to Noah''. Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams. Volume 1 of 2 Volumes Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1961–1964
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''A Commentary on the book of Genesis. From Noah to Avraham''. Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams. Volume 2 of 2 Volumes Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1961–1964
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''A Commentary on the book of Exodus''. Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams. Pp. xvi, 509. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1967
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''The Goddess Anath: Canaanite Epics on the Patriarchal Age''. Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1971
* Cassuto, Umberto. ''Biblical and Oriental Studies''. Translated from the Hebrew and Italian by Israel Abrahams. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1973–1975
See also
*
Abraham Yahuda
Abraham Shalom Yahuda ( he, אברהם שלום יהודה; 1877–1951) was a Palestinian Jew, polymath, teacher, writer, researcher, linguist, and collector of rare documents.
Biography
Abraham Shalom Yahuda was born in Jerusalem to a Jewish f ...
*
Elijah Benamozegh
Elijah Benamozegh, sometimes Elia or Eliyahu, (born 1823; died 6 February 1900) was an Italian Sephardic Orthodox rabbi and renowned Kabbalist, highly respected in his day as one of Italy's most eminent Jewish scholars. He served for half a cen ...
*
Joshua Berman
Joshua Berman (born February 29, 1964) is an Orthodox rabbi and professor of bible at Bar-Ilan University. He is known for his views on the history of Jewish belief, and on biblical source criticism, arguing that "knowledge of the cultural contex ...
*
Cassuto Cassuto is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Judah Cassuto (1808–1893), Dutch-German hazzan (cantor) of the Portuguese-Jewish community
* Sherry Cassuto (1957-2016), American rower
* Solica Cassuto, Greek actress, and second ...
family name
*
Cyrus Gordon
Cyrus Herzl Gordon (June 29, 1908 – March 30, 2001) was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages.
Biography
Gordon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lithuanian emigrant and physician Benjamin Gordon. H ...
*
Yehezkel Kaufman
*
Kenneth Kitchen
Kenneth Anderson Kitchen (born 1932) is a British biblical scholar, Ancient Near Eastern historian, and Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and honorary research fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, Univ ...
Egyptologist
*
Mosaic authorship
Mosaic authorship is the Judeo-Christian tradition that the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, were dictated by God to Moses. The tradition probably began with the legalistic code of the Book of Deuteronomy and was t ...
*
Gary Rendsburg
References
Bibliography
*
*
Biography and bibliography at the Jewish Virtual LibraryNoteon the death of Umberto Cassuto published on the JTA Daily Bulletin.
* Ephraim Chamiel, The Dual Truth, Studies on Nineteenth-Century Modern Religious Thought and its Influence on Twentieth-Century Jewish Philosophy, Academic Studies Press, Boston 2019, Vol II, pp. 500-536.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassuto, Umberto
1883 births
1951 deaths
20th-century Italian rabbis
20th-century Italian writers
20th-century Jewish biblical scholars
Clergy from Florence
Documentary hypothesis
Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty
Italian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Italian Orthodox rabbis
Jewish biblical scholars
Sapienza University of Rome faculty
University of Florence faculty