Da'at Miqra

''Da’at Miqra'' () is a series of volumes of Hebrew-language biblical commentary published by the Jerusalem-based Mossad Harav Kook and constitutes a cornerstone of contemporary Israeli Orthodox bible scholarship. The project was headed by Yehuda Kiel, who received the Israel Prize for his part in the enterprise.

Overview

The singularity of ''Da’at Miqra'' lies in its combination of a traditional outlook and the findings of modern research. The ''Da’at Miqra'' editors have sought to present an interpretation based primarily upon ''Peshat'' — the direct, literal reading of the text — as opposed to ''Drash''. They do so by incorporating geographic references, archaeological 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, without directly addressing the views and queries of bible critics but via a commentary aimed at debunking their methodology.

Editors of the series include Yehuda Elitzur of Bar-Ilan University, the International Bible Contest champion and Bible scholar Amos Hakham, Sha’ul Yisra’eli and Mordechai Breuer.

Methodology and structure

''Da’at Miqra'' relies upon the Aleppo Codex for its basic text. The commentary includes clarifications of difficult words and etymological 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 ''Tanakh