The author was from a family of rabbinic scholars, whose name derives from the village of Melli in the province of Mantua. R. Yechiel Melli served as rabbi of Mantua in the seventeenth century. Besides the present work, he also authored a commentary to the Pentateuch entitled Sepher HaNimukim (Hirschfeld, Cat. Montefiore, no. 479/11). It is believed that in addition to his rabbinic and literary activities, he was also engaged in banking.