Hebrew and Spanish). Biblia en dos Colunas - Hebrayco y Espanol.

FIRST EDITION OF THE BIBLE IN HEBREW AND SPANISH. Although the Bible has regularly appeared in the Spanish language ever since the appearance of the great Ferrara Bible of 1553, the present edition heralds the first appearance of both Hebrew and Spanish texts in a single volume. (By comparison, Hebrew-Yiddish Bibles had been printed since the 16th century). It was one Abraham Mendes Castro to whom the publishers in their preface give credit for promoting, and indeed financing the idea of a Spanish-Hebrew Bible. Castro, a resident of Curacao, Dutch West Indies, was motivated by local need “…there were not enough copies of the Pentateuch in Hebrew and in Spanish for the pupils [in Curacao].” Moreover, “Castro had a special fondness for the Holy Land and the diffusion of the Bible.” (See I.S. and S.A. Emmanuel, The History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles (1970) pp. 251 and 1095). In 1760, Castro sent funds to Amsterdam to have Proops print a two-column Spanish-Hebrew Bible, profits accrued from sale were to be divided between the Jewish Communities of Jerusalem and of Hebron. The ultimate result, according to Cardozo de Bethencourt, was a production valued as “…one of the most beautiful of Spanish Bibles.” (See AJHSP, Vol. XXIX Notes on Spanish and Portuguese Jews (1925) p.29). This, therefore, is the first Hebrew Book whose publication was financed by, and for the use of, Jews of the American Continent.