MENDELSSOHN, MOSES.
AUCTION 58 |
Thursday, May 02nd,
2013 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts and Autograph Letters
Lot 237
MENDELSSOHN, MOSES.
Prague: S. Freund 1860-62
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
PRICE REALIZED $1,500
Titled Sepher Nethivoth Hashalom and more commonly known as the Bi’ur, Moses Mendelssohn’s revolutionary translation of the Pentateuch appeared in German in Hebrew characters while the commentary was composed in Hebrew. The commentary aimed to explain the translation choices made by Mendelssohn and drew heavily on traditional medieval Jewish Bible commentators. The translation, written in an elegant High German, was designed to enable the Jews of Germany to come closer to “general culture by giving them the best translation of the Holy Book that they ever had.” (Preface).