Hebrew). Arba’ah Ve’esrim. Edited by Felix Pratensis with commentaries including Rashi, David Kimchi, Nachmanides, Gersonides, Aramaic Targums etc., Also Maimonides’ Thirteen Articles of Faith

(BIBLE,.

Daniel Bomberg

Venice

1516-7

Four parts bound in two volumes. Divisional titles. Large woodcut head-pieces, initial letters of each Book within ornamental heading. This copy complete with Dedication to Pope Leo X in Latin by Felix Pratensis on verso of title, and David Kimchi’s Teshuvoth Le’notzrim [“Responses to Christians”], single leaf at end of Psalms, lacking in most all other copies.

Vinograd, Venice 6; Mehlman 25; Haberman, Bomberg 8; Adams B-1216; Darlow & Moule 5083

Editio Princeps of the Great Rabbinic Bible. “The importance of this edition can hardly be overrated.” C. D. Ginsburg, see D. S. Berkowitz, In Remembrance of Creation (1968) no. 165 (illustrated). This first great work published in large folio by the Aldo of Hebrew printing, Daniel Bomberg, was edited by the convert Felix Pratensis. Although he utilized the Brescia Bible of 1493, Pratensis consulted many manuscripts in his redaction, hence this edition made an important contribution to textual criticism. As a result, various readings and masoratic glosses, as well as the Jerusalem Targum of the Pentateuch, the Targum of the Prophets and Hagiographia appear for the first time. Also, for the first time in a Hebrew Bible, the chapter numbers appear in the margin and the Books of Samuel, Kings, Ezra-Nechemiah and Chronicles appear divided each into two books. David Kimchi incorporated many long polemic passages in his Bible commentary. They are especially numerous and lengthy in his commentary to the Psalms. Many of these passages were deleted from Kimchi’s commentary by the censor and indeed, it is excessively rare to find this Bible complete with the Teshuvoth Le’notzrim. On RaDa”K’s polemical writings, see M. Waxman, vol. II pp.536-7