KIMCHI, DAVID (RaDa’K). Sepher Michlol [grammar]

(EMDEN, JACOB)

Cornelio Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg

Venice

1545

Edited by Elijah Ashkenazi (Bachur). Title within architectural arch. THE JACOB EMDEN COPY, WITH over two hundred important Autograph marginal comments and textual corrections

Vinograd, Venice 245; Haberman, Bomberg 174; not in Adams

THE JACOB EMDEN COPY. WITH HIS EXTENSIVE AUTOGRAPHED MARGINAL NOTES. AN IMPORTANT GRAMMATICAL TEXT WITH AUTOGRAPH CORRECTIONS BY A MASTER OF THE SUBJECT MATTER Alongside his outstanding accomplishments as an Halachist and Aggadist, Jacob Emden was a supreme philosophical and grammatical scholar. In marginal anotations to this work, Emden vehemently disagrees with the Michlol’s editor's notes and comments, whilst more respectful to the author - although occasionally he dismisses Kimchi's opinion as “nonsense and futile.” In addition to Emden’s pure linguistic and grammatical expertise, many comments display his discerning eye and scientific grasp of the text. He indicates that certain passages are not written in the correct order and surmises that they may have originally been marginal comments in the author's manuscript and subsequently erroneously placed by a printer or copyist, commenting: “they misunderstood the author's intentions and greatly corrupted this subject...[it was] published without proper supervision." (See notes on ff. 11v, 17r, 22v and 31r). Emden also makes comparisoms to other works and Biblical manuscripts by Kimchi. This volume was clearly in the posession of Jacob Emden for many years and he consulted it often, testified by the style of Emden’s hand-writing style as he aged. In the introduction to his prayer-book Amudai Shamayim (Altona, 1745) Emden makes reference to a notation of his in the Sepher Michlol. (See lot 160)