(RaDa”K). Sepher HaShorashim [“Book of Roots”: Biblical lexicon]

KIMCHI, DAVID.

Azriel ben Joseph Aschkenazi Gunzenhauser

Naples

1490

Second edition (first ed: Rome, c. 1469-72). Square Hebrew type, excepting names of biblical books and pericopes in rabbinic type. Previously the Salman Schocken copy (with his pencil bibliographic notations). Some marginalia.

Vinograd, Naples 12; Steinschneider, col. 873, no. 43; Thes. A-66; Goff Heb-39; Offenberg 105; BMC XIII, p. 62; Iakerson 53.

R. David Kimchi (1160?-1235?), also known by the acronym RaDa”K, was the most prominent grammarian of the Hebrew language in the medieval period, surpassing all others in terms of clarity, comprehensiveness, and methodical presentation of the subject matter. Kimchi was born in Provence after his family fled the Almohad persecutions in Spain. Both his father and brother were accomplished grammarians in their own right and RaDa”K’s philological writings owe a great deal to their early influence. See Treasures of the Valmadonna Trust Library - Otzroth Ya’akov, Incunables no. 46.