Abstract to Hanna Liss:

Edition Project on Yosef Qara´s Commentary on the Minor Prophets

The project deals with the Jewish Bible interpreter, Yosef ben Schim’on Qara (ca.1050-1125). Qara was a student of Salomo Jizchaqi (Raschi) and was part of the small circle of northern French exegetes in the Middle Ages who dedicated their exegetical efforts to a literal interpretation of the text (‘Peshat’). Josef Qara’s commentaries on the Hebrew Bible have survive mostly as excerpts or in the context of commentaries by Raschi (printed and in manuscript). With a few exceptions (e.g. the commentary on Job), no critical text publications or translations of Josef Qara’s commentaries exist.

The project works on a critical edition, translation, and enlarged literary-historical introduction of Qara’s commentary on the Minor Prophets (Tere Asar), since this text does not exist in printed form, except as a few excerpts. The examination and processing of the manuscript with consideration to known text fragments allows us to anticipate an exemplary overview of the history of the text commentary and of the northern French commentary techniques and transmission.

The project’s goal is the computer-supported compilation and editing of all texts attributed to Qara to date and manuscripts as well as possible text parallels that have been believed to be Raschi commentaries. A presentation and scholarly utilization of the material published in electronic form is intended.

The Project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

Staff: Prof. Dr. Hanna Liss, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien, Heidelberg

Anette Adelmann, MA.

Claudia Brendel, MA.