I. THE KIMHI FAMILY

My intention is to gather as many references as possible about Rabbi Joseph Kimhi, Rabbi Moses Kimhi and Rabbi David Kimhi, so that the Kimhi name is honored as fully as possible. I also plan to find the ways in which the writings of the Kimhis emerged during the Reformation period, from the beginning of the sixteenth century for Christian interpreters.

These are my thoughts in preparation for this Quest:

Introductory Remarks
 
 

Rabbi Joseph Kimhi (c.1105 - c.1170)

Joseph Kimhi was a Jewish Rabbi who moved from his birthplace in Spain at the time of Moslem persecutions and took up residence in the city of Narbonne in the Provence district of southern France in 1160.

Joseph translated into Hebrew grammatical works which had previously been written in the Arabic language on the subjects of the grammar of the Hebrew language. He also wrote exegetical works in which he stressed the peshat or 'plain sense' of Holy Scripture. Joseph wrote some of the earliest appearing anti-Christian polemical treatises in mediaeval Europe.

His sons Moses (died c. 1190) and David (1160?-1235?), who both also became Rabbis, continued and enlarged upon the work of their father. David's father died while David was still very young. The task of instructing him in rabbinical and biblical matters fell to his older brother Moses. The works of David draw heavily on the works of his father and brother, but because David's writings show a greater degree of fullness and completeness, eclipsed them.

The three elements of scholarship received from Joseph remain: grammatical and lexical works in Hebrew; exegetical works; and anti-Christian polemical works.

For a more complete biography of Joseph Kimhi see: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing House Ltd., Jerusalem, 1971, volume 10, article "Kimhi, Joseph"

On the Internet, a brief biography:
"Joseph Kimhi", Article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
 
 

Moses was the elder son of Joseph and brother of David. He was the author of an important Hebrew Grammar: Mahalak Shebile Ha-daat which was reprinted in many different versions in the Reformation period and was a favourite with many Christian scholars. Moses also wrote commentaries some of which appeared in the great rabbinical bibles.

For a more complete biography of Moses Kimhi see: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing House Ltd., Jerusalem, 1971, volume 10, article "Kimhi, Moses"

On the Internet, a brief biography:
"Moses Kimhi", Article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
 
 

David Kimhi has been widely praised in both Jewish and Christian circles. A Jewish maxim, "If there is no flour (kemah, etymon of Kimhi) there is no Torah", indicates the essential place given to his works.

His commentaries appeared in the First Rabbinic Bible edited by Felix Pratensis in 1517 and in the Great Rabbinic Bible of 1524/25--the "textus receptus" of the Jewish faith for four hundred years.

Some scholars have attested to finding his influence on "every page" of the 1611 Authorized Version of the English Bible (King James Version). This assertion is surprising considering that Kimhi interspersed many anti-Christian polemical passages within his biblical commentaries.

David Kimhi wrote Sefer Miklol which, together with Moses Kimhi's Mahalak Shebile Ha-daat became the substructure for all the major Christian Hebrew grammars of the early sixteenth century. The Kimhis made important contributions to the debates of the Reformation era. Their exegetical works were printed and distributed widely. The principal which characterized their interpretation - peshat (the 'plain sense') was appreciated by the Christian reformers.

The writings of David Kimhi available exceed, by a large margin, the writings of Joseph and Moses.

For a more complete biography of David Kimhi see: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter Publishing House Ltd., Jerusalem, 1971, volume 10, article "Kimhi, David"

On the Internet, a brief biography:
"David Kimhi", Article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
 
 

Each of the Reformers of the Reformation learned the Hebrew language. The materials they used to study Hebrew were often derived from the writings of David and Moses Kimhi. An early Hebrew grammar for Christians appeared in 1504: Conrad Pellican's de modo legendi et intelligendi Hebraeum was based on Moses Kimhi's grammar.
 
 

However, the primary reference for the Christian scholars learning Hebrew appeared in 1506: Johannes Reuchlin's de rudimentis hebraicis. This book was, to a considerable extent, the reworking of David Kimhi's Sefer Miklol and Moses Kimhi's Mahalak Shebile Ha-daat rendered into Latin with some introductory Hebrew.

It was very interesting to determine that Martin Luther studied Hebrew on his own 15 and, as a person not raised in a Jewish environment, became very proficient with the Hebrew language.

Ullrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Andreas Osiander, Philip Melanchthon, and many others of the Christian Reformers became proficient in the Hebrew Language. The writings of David and Moses Kimhi undergirded much of their formative work in the Hebrew Language.

It is fascinating to consider how the Kimhi writings, written c.1150 - 1235 made their way into the period of the Reformation: 1500 to 1550, almost 300 years later: 

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NEXT: II. Transmission of the Writings of the Kimhis in the Middle Ages