A "SPECIAL PAGE" IN
THE FIRST RABBINIC BIBLE

Published in Venice by Daniel Bomberg, 1517

The commentaries of Radak to the psalms in the First Rabbinic Bible appear in rabbinic Hebrew on each page under the appropriate section of the psalm, in biblical Hebrew and Aramaic.

There is an unprecedented characteristic in this edition which relates to certain anti-Christian material, which in the 1477 and 1487 editions was simply included with the psalm commentary to the particular psalm.

In the First Rabbinic Bible this anti-Christian material, which appears at the end of Radak's commentary on psalms 2, 22, 45, 72 87 and 110 and on psalm 19 in the discussion of verse 10 and psalm 21 in the discussion of verse 1, has been extracted from its normal location and is presented on a single page, front and back.

I have provided a Table of First Rabbinical Bibles which I have sought and some of which I have seen. The special page can be found in a number of existing copies between the end of psalm 150 and the first page of the book of Proverbs. In a number of other existing copies the page is missing entirely.

I have been able to discover no particular pattern which explains convincingly why this page is present in some copies and missing in others. Here is what it contains:

CONTENTS OF A SPECIAL PAGE
found between Psalms and Proverbs
in the FIRST RABBINIC BIBLE

These are the answers which Radak made to the Christians concerning some of the psalms. And also hard sayings which he wrote about them.

First in psalm 2 and the Christians interpret it as concerning that man [Jesus] and the verse which they bring in as proof and they make a support of it, is THE LORD HATH SAID UNTO ME, THOU ART MY SON. For if they will say to you he was the son of God, it would not be right to say son of God about flesh and blood. For a son is of the species of the father. For it would not be right when you say "This horse is the son of Reuben". If so, the one to whom God says, "THOU ART MY SON" must be one of His species and be God like Him. And furthermore he said, "THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE", and the begotten is the species of the begetter.

Say to them that it would not be right with Divinity for there to be father and son, for the Divinity is not divided. For it is not a body which is divided but He is one in every aspect of unity. He will not be increased nor decreased nor divided. And further say to them - the father and the son: the father comes before the son in time, and from the strength of the father proceeds the son. And although it is not right one without the other in the calling of names, for he is not called a father until he has a son and he is not called a son if he does not have a father, nevertheless he who is called father, as he has this son, precedes in time without doubt. If so the God whom you speak of and call him Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the part whom you call Father precedes the second part whom you call Son. For if they were always two together they would be called twin brothers and you would not call them father and son, nor begetter and begotten. For the begetter precedes the begotten, without doubt.

And when someone says it is not right to say a son of God about anything which is not of the divine species, say to them that we cannot speak about God, blessed be He, except in metaphoric language as where we say about Him, "The mouth of the Lord", "The eyes of the Lord", "The ears of the Lord", and such like, it is known that this is nothing but metaphorical language.

And so it is metaphoric when it says "Son of God" [or] "Sons of God". For whoever does His commandments and His commission is called a son of His, as the son does the father's commandments. Therefore he called the stars "sons of God". As in AND ALL THE SONS OF GOD SHOUTED FOR JOY [i.e. Job 38:7 - Kimhi provides no biblical references by book and verse. He provides only the biblical words] And so the man because of the higher spirit which is in him when the man does the commandments of God by reason of the wise soul which teaches him, He calls him "son".

And therefore He says to him "THOU ART MY SON" and he says,"THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE". And it says ISRAEL IS MY SON, EVEN MY FIRSTBORN [Ex. 4:22] and it says IS HE NOT THY FATHER THAT HATH BOUGHT THEE? [Deut. 32:6] and it says I WILL BE HIS FATHER AND HE SHALL BE MY SON [II Sam. 7:14] .

And further say to them: The God of whom you say the Father said to the son 'ASK OF ME, AND I SHALL GIVE THEE THE HEATHEN FOR THINE INHERITANCE' how will the son ask the father? Is he not God like Him and does he not have power over the nations and the ends of the earth like Him? Further, before the request were not the nations already his inheritance? If so, God lacked the power at the beginning and later His power increased. This should not be said of God.

And if they say to you it is spoken in regard to Jesus the man after the Divinity took the form of flesh and He spoke to Jesus the man that he would ask of Him and He would give nations for his inheritance, this was not the case. For there was not an inheritance for Jesus the man and he did not establish authority over any nation of the nations.

And if they say to you that it speaks in reference to the faith and his faith which they will accept, behold the multitude of the world, Jews and Moslems, who have not accepted his faith. Behold I have taught you what you should answer to them in this psalm. And you add from your knowledge, according to these words.

And if they ask of you its interpretation, you should interpret it in one of two ways that you choose, either about David or about Messiah, as I interpreted for you.

And in Psalm 19, it is not as the words of the Christians when they say that the Torah which was given upon Mount Sinai was for the time until Jesus came. For until his time it [the Torah] was carnal and shortly after he came he commanded that it be explained spiritually, and their words are words of wind and empty and void, for the commandments which they say are in metaphorical language and not to be understood literally, the Lord commanded them explicitly and not metaphorically. If so no one would understand the rest of the commandments metaphorically but literally for if the commandments were metaphoric they were in doubt. This person says the hidden meaning in it is thus and another person says thus and the writings say FOR THIS COMMANDMENT WHICH I COMMANDED THEE THIS DAY, IT IS NOT HIDDEN FROM THEE, NEITHER IS IT FAR OFF, [Deut. 30:11] and if there were hidden meanings in the commandments and if one could not understand them literally, then they would be HIDDEN and FAR OFF.

And in psalm 21 THE LORD HEAR THEE IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE [Ps. 20:2] , he said: The Christians interpret it as referring to Jesus and you will answer them in every verse. O LORD, IN THY STRENGTH. Behold without the strength of the father the son has no strength and if he is weak he is not a God. And so THOU HAST GIVEN HIM HIS HEART'S DESIRE and so because THOU PRECEEDEST HIM and it says HE ASKED LIFE OF THEE. If this refers to Jesus the man then there was not LENGTH OF DAYS. If it refers to the Divinity what does it mean AND THOU GAVEST IT HIM and already he had them. And it says HIS GLORY IS GREAT IN THY SALVATION, however without THY SALVATION his glory was not great. If so, his is not divine. If it refers to Jesus the man there was nothing other than he was scorned and shamed. FOR THE KING TRUSTED IN THE LORD. If this refers to the Divinity he would not have needed to trust in another person. And he would have no need of THY MERCY OF THE MOST HIGH HE SHALL NOT BE MOVED. If it refers to Jesus the man then he was moved, and so all the psalm.

And in psalm 22 he said: this psalm, the Christians interpret it as referring to Jesus. And it recounts all the evil which Israel did to him. And the son cried to the Father in the midst of distress and says MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? and when they drove nails into his hands and feet when they hanged him.

And the verse NONE CAN KEEP ALIVE HIS OWN SOUL led them astray and they said that this is God BEFORE Whom SHALL BOW ALL THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE DUST and He did not want to keep His soul alive, for He came down to take human form under the condition that they would kill the flesh, that in this way, those who go down to hell would be saved. Therefore He did not want to keep His soul alive but delivered His body into the power of those who killed Him. And you let them hear what their mouth says! They say that He did not want to keep His soul alive nor to rescue it from the power of those who killed Him. If so, why did he cry, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? WHY ART THOU SO FAR FROM HELPING ME?" and he did not want to be saved? And it says THOU ANSWEREST NOT and he did not want to be answered? And furthermore, if he was God Himself he would have saved himself and further when he says THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL and they persecuted him?

And how does it say they are praising God? And furthermore it says, OUR FATHERS TRUSTED IN THEE and if he is as they say he had only one Father. And furthermore, God would say about Himself that He is A WORM AND NO MAN? And behold it says HE TRUSTED ON THE LORD THAT HE WOULD DELIVER HIM. If this refers to Jesus the man He did not deliver him nor rescue him. And if it refers to the Divinity he did not need deliverance.

And it says FOR THOU ART HE THAT TOOK ME he himself was brought out from the womb. And he says I WILL DECLARE THY NAME UNTO MY BRETHREN and God has no brothers. And the declaring and praising and thanksgiving are after the deliverance, and behold, he was not delivered.

And it says ALL YE THE SEED OF JACOB, GLORIFY HIM; AND FEAR HIM ... FOR HE HATH NOT DESPISED NOR ABHORRED THE AFFLICTION OF THE AFFLICTED and Israel it was who did him evil; in his affliction the Father DESPISED and ABHORRED and HID HIS FACE FROM HIM. And He did not listen to his cry unto Him. Behold each of his words is a lie. And it says AND ALL THE KINDREDS OF THE NATIONS SHALL WORSHIP BEFORE THEE. And behold, the Jews and the Moslems do not believe in him.

And in Psalm 45 and the Christian are interpreting this psalm as referring to Jesus the Nazarene and they interpret the DAUGHTERS OF THE KINGS metaphorically as the peoples who turned to his faith, to the Christian religion, and they maintain their words whereby where it says THY THRONE, O GOD, IS FOR EVER AND EVER behold they read "King" and "God".

There is an answer to them. THY THRONE, O GOD already we have interpreted it and even if they would say that THY THRONE refers to God, say it is interpreted thus: that God will be called and it is said to Him by way of request O GOD, THY THRONE IS FOR EVER AND EVER and the throne of God that is the throne of the King as in SOLOMON SAT ON THE THRONE OF THE LORD AS KING.

And you will answer them and say, "How would it say about God, OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE THY FELLOWS, and God does not have FELLOWS? And he would not say to Him UPON THY RIGHT HAND DID STAND THE QUEEN even metaphorically. For a queen is what we interpret with the meaning of sleeping with a woman and it is not right to refer this to God.

And further, how would he say INSTEAD OF THY FATHERS SHALL BE THY SONS? And if one say to you, "God has sons and they are those who believe in Him as in SONS ARE YOU TO THE LORD YOUR GOD (Deut. 14:1), say to him, "If He has sons He does not have father: and if one says the father, like they say, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit", we have already answered about this in psalm 2. And furthermore another reply, if one should say `father' even for their words it is not right to say `fathers' in many languages [i.e. a person has only one father] .

And in psalm 74 And the Christians interpret this psalm as concerning Jesus the Nazarene, and they say that he is Solomon in the peace he made and he was the son of a King. And it says HE SHALL SAVE THE CHILDREN OF THE NEEDY because he saved the ones going down to Hell. And it says HE SHALL COME DOWN LIKE RAIN UPON THE MOWN GRASS this is the Divinity when he came down from heaven. For how would it say about a human being HE SHALL COME DOWN? And whence did he come down?

You shall shatter their words and say to them: "You say that in this verse there are mentioned God, the King and the King's son and you say that `Solomon' it says in reference to Divinity. If so they are four!"

And further why does he ask that the father give his judgments and his righteousness to the son? If this refers to Jesus the man, in human form he was not the son of a king, for the Divinity he was the son before their faith. And if it refers to the Divinity, behold one can say, "Why does it ask for what he [already] has?" This is stupidity! And furthermore, what does it say THE MOUNTAINS SHALL BRING PEACE TO THE PEOPLE and behold, there was not peace in the days of Jesus.

And furthermore, what does it say THEY SHALL FEAR THEE AS LONG AS THE SUN and behold, how many sinners and evil doers [there are] since Jesus came. And what is the difficulty [meaning unclear] for you [in the verse] HE SHALL COME DOWN LIKE RAIN UPON THE MOWN GRASS? Before when it mentioned "rain which came down from the heavens upon the earth", it mentioned thus certainly in reference to the King coming down, when he would be to the people like the rain to the earth.

And it says IN HIS DAY ... SHALL FLOURISH and behold, there were no righteous people in the days of Jesus and not much peace. And it say HE SHALL HAVE DOMINION ... FROM SEA TO SEA. And if this refers to Jesus the man, this did not happen, for he did not govern even one village. And if this refers to the Divinity, God does not have a limit to His dominion. Behold, His dominion is the whole world, in the heavens and on the earth. And it says AND HIS ENEMIES SHALL LICK THE DUST. Israel were his enemies and they did not lick his dust. And behold, they persecuted him even until they killed him! And behold, they ruled over him and he did not rule over them so that they licked his dust.

And it says THE KINGS OF TARSHISH and where did they bring to him PRESENTS and the GIFTS of the kings? And it says ALL KINGS SHALL FALL DOWN BEFORE HIM, this did not happen and all the nations did not serve him for two parts of the nations did not serve him, no Israel nor the Moslems certainly do not believe in him.

And about whom does it say AND HE SHALL LIVE? If it refers to Jesus the man, he did not live, but behold he died in shortness of days. And if it refers to the Divinity he does not need to pray that he shall live. And if it refers to those who believe in him, it says THAT HE SHALL LIVE and this did not happen. And furthermore, why would the Divinity need to pray FOR HIM CONTINUALLY? He does not need to pray for himself,and if you say the son prays before the father for all those who believe in him why does he pray? Is not the son, God? TO HIM SHALL BE GIVEN OF THE GOLD OF SHEBA and what [meaning unclear] .

And in psalm 87: This psalm the Christians are interpreting as referring to Jesus the Nazarene. And they say HIS FOUNDATION in that Jesus was formed and born in Zion. And one says the man born there is the Most High. And God is the Most High. And it says that he was born and it says GLORIOUS THINGS ARE SPOKEN OF THEE. Why? Because you are the city of God in which he will be born.

And you say to them: first, how does it say HIS FOUNDATIONS with the pronoun waw and he was not yet mentioned in the verse. And furthermore, if the Most High is the one spoken about as the one born as they say grammatically the words "and he" they perceive as referring to the man born who was mentioned, say to them, behold, it says THIS AND THAT MAN [Ps. 87:5] pointing in reference to many men. And he was only one.

And further it says and he SHALL ESTABLISH HER and what did Jesus establish in Jerusalem? And they will say to you "it does not refer to wood and stones but he came to establish the spiritual Zion and Jerusalem. And she is the faith through which the believers in him will be saved in that day." And you shall say to them, "How would you make her now materially, now spiritually? Does it not say he was born there, of the one born in Zion? And her [Zion] you interpret materially. And another thing in reference to her [Zion] . It says he SHALL ESTABLISH HER, because he is in support. And you say it is the spiritual way it says he SHALL ESTABLISH HER. Behold, you are jumping upon two branches [i.e. ambivalent, like a bird jumping between two branches] !"

And further the cities which it mentioned are material not spiritual. Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, and Tyre with Ethiopia. And furthermore, it says about these cities THIS MAN WAS BORN THERE. If so are you saying that in every one of these cities was born one God? And behold their reply remains a fraud.

And in Psalm 110 he said, and the Christians interpret this psalm as referring to Jesus. And they say that in the first verse there is explained the Father and the Son. For they read THE LORD SAID TO THE LORD with the nun in qames.And they say: how will the Lord speak to the Lord except they are two and the Spirit is the third?

And furthermore there is another mistake, they read in this psalm 'with thee willingly' with the ayin in hirek, and they say IN THE BEAUTIES OF HOLINESS this is the Holy One who was born from the womb.

You shall tell them about the mistake in their reading. For Jerome [Saint Jerome c.347-420] , their translator, made a mistake, because ladoni is with the nun in hirek and it is said about David, as we interpret it.

And how are they able to hold onto the mistake of one man against many? For from the rising of the sun even to its setting it is found in all the writings with the nun in hirek. And so 'with thee willingly' with the ayin in patah. And are they not saying that this attitude of ours is to them a piece of evidence? If so, they should believe the person who witnesses [to such evidence] .

And about the mistake in their faith say to them: If the Father and the Son are divine one does not need his companion. For he cannot be called God if he needs another. And how would the Father say to the son SIT THOU AT MY RIGHT HAND UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES...? If so, He is in need of his right hand and of his help [as] if weakness is with Him. And God is not weak nor does He lack power.

And how does He say to him THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER... and formerly he was not a priest and prince. And if they say `a Priest' in its normal meaning and they say from that day and from then on the Priesthood shall be in another meaning - not that they are offering flesh and blood as they made offerings up to that day - but bread and wine as Melchizedek offered. As was said AND MELCHIZEDEK KING OF SALEM BROUGHT FORTH BREAD AND WINE: AND HE WAS THE PRIEST OF THE MOST HIGH GOD [Gen. 14:18] .

Say to them: "To whom does He say THOU ART A PRIEST? If to the son He is speaking, as one might say from the beginning of the psalm up to this verse and so from this verse to the end of the psalm. This priest is he who stands and offers and God will not offer, no, rather, they shall offer before Him. And if He will say to a man in the world and it is not in the manner of the psalm, to whom shall he speak?" For they, with them, a priest does not have a family but all who come fill his hand. If so to whom will He say, He HATH SWORN AND WILL NOT REPENT, THOU ART A PRIEST FOR EVER...?

And furthermore, why did He change His mind, for at first He commanded that flesh be offered and after that, bread and wine? And how does it say AND WILL NOT REPENT, behold, He did repent?

And behold, the Torah was not given for a restricted time. And behold, Malachi, the seal of the prophets, said REMEMBER YE THE LAW OF MOSES MY SERVANT, WHICH I COMMANDED UNTO HIM IN HOREB ... STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS [Mal. 4:4]. And he said BEHOLD, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET [Mal 4:5].

And behold, Elijah has not yet come and he shall not come until the days of Messiah. And behold, he says that they shall remember the law of Moses to do it as He commanded in Sinai and not as Jesus commanded. From this you shall see that the Torah shall not be changed for ever but as it was given to Moses so it shall be for ever.

And furthermore, it says he would STRIKE THROUGH KINGS IN THE DAY OF HIS WRATH. And where are the wars which Jesus fought? And where are the kings whom he conquered? And how does it say HE SHALL JUDGE AMONG THE NATIONS, and he came not to judge except the souls and to save them? And it says THEREFORE SHALL HE LIFT UP THE HEAD and up to that day he did not lift up his head.

The blind will open their eyes and they will say: "Indeed, our fathers gave us a lie!"