Nethanel ben Isaiah

Nethanel ben Isaiah(fl. 14th century) was aYemenite Jewishrabbi,Biblicalcommentator andpoetof the fourteenth century. He is best known as the author of ahomileticcommentary on theTorahentitledNur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm,translated into Hebrew asSefer Me'or ha-Afelah(Hebrew:ספר מאור האפלה).

His work

The first notice of this work was given byJacob Saphir,who saw a manuscript of it atHirbah,a small town inYemen,in 1863. But the beginning of the manuscript was missing, and Saphir's statement that the author's name was Isaiah and that the title wasAl-Nur wal-Zulmdepends only upon hearsay. Two other manuscripts, one inBerlinand one in theBodleian Library,bear the author's name, Nethanel ben Isaiah, and the full title of the work,Nur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm wa-Ikhraj al-Ma'ani fi al-Wujud Ba'd al'Adm.Alexander Kohutpublished a monograph on this work, giving some extracts, under the title "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom" (New York, 1894). This title is given by Kohut as the translation of the Arabic title, though "Light out of Darkness" would be a more fitting translation, since Nethanel's introduction shows that his object was to comment on the obscure passages so as to make sure that their meanings should not escape the student.

Nethanel began his work on the 15th ofTammuz,1640 of theSeleucidanera (June 23, 1328). Its references to Al-Yemen,San‘a’,andAdenmake it appear probable that he wrote it in Yemen, although Steinschneider doubts this.It is written in a mixture ofArabicand Hebrew, and the nature of the work is moremidrashicthanexegetical.Nethanel quotes bothTalmudimand theTargumim,but he is chiefly influenced by theMidrash Rabbah.Of the post-Talmudic authors, he mentions (besides theGeonimandMasoretes)Ibn Janah,Nathan ben Jehiel(under the designation of "the author of the" Arukh "), and especiallyMaimonides,who was the paramount authority among the Yemenites and from whom he merely copied long passages. Finally, he mentions such Arabic andGreeksources as theAlmagest,al-Farabi,andPlato.Nethanel's commentary comprises explanations according to the numerical value of the letters (gematria), somephilologicalnotes, andpolemicalflings at bothChristianityandIslam:for instance, in his commentary onGenesis 17:20he designatesMuhammadthe "madman" ( "meshugga").

Nethanel calls the five books of thePentateuch(1) Sefer ha-Yashar, (2) Sefer Mekilta, (3) Torat Kohanim, (4) Homesh ha-Pequdim, and (5) Mishneh Torah, and he gives anAramaicmnemonicformula for the weekly lessons; he is followed in both cases byMansur al-Dhamariin hisSiraj al-'Uqul.Nethanel illustrated his commentary with numerous figures and diagrams—e.g., of theCave of Machpelah,the altar, thecandlestick,etc. He inserted in his work three Hebrew poems, two of which were published by Kohut in his above-mentioned "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom." Nethanel is often quoted under the designation of "ibn Yesha'yah" by Mansur al-Dhamari and byDaud al-Lawaniin his philosophical commentary on the Pentateuch entitledal-Wajiz al-Mujna.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Nethaneel ben Isaiah".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.It cites:

• Neubauer, inJewish Quarterly Reviewvii. 350;
• Steinschneider,Hebr. Bibl.xiii. 59;

• idem, Die Arabische Literatur der Juden,§ 188.