COMMENTARY ON MIDRASH RABBA IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY OXFORD ORIENTAL MONOGRAPHS ThisseriesofmonographsfromtheFacultyofOrientalStudies,Universityof Oxford,makesavailabletheresultsofrecentresearchbyscholarsconnectedwith the Faculty. Its range of subject matter includes language, literature, thought, history, and art; its geographical scope extends from the Mediterranean and CaucasustoEastAsia.Theemphasisismoreonspecialiststudiesthanonworks ofageneralnature. EditorialBoard ProfessorJuliaBray,LaudianProfessorialFellowinArabic DrDominicBrookshaw,AssociateProfessorofPersianLiterature ProfessorBjarkeFrellesvig,ProfessorofJapaneseLinguistics DrElizabethFrood,AssociateProfessorofEgyptology ProfessorHenriettaHarrison,ProfessorofModernChineseStudies ProfessorChristopherMinkowski,BodenProfessorofSanskrit ProfessorAlisonG.Salvesen,UniversityResearchLecturerinHebrew DrRobertThomson,formerlyCalousteGulbenkianProfessor ofArmenianStudies Commentary on Midrash Rabba in the Sixteenth Century The Or ha-Sekhel of Abraham ben Asher BENJAMIN WILLIAMS 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©BenjaminWilliams2016 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2016 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015955914 ISBN 978–0–19–875923–2 PrintedinGreatBritainby ClaysLtd,StIvesplc LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork Acknowledgements ItisapleasuretobeabletoexpressmygratitudetoProfessorJoanna Weinbergforherguidance,patience,andencouragementintheyears I spent under her supervision. I cannot thank her enough for intro- ducingmetoMidrashRabbawhenIbeganmyundergraduatestudies and,intime,forencouragingmetolookalsotothecommentariesat thebottomofthepage. In writing the present volume, it was also my privilege to learn fromthescholarsparticipatinginawealthofprojectsassociatedwith the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies and the Hebrew and the Jewish Studies Unit. The Jews and Judaism in the Early Modern Period seminar series and the European Seminar on AdvancedJewishStudieswereparticularlyvaluablesourcesofinspir- ation. Poring over Hebrew manuscripts in Professor Malachi Beit- Arié’s Codicology and Palaeography Master Classes is among my fondestmemoriesofgraduatestudy. Thisresearchisfoundedontheassistanceandkindnessofthestaff oftheOrientalReadingRoom,recentlytheSpecialCollectionsRead- ing Room and now the David Reading Room, for whom no com- mentaryhasbeentoovoluminousandnotometooweighty.Icannot sufficientlyexpressmygratitudefortheirreliabilityandhelp. I am indebted to my colleagues and friends at King’s College London, the John Rylands Research Institute, Wadham College, and theParishofCowleyStJohnfortheirsupport.Iwouldparticularlylike tothankKatharinaKeim,ClaireMalone-Lee,andSisterEdmée,S.L.G., fortheirvaluablecommentsondraftsofthisbook,andMartinConway forhelpingmetoaccesstheGermanscholarshiponPseudo-Rashi. This study has grown with the support of my family who have always inspired me with a love of learning and a fascination with Scripture.NooneismorefortunatethanItohaveamotherwhohas helped me so much to pursue my studies. The unfailing support of Johnis,morethananythingelse,thereasonIhavebeenabletocarry outthisproject;withouthisencouragement,itwouldneverhavebeen finished. OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,11/8/2016,SPi Contents ListofFigures ix IntroductiontoMidrashRabbaanditsReaders 1 1. MidrashintheSixteenth-CenturyOttomanEmpire 9 2. MidrashRabbaandItsCommentaries 21 3. FromSafedtoVenice—AbrahambenAsherand thePublicationoftheʾOrha-Sekhel 46 4. AbrahambenAsher’sCommentary—AnExamination ofSelectedTexts 64 5. Pseudo-Rashi’sCommentaryonGenesisRabba 139 6. Conclusion:TheʾOrha-SekhelandItsReception 164 Appendices Appendix1. GenesisRabba39:1(ʾOrha-Sekhel,f.81a–b) 179 Appendix2. GenesisRabba18:4(ʾOrha-Sekhel,f.47a) 182 Appendix3. GenesisRabba60:13(ʾOrha-Sekhel, ff.122b–123a) 183 Appendix4. GenesisRabba1:1(ʾOrha-Sekhel,f.2a–b) 184 Appendix5. GenesisRabba69:1(ʾOrha-Sekhel,f.141a–b) 187 Appendix6. Solomonle-Vetha-LevionGenesisRabba69:1 (ff.74b–75b) 189 Appendix7. SamuelYafehonGenesisRabba69:1(vol.1, ff.401b–402a) 191 Bibliography 193 Figures 211 Index 221 List of Figures Figure1. Map. 212 Figure2. ThetitlepageoftheʾOrha-Sekhel(Venice,1567). CourtesyofTheBodleianLibraries,TheUniversityof Oxford.Shelfmark:Opp.Fol.152,f.1a. 213 Figure3. ʾOrha-Sekhel(Venice,1567),ff.107b–108a.Courtesy ofTheNationalLibraryofIsrael,Jerusalem.Shelfmark: (cid:1) R2 65A4288. 214 Figure4. DanielBomberg’seditioprincepsofthecomplete BabylonianTalmud(Venice,1519/20–23),tractateKetubot, ff.33b–34a.CourtesyofTheNationalLibraryofIsrael, Jerusalem.Shelfmark:R2(cid:1) 35V4087. 216 Figure5. TheeditioprincepsofJacobibnḤabib’sʿEinYaʿakovvol.1 (Salonica,1516),ff.45b–46a.CourtesyofTheNational (cid:1) LibraryofIsrael,Jerusalem.Shelfmark:R2 75A870. 218