ESTHER IN MEDIEVAL GARB An illustration from the Duke of Alba's Castilian Bible (1422-33) depicting the banquet scene in Est 1. Note the naked Vashti in the foreground lying in disgrace with the horn and tail provided for her by the angel Gabriel (cf. B. T. Megillah 12b). ESTHER IN MEDIEVAL GARB Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Esther in the Middle Ages Barry Dov Walfish State University of New York Press SUNY Series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion Michael Fishbane, Robert Goldenberg, and Arthur Green, editors Cover illustration is adapted from a miniature in the British Library Miscellany, Add. 1163'). fol. 260v. Figures 1 and 3 are printed courtesy of the British Library, London, England. Figure 7 is reprinted from Titus Burckhardt, Die Mllllyiscile KliltllY ill Spallinl, courtesy of Callwey, © 197(). Figure H is reprinted from Robert Delort, L(fe ill tile Middle Ages, courtesy of Editions Edita. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1993 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246 Production by Dana Foote Marketing by Dana E. Yanulavich Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Walfish, Barry. Esther in medieval garb: Jewish interpretation of the book of Esther in the Middle Ages/Barry Dov Walfish. p. cm.-(Suny series in Judaica) Revision of thesis (Ph. D.)-University of Toronto, 1983. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-1039-0 (alk. paper).-ISBN 0-7914-1040-4 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Bible. O.T. Esther-Criticism, interpretation, etc.-History -Middle Ages, 600-1500. 2. Bible. O. T. Esther-Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish-History. I. Title. II. Series. BS1375.2. W356 1993 222'.906'0902-dc20 91-21426 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 III lIlemory (~r Fral1k Ephraim Talmage scholar, teacher, alldji-iclld CONTENTS Acknowledgments IX Abbreviations Xl Introduction PART I. THE WORK OF THE EXEGETE 1. Jewish Sources for Exegesis 13 2. Non-Jewish Sources for Exegesis 45 3. Literary Concerns 63 4. Theological Issues 75 PART II. THE WORLD OF THE EXEGETE 5. Persia through European Eyes: Geography, Architecture, Customs, and Institutions 97 6. Jewish-Gentile Relations and Jewish Attitudes to Gentiles as Reflected in the Commentaries 121 7. The State of the Jewish People in the Diaspora: Perceptions of Antisemitism 143 8. The Royal Court 157 viii Esther in Medieval Garb 9. The Jews and the Monarchy: The Role of Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther 183 Concluding Remarks 201 Appendix I The Exegetes of the Book of Esther: A Bio-bibliographical 205 Survey with Textual Excursuses Appendix II Immanuel of Rome and Dante on the Differentiation of Languages and the Dating ofImmanuel's Commentary on the Book of Esther 231 Notes 235 Bibliography Medieval Commentaries on the Book of Esther in Print and in Manuscript 307 Other Primary Sources 329 Secondary Sources 338 Author and Title Index 367 Subject Index 373 Index of Scriptural Citations 378 Index of Manuscripts by Depository Libraries 383 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study is based on my doctoral dissertation, presented to the University of Toronto in 1983. I am indebted to many scholars for their assistance and advice at various stages in this project. Pride of place must go to my mentor, the late lamented Frank Talmage, who saw me through the writing of the thesis. Unfortunately, I was not able to benefit from his sage counsel in preparing this revised version. It is to his memory that I dedicate this book. I would like to thank Herbert Basser, Alan Cooper, Ed Greenstein, Arthur Lesley, Binyamin Richler, Joseph Shatzmiller, Ernest Weinrib, Elliot Wolfson, and the anonymous readers from SUNY Press for their helpful comments and suggestions. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dana Foote and the editors of SUNY Press for their careful reading of the manuscript and many helpful suggestions. My spouse Adele Reinhartz read through the entire manuscript and offered many helpful editorial suggestions. But my debt to her is much greater, for without her constant support and encouragement, the com pletion of this task would have been all the more difficult, if not impossible. She has been a constant source of inspiration and strength to me and my admiration for her knows no bounds. My children, Miriam Simma, Mordecai, Shoshana, and Simcha helped keep me in touch with reality throughout the course of this seemingly interminable task. My apologies go to them for family time lost while working on this book. The staff of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts at the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem and the library's circulation and reading room staff were always courteous and helpful. Daniel Frank consulted a manuscript for me at the Bodleian Library in Oxford which I would otherwise not have been able to include in my bibliography. I would also like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their financial support at various stages of this project.