The Hebrew Library of a Renaissance Humanist: The Bibliography to Andreas Masius' Edition of the Book of Joshua (Antwerp: Christopher Plantin 1574)

Introduction

The bibliography to Andreas Masius’ edition, with commentaries, of the book of Joshua:

Iosvae Imperatoris Historia, illustrata atq[ue] Explicata ab Andrea Masio

(Antwerp: Christopher Plantin 1574)

Andreas Masius (Lennik near Brussels 1514 – Zevenaar 1573), is justly known as a groundbreaking scholar of the Syriac language and of Syriac Christianity, but his learning and scholarly competence were significantly broader and deeper. As I hope to show in a monograph in preparation, Masius was the consummate Renaissance biblical humanist of the generation following Erasmus. He was educated at the university of Louvain, first in Latin, Greek and Hebrew at the trilingual college there, and then in philosophy, theology and law. He embarked on a diplomatic career, but remained dedicated to the noble vocation of the independent scholar. Before the age of 30, two of the foremost Christian Hebraists of the first half of the 16th century, Sebastian Münster and Paul Fagius, had sung the praises of his Hebraic erudition and dedicated works to him. As a diplomat in Rome, Masius had ample opportunity to build a substantial private library of manuscripts and printed works, and to meet Jews, Muslims and Oriental Christians with whom to study Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic. He pursued these interests with groundbreaking scholars like Johan Albrecht Widmanstadt and Guillaume Postel, and had access to the oriental collections of the Vatican library through its director, his friend Cardinal Cervini (later the President of Congregation of Theologians at Trent, and eventually Pope Marcellus II), for whom he collected Hebrew manuscripts. In 1558, at the age of forty-four, he retired to an estate in the east of the Low Countries, where he devoted the last fifteen years of his life primarily to contemplation, study, and the composition of numerous works of biblical and philological scholarship, most printed by his friend Christopher Plantin in Antwerp.

The Hebrew bibliography presented here was added by Masius as an appendix to his polyglot edition of the book of Joshua, Iosvae Imperatoris Historia, printed posthumously in 1574. In spite of the brevity of its descriptions, this bibliography has much to tell us about Christian readership of the Hebrew book in the 16th century.

Firstly, it reveals the depth, breadth, and sophistication of Masius’ grasp of Jewish literature. Contrary to the mere Christian Kabbalist a recent study has portrayed him to be,¹ we see Masius discovering various traditions of post-Christian Jewish scholarship, Talmudic, philosophical, kabalistic, halakhic, midrashic, homiletic. We see him recognizing and distinguishing between rabbi’s of late antique Babylon and of medieval France, between the Judeo-Arabic Andalusia of Ibn Ezra and Jehuda ha-Levi, as well as the massoretic tradition as introduced and explained to Christian scholars by Elijah Levita. We see him deciphering and identifying (some of) the Hebrew topographical names for European locales, and trying to reconstruct the chronology of the composition of various parts of the Talmud and the rabbinic tradition.

Secondly, the bibliography offers a sense of the reach and impact of Hebrew typography in the sixteenth century. Whether acquired from Jewish scholars in Rome, printers in Venice, the fair at Frankfurt or elsewhere, it shows us the kind of Hebrew and Aramaic library which, by the 1560’s, a dedicated Christian Hebraist with sufficient connections and funds could acquire. It is not just a snapshot of his own library, but at the same time also a panorama of the flourishing Hebrew book in the early modern period. It was this flourishing, in Italy above all, that made Masius’ sophisticated grasp and use of the multiplicity of Jewish literature possible in the first place.

Thirdly, though he refers here and there to ‘Jewish superstitions’, Masius’ descriptions of his Hebrew books and their authors are strikingly free of polemic and full of praise for the learning and wisdom of such authors as Joseph Albo, Moses Maimonides, Elijah Levita, Gersonides and Jedaiah ha-Penini. In 1553, the Talmud and other Hebrew books were burned on a massive scale throughout Italy, and from his contemporary correspondence we know how movingly he lamented what he saw as a great loss for Christian scholarship.² Masius disagreed vehemently with the Talmudic sages of Babylon on numerous matters, but only after having read them. Condemning a book without knowing its contents, he wrote, is like letting blind men judge colors. His reference in print to the Talmud would get him into some serious trouble, and may very well have contributed to his defrocking. The knowledge of the Talmud he displays here tells us much about the mentality with which he approached Jewish literature.

Finally, in the pages of this bibliography, and in the immense work of biblical scholarship to which it is an appendix, we encounter a Catholic biblical scholar who has built an entire library of Jewish literature from Babylon to Lisbon, putting it to scholarly use and arguing for its relevance to the community of Christian scholars. He appears to have no qualms or reservations for doing so, theological or otherwise, nor does he offer an apology. There is a stubborn idea in modern studies of early modern Christian Hebraism according to which the Council of Trent brought an end to Catholic Hebrew scholarship, henceforth practiced nearly exclusively in the Protestant North and in Switzerland. Masius’ case clearly belies this idea.

In the very last item, almost as an appendix to his appendix, Masius goes even one step further:

Praeter istos libros, habeo poetas aliquot Hebraeos: & inter eos R. Immanuelis magnum volumen suauissimis versiculis rhythmicorum more factis plenum. Sed istos & grammaticos pervulgatos, nihil attinet commemorare.

Besides these books, I have a number of Hebrew poets, and among them [is] a great volume by rabbi Immanuel, filled with the loveliest verses composed metrically. But it is of no interest to mention them or the commonly known grammarians.

Quite certainly this ‘magnum volumen’ contained the Mahbarot of the great poet Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, also known as Manuello Romano or Manuello Giudeo (c. 1261- c. 1335). Immanuel composed poetry in both Italian and Hebrew (he wrote the first Petrarchan sonnets in Hebrew), and his work reflects both the Judeo-Arabic influence of the Andalusian maqama’s as well as that of his Italian contemporary, Dante. If Masius recognized that Immanuel’s 28th mahberet was modeled on the Divina Commedia, he doesn’t mention it here. However, before saying that it is of no interest to mention them, Masius mentions them: he took pleasure in noting the pleasure he took in reading Hebrew poetry, whether of use for scholarship or not. It is as open-minded and as non-polemical an attitude towards Jewish culture as could be found anywhere in the sixteenth century, anywhere in Christendom.

Notes on the texts:

In the Latin transcription, I have written ligatures and abbreviations full-out, the latter between square brackets. In the English translation, whenever Masius notes a word first in Hebrew and then gives his Latin translation, I have transliterated the Hebrew phonetically and set it in cursive, and translated the Latin rather than the Hebrew, even where Masius’ translation is infelicitous or mistaken, to preserve and present his own understanding of the Hebrew in my translation, too.

In a letter of 17 September 1571, Christopher Plantin writes to Masius to tell him he had received a ‘billet’ to be added to his catalogue of books at the end of his Joshua and that he had handed it over to his son-in-law. By 1570, the Joshua-manuscript was already in Antwerp, and as it waited for approbations to be printed, Masius was still sending updates to the bibliography, an indication of its importance to him. Plantin’s son-in-law, Franciscus Raphelengius, had been working as a corrector for Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac for Golden Compasses, and was now also emerging as a significant scholar of oriental languages in his own right. The printing of Masius’ Joshua was in competent and sympathetic hands. In the bibliography, Masius sometimes refers to himself in the first person, sometimes he is called Masius in the third person. The latter instances might well reflect Raphelengius’ incorporation of Masius hand-written additions.

Here and there, Masius notes that a given book in his collection was in manuscript rather than in print. This does not necessarily imply, however, that in all other cases his copy was a printed edition. There are a few cases in which the editio princeps of a given text in Masius’ list only appeared after his death. In these cases, therefore, even where he doesn’t mention it, Masius’ copy must have been a manuscript. Conversely, it cannot be ruled out that Masius’ copy of a given book was in manuscript, even if he doesn’t mention it to be, and even if an edition had appeared in print during his lifetime.

Indeed several texts Masius owned in manuscript (Abraham ibn Ezra’s commentary on the Prophets, Immanuel of Rome’s Mahbarot), had indeed already appeared in print in several editions by Masius’ day. I have attempted to identify each title in his list, and to ascertain whether the book in question had been printed during his lifetime, and in which editions, in order to establish, at least, whether he could have acquired the book in a printed edition.

Select Bibliography

M. Rooses, J. Denucé, M. van Durme, (eds.) Correspondance de Christophe Plantin (Antwerp, 1883-1918), 9 volumes.
M. Lossen, Briefe von Andreas Masius und seinen Freunden 1538 bis 1573 (Leipzig 1886)

H. de Vocht, ‘Andreas Masius (1514-1573)’ in: Miscellanea Giovanni Mercati IV (Rome 1946), 425-441
L. Voet, The Plantin Press, 1555-1589. A Bibliography of the works printed and published by Christopher Plantin at Antwerp and Leiden (1980-1983).

J. Perles, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Hebräischen und Aramäischen Studien (Munich 1884)
M. Heller, Printing the Talmud: a history of the earliest printed editions of the Talmud (Leiden, 1992)

A. Hamilton, Arab Culture and Ottoman Magnificence in Antwerp’s Golden Age (Oxford and New York, 2001)
Th. Dunkelgrün, ‘De Hebreeuwse Handschriften van het Museum Plantin-Moretus’ in De Gulden Passer 86 (2008), 7-28.

Source 1 Translation

The Talmud, that is, the teaching or doctrine, complete, with commentaries.³ It is divided into six sedarim, that is, orders.
The first order is called zera’im, which means Seeds, for it deals with all those rites which have to do in any way with those things which are brought forth from the earth: of which kind they are, tithing, letting the land lie fallow of the seventh year, the part of the crop to be left to the poor, the offering of the priest to be given from whichever matter, that seeds are not to be mixed, that the fruit of new trees is not to be desecrated by tasting from it, and ceremonies which are similar to these.

The second order is called mo’ed, that is to say, Exaltation. It deals with both the feast-days, as well as the fast-days, and other set times, which the Jews observe in their remarkable superstitions.

The third order is named nashim, that is, Women. Through numerous regulations, it debates matters relating to marriages, such as about the law of the ritual bath, marriage contracts, women’s vows, the Nazarenes, appeals for divorce, and other laws of this kind, not without remarkable superstitions.

The fourth order is entitled neziqin, which is to say, damages, for it deals with damages and loans, which are done to men by men. It further deals with various contracts, judgments, verdicts, testimonies, vows, collateral, also the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead and finally, the worship of strange gods: and other matters of this kind of men among themselves.

The fifth order is called qodashim, that is, of things consecrated. Indeed, first the place and then the manner of sacrifice are debated in it, and the animals that can serve as sacrificial, and sacred offerings, and finally the supplicatory prayers with which anything sanctified can be redeemed from God.

The sixth order has the title tohoroth, which means purified things. For in this order the Jews deliberate, usually in a rather childish way in accordance with various regulations, now which things are profaned, and now which are purified.
This, then, is the number of categories [sedarim] of the entire Jewish doctrine, which they call Talmud, that is, teaching. They are each divided further, however, into a number of masekhtot, that is, divisions. For the first category, or the first order, contains eleven divisions. The second, twelve. The third, seven. The fourth, eight. The fifth, eleven. The sixth, thirteen.⁴ Furthermore, each division is in turn split up into numerous peraqim, that is, distinctions, as well as into central issues. But I won’t continue to enumerate each and every one, nor make something unnecessary even longer.

The Talmud is in fact twofold: one is called the Jerusalemite. It was written down by a certain Rabbi Yohanan, Rabbi Johannes, approximately two hundred years after the destruction of the Temple by Titus. The last seder or order, however, which is called tohoroth, he did not finish, for his life did not last long enough, but rather his successors [completed it], the heads of the synagogue. The other Talmud is called Babylonian, and Jewish people everywhere consult this one nearly exclusively. Its mishnayot, that is, the repetitions, which are as it were the text itself, were written down together with numerous studies by those who were in that time the heads of the synagogue, about one hundred and twenty years after the siege and destruction of the Holy City by Titus. No more than ten years after that time, a certain Rabbi called Bar Kaphra wrote down additions, which are called the Tosephta. Furthermore, the additional commentaries which they call gemara, which means the absolute and perfect, began to be added in the three hundredth and fiftieth year after the destruction of the Temple by Titus, by a certain Rabbi named Rabbi Ashi. But when he had devoted some eight years to much work on this material, he passed away.⁵ The work thus unfinished by him, in the seventy-third year after his death, it was completed by his own sons and by other successors, to the unbelievable joy and elation of all the Jews who were living at that time. About eighty years had therefore passed during which the Jews were busy with the writing down of his Teaching. The reader will forgive me for pursuing these things at some length, for I thought they were insufficiently known by our people.⁶
Rabot. These are commentaries on the Five Books of Moses, gathered from old sayings and writings. Their author had the name Rabah, the son of Nahman. He compiled them around the year 300 A.D. For those Rabot, which Moses ha-Darshan had written, were abolished by the Jews, it seems, for in numerous places they seem to favor our mysteries.⁷
Masoret, a book in which those matters are noted which pertain to Scripture and to the vocal signs and accents of sacred writings. Their authors were once numerous, and it is they who were the masters of that punctuation and those marks that must be written in Scripture, as in our time Elijah Levita has said, who himself illustrated this same matter in this excellent work.⁸
The Mekhilta consists of commentaries on the greater part of Exodus, gathered from ancient sayings, by a certain Rabbi Ishmael and his associates, prior to the Babylonian Doctrine [Talmud]⁹
Yelammedenu, or Tanhuma. These are commentaries, like the one I just mentioned, but on the Five Books of Moses. Their author is Rabbi Tanhuma.¹⁰
Seder ‘Olam, that is, the Order of the World. A chronological book, containing the calculation of times, which all the Jews have been following in full agreement already for several centuries now.¹¹
Midrashot on the Psalms, the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Proverbs, and finally a midrash of Samuel. These midrashot are basically the same kind of commentary as Rabot, which I just mentioned, and they are not even inferior to them in antiquity. In fact, if I am not mistaken, they even surpass them [in age]. For they were gathered by those men who were called amora’im. The amora’im flourished from approximately 240 AD to the year 476, the year in which Rabbi Sima ben Rabba died, who was the last of the amora’im.¹²
She’eltot, that is, questions concerning holy commandments which are found in the five books of Moses. They were composed by Rabbi Achay, who flourished in the 740’s and was one of those called geonim, which is to say, the preeminent ones.¹³
Commentaries on the five books of Moses by Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, around the time of Emperor Hadrian.¹⁴

Sifra, or Torat Cohanim, an ancient commentary on Leviticus, among the earliest,whose author is said to be Rabbi Judah.¹⁵ With some conjecture, I suspect him to have been the Blind one who flourished among the geonim around the year 760, but it could also be that I’m mistaken. Several Cabbalistic books in manuscript follow, belonging to the same Andreas Masius.¹⁶
Sha’arey Orah, that is, the Gates of Light, of which book Paul Ricci, physician to Emperor Maximilian, produced in our day a Latin translation.¹⁷
Rabbi Aqiba on the crowns of the letters. He flourished in the time of Emperor Hadrian, upon whose command he was torn to pieces, for he was an adherent and an accomplice of the uprising which Bar Koziba, Bar Cosba, had instigated among the Jews.
A book on the ten sephirot, author uncertain, with an added explanation.
Sefer Yezirah, or the Book of Creation, the author of which the Jews imagine to have been Adam: some commentaries are added to it.¹⁸

A book entitled Mishnat Awraham Avinu: and Josef ben Uziel, that is, the repetition of Abraham our father and rabbi Joseph the son of Uziel. These are commentaries on the Book of Yezira as well.
A book titled Keter Shem Tov, that is, The Crown of the Good Name, the name of the author unmentioned. The book is very brief, but in contains hidden knowledge.¹⁹

A book entitled Shorashim mi-Sifre Kabbalah, that is, Roots of Kabbalistic Books, it is unclear what the name of the author is.
Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut, that is, The System of Divine Things, a book in which nearly nothing is excluded which pertains to Kabbalistic philosophy.²⁰

Sefer ha-Bahir, which means The Book of Radiance. According to the Jews, its author was Rabbi Nehunia Ben Haqana, who lived prior to the composition of the later Hebrew doctrine [Talmud], for he was one of the tana’im, who are cited in those later teachings, and in which his name is mentioned not infrequently. I have seen some commentary or other by him on the Pentateuch, but so far I have been unable to acquire it.²¹

Perush Tefilah, that is, an explanation of several prayers and pleas which Jews commonly address to God. This book was written by Menachem Recanati, and in it he discusses all the most hidden matters of secret Kabbalistic Philosophy, and he explains the properties of God, as we call them, and he shows with which mental disposition God is to be addressed in prayer.²²
Sod ha-Yichud, the Mystery of Unity. I suspect that this short book was written by that rabbi Menachem [Recanati]It’s argument consists above all of explaining the unity of God in the simplest terms possible.²³

Eser Sephirot, an explanation of the ten categories through which the Cabbalists transmit the main part of their teaching. It is very short. The name of the author is unclear.
Shem ha-Mephorash, that is, the explained name, a Cabbalistic book written quite miraculously, by an unknown author.
An epitome of a book, entitled Mivchar ha-Ma’amarim. This book was once written by a certain Rabbi Nathan, though he wanted to interpret the five books of Moses in arcane ways, he accommodated sacred history to the straight and holy road of communal life. Thus this little book is truly most worthy of being read, though it is less Kabbalistic.
A book entitled Mozney ha’Iyunim, that is, the Scale of Contemplations. Even though this book does not nearly extend into Cabbalistic philosophy, it nevertheless investigates the Creator Himself, and created things, how nature is, and to whom it is given, etcetera. Sha’arey Tzedeq, the Gates of Justice, a very Cabbalistic book indeed, in which that teaching was completed, which in the Gate of Light, which I discussed above, was as if unfinished. Rabbi Joseph, also known as Nyctelo, is the author of both books.²⁴ I have several of his [writings], written in Cabbalistic fashion, about the vowel-pints of the Divine Name. The manuscripts I own are mainly Kabbalistic books. Furthermore, other well-known authors in print which I have consulted among the more recent ones are these:

The commentary of Rabbi Moses [the son] of Maimon from Egypt on the Misnaioth [sic] of the Teaching [Talmud], or repetitions.²⁵
A book by the same, entitled More Nebuhim, that is, the teacher of those who doubt and who cannot disentangle themselves.²⁶

To this book [are added] the commentaries of various different authors, partly published in print, others in manuscript.
The commentary of Rabbi Solomon of Gaul on the Talmud and on the Holy Bible.²⁷
The commentary of Rabbi Moses the son of Nachman from Gerona on the Pentateuch and on Job.²⁸

The commentary on the Holy Bible by Rabbi Abraham the son of Ezra.²⁹
The exegetical work on the five books of Moses by Rabbi Bahya.³⁰
A rather esoteric exegesis of the same books by rabbi Menachem of Recanati or Ricineti.³¹
A commentary by Rabbi David Kimhi on most of the Bible.³²
A compendious explanation on the book of Joshua by rabbi Isaiah. The book is in manuscript.
The commentary on the Pentateuch and many other books of sacred history by rabbi Levi the son of Gerson the exceptional philosopher.³³
By the same [philosopher], the books of the Wars of the Lord, in manuscript.³⁴
A commentary on the five books of Moses, by Rabbi Isaac the son of ‘Aramah which I pronounce Aeramae, filled with various teachings, which he entitled Aqedat Yitzhaq, which is to say, the Binding of Isaac.³⁵
A book by Rabbi Isaac Caro, entitled by him Toledot Yitzhaq, the Posterity of Isaac, in which the author explains many passages throughout the entire Pentateuch briefly, and resolves numerous doubts.³⁶
A book by Rabbi Abraham ha-Levi with the title Cabbala, in which he has clearly expounded the deeds, and the heads of the synagogue themselves, among the Jews, from the Babylonian exile up to his own day, that is, to approximately 1160 A.D.³⁷
Avkat Rohel, that is Aromatic Powder, a book of a certain Rabbi Jacob about the wars of the Messiah with the Antichrist, or Gog and Magog. After that, about the state of the souls after the resurrection. And finally, about the creation of man and some elucidated sayings of the Hebrew sages.³⁸
Sefer ha-Musar, that is, the book of ethics, written by a certain Rabbi Judah, in which he has explained (but in a Jewish manner) now those things that pertain to the common life of man, and now moreover numerous mysteries of the divine law.³⁹
A book entitled Iqarim, that is, namely, the foundations of the sacred law videlicet, of Rabbi Joseph Albo of Soriathe Spaniard, a learned book indeed, written from the very heart of philosophy. It is divided into four ma’amarim, or discourses, and each and every one of them into numerous different chapters. The first discourse deals entirely with the foundations of the divine law, what and of what nature they are. The second with the first foundation, which is to say, the essence of God itself. The third with the second foundation, which is that the law proclaimed by Moses is divine. The fourth deals with the third foundation, which is the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the virtuous.⁴⁰

A book whose title is Neveh Shalom, that is, the Abode of Peace. Its author is Rabbi Abraham, also known as Shalom, Peace. It is a great work full of multifarious erudition, concerning God, the world, the body and soul of man, the ceremonies of the law of Moses, the holy prophets, the art of Kabbalah, and practically about all those matters about which the Jews like to argue in their books.⁴¹

A book entitled Halikhot ‘Olam, the Custom of the World. It is an introduction to the schooling of the Hebrew doctors. Its author is Rabbi Joshua Levita.⁴²
A book entitled Pesiqey Halikhot [sic] by the author Menachem Ricinati [sic], in which he has stipulated both that which is to be observed in the all the ceremonies of the Jews as well as in the pronunciation of sentences.⁴³

Sefer ha-Yashar, that is, the Book of the Righteous, written by Rabbenu Tam. In this book the foundations and the secrets of Divine Worship are discussed with exceptional erudition and sophistication.⁴⁴
Ayala [sic] Ahavim, that is the Doe of Loves, is an work of exegesis and commentary on the Song of Songs by Solomon Levita.⁴⁵

Kuzari, a book containing an alternating disputation on the religion of the Hebrews by means of a dialogue. Rabbi Judah Levita the Spaniard wrote it in Arabic, but it is translated into the Hebrew language.⁴⁶

Or ha-‘Amim, that is the Light of the Peoples. This book deals with God, whether he is the first creator of all things, whether he is a body, or a soul, one or many, whether he knows and governs all things, omnipotent or otherwise. Subsequently, it deals with the soul of man, whether it can leave the body, to contemplate divine things, and discussions similar to these. The author of this book is Rabbi Ovadiah of Sforno.⁴⁷

Mivhar ha-Peninim, that is, the Choicest Pearls. These are selected sentences from old sayings, on wisdom, on prudence, on justice, on temperance, and in short, concerning practically all virtues and vices and other affections of man, such as love, hate, wealth, poverty, etcetera, with learned commentaries.⁴⁸

Behinat ha-‘Olam, that is, the Examination of the World, a booklet written by the philosopher Rabbi Yedaiah, which shows that the things of this world are transitory and uncertain, and that therefore we must aspire only to things heavenly and divine. An explanation, not without learning, is added as well.⁴⁹
Even Bohan, that is, the Stone of Experiment, a short book written approximately in 1239 by Rabbi Calonymus the Spaniard. Its argument is nearly identical to the previous book, for it contains various exhortations through which the soul of man is to be lead away from the trivial things of this world to eternal things.⁵⁰
Sefer Torah Or, a brief book entitled The Law is Light. It deals with the final treasure of the soul, that is, with the blessed life or the wretched life, with Paradise and Hell, and with the age to come beyond death. It is a learned little book indeed, even though it does contain much Jewish nonsense and superstition. Its author is Rabbi Joseph the son of David, the Spaniard, and he wrote it in the time of our fathers.⁵¹

Rabbi Menachem the son of Simon, a commentary on Jeremiah and Ezechiel.⁵²
Rabbi Benjamin the son of Judah of Rome, a commentary on the latter two books of Kings, from the seventh chapter to the end, and on Chronicles as well, and on the Proverbs of Solomon.⁵³
A commentary on the Book of Judges by rabbi Isaiah, on the first two books of Kings, as well as the seven first chapters of the third book of Kings. For when he had reached that place in his commentary, he passed away. A commentary on Ezra as well, by the same.⁵⁴ Finally, in manuscript, I have the commentaries on Isaiah and the twelve minor prophets of Rabbi Abraham son of Ezra, emended and expanded by the same author. Besides these books, I have a number of Hebrew poets, among them a great volume by rabbi Immanuel, filled with the loveliest verses composed metrically. ⁵⁵ But it is of no interest to mention them or the commonly known grammarians.

The End.

Source 1 Original Text

The bibliography to Andreas Masius’ edition, with commentaries, of the book of Joshua: Iosvae Imperatoris Historia, illustrata atq[ue] Explicata ab Andrea Masio (Antwerp: Christopher Plantin 1574) [375-377, unpaginated]

SEQVVNTVR NOMINA AVCTORVM ET LIBRORVM Hebraicorum, quibus And[reas] Masius in scribendis istis commentariis vsus est. Nam Latinos & Graecos nihil attinet indicare. sunt enim omnis generis multi.

‎‏‫תלמוד‬‎ . Id est, Doctrinale, uniuersum, cu[m] comme[n]tariis. Diuisum est autem in sex ‏‫סדרים‬‎ , hoc est, ordines.

Primus ordo vocatur, ‏‫זרעים‬‎ , id autem est, Semina. Nam in eo agitur de ritibus omnibus, qui quouis modo spectant ad eas res, quae gignuntur ex terra. Cuiusmodi sunt, decimae, quies anni septimi. Pars frugum relinquenda pauperibus. Libum sacerdoti ex quauis massa dandum. Semina no[n] permiscenda. Nouarum arborum fructus non temere gustandi. & quae his sunt similes caeremoniae.

Secundus ordo dicitur, ‏‫מועד‬‎ , id autem est, ac si, celebritatem dicas. In eo enim tractatur de diebus festis; deq[ue] ieiuniis, & aliis constitutes temporibus, quae Iudaei admirabilibus superstitionibus observa[n]t.

Tertius ordo appellatur, ‏‫נשים‬‎ , hoc est, mulieres. In eo multis modis disceptatur de iis quae ad coniugia attinent. Veluti, de iure leuiri, de nuptialibus contractibus, de votis mulierum. de Nazaraeis de libelis repudij, et huius generic aliis iuribus, non sine miris superstitionibus.

Quartus ordo inscribitur, ‏‫ןנזיקי‬‎ , ac si, damna, dicas. Agit enim de damnis, & commodis, quibus afficiuntur homines ab hominibus. déq[ue] variis contractibus, iudiciis, sententiis, testificationibus, iure-iurando, de poenis, de Messia quoq[ue] & resurrectione mortuorum deniq[ue] de cultu alienorum deorum: & huiusmodi aliis negotiis, hominum inter ipsos.

Quintus ordo vocatur ‏‫קדשים‬‎ , i[d est] de rebus consecratis. Etenim in eo disputatur de loco, deq[ue] modo sacrificandi. & de animantibus ad uictimas utilibus. de libis sacris. deniq[ue] de preciis, quibus quaeq[ue] res Deo dicatae possunt redimi. & c[etera].

Sextus ordo titulum habet ‏‫טהרות‬‎ , id aute[m] significat, res mundas. Nam in hoc disceptant Iudaei, sanè pueriliter plerumq[ue] de uariis modis, quibus res tum contaminantur, tum expurga[n]tur. Atq[ue] tot sunt ueluti genera uniuersae doctrinae Iudaicae, qua[m] vocant ‏‫תלמוד‬‎ , hoc est, doctrinam. Diuiduntur autem singula rursus in aliquot ‏‫מסכתות‬‎ , hoc est, dispositiones. Nam primu[m] genus, siue ordo primus, continet, dispositiones undecim. Secu[n]dus, duodecim. Tertius, septem. Quartus, octo. Quintus, undecim. Sextus, tredecim. Rursus unaquaeq[ue] dispositio diducitur in plures ‏‫פרקים‬‎ , hoc est, distinctiones, & tamqua[m] capita rerum. Sed non pergam enumerare singula, ne in re non necessaria longior fiam. Est autem ‏‫תלמוד‬‎ duplex: alterum Ierosolymitanu[m] voca[n]t. hoc conscripsit quida[m] ‏‫ר’ יוחנן‬‎ , R[abbi] Ioannes, annis circiter duce[n]tis post euersum à Tito templum. ultimum tamen ‏‫סדר‬‎ , siue ordinem, qui uocatur ‏‫טהרות‬‎ , non absoluit ille, cu[m] ei uita non suppeteret; sed eius successores, synagogae principes. Alteru[m] uocant Babylonicum: & hoc paenè solo utuntur Iudaei ubiq[ue] gentium. Huius ‏‫משניות‬‎ , hoc est, δευτερωσεις, quae sunt tamqua[m] ipsum textu[m]; conscripserant multi collati studiis, qui tum principes Synagogae era[n]t, anno circiter ce[n]tesimo et vicesimo, post expugnata[m] atq[ue] vastata[m] à Tito urbe[m] sancta[m]. Nec annis, post illud te[m]pus, pluribus quàm circiter dece[m], co[m]posuit quidam Rabbi, dictus ‏‫בר קפרא‬‎ , additiones, quas uocant ‏‫תוספתא‬‎ . Ceteru[m] ad illas Deuteroses addi ta[n]dem coeperunt, tamquam com[m]entaria, quae voca[n]t, ‏‫גמרא‬‎ , hoc est, absolutione[m] perfectionemq[ue], anno post uastatu[m] à Tito templum, ter centesimo, quinquagesimo, à quoda[m] Rabbino, nomine ‏‫ר’ אשי‬‎ . Sed cùm is annis circiter octo in ea re opera[m] multam consumpsisset, obiit. Itaq[ue] inchoatum ab ipso opus, tande[m], anno post eius excessu[m], septuagesimo tertio, est ab ipsius filiis, aliisq[ue] sucessoribus absolutum, cum incredibili omnium Iudaeoru[m] qui tunc usquam uiuebant; gaudio & exsultatione. Fuerunt igitur in hoc suo Doctrinali co[m]ponendo districti Iudaei annis circiter octoginta. Sed dabit mihi veniam lector, quòd haec longius persecutus sim. putaba[m] enim nostris hominibus parum nota esse.

‎‏‫רבות‬‎ . Sunt commentaria ex ueterum dictis scriptisq[ue] congesta, in quinq[ue] libros Mosis. Eorum auctor nomen habebat, ‏‫רבה‬‎ , filius Nechmanni. Conscripsit autem anno Christi circiter ter centesimo. Nam illa ‏‫רבות‬‎ , quae Moses Hadarsan composuerat, sunt à Iudaeis, quantum apparet, abolita: quòd a nostris mysteriis uiderentur fauere in multis locis.

‎‏‫מסרת‬‎ , liber, in quo annotata sunt ea, quae ad scripturam, atq[ue] ad notas uocales accentusq[ue] sacrarum literarum pertinent. Eius auctores fuere olim multi; & quide[m] illi ipsi, qui principes fuere illarum notarum in Bibliis scribendarum; ut ait Elias Leuita, qui nostra memoria etia[m] ipse rem ista[m] egregio opera illustrauit.

‎‏‫מכילתא‬‎ . Sunt commentaria in maximam partem Exodi, ex ueterum dictis composita, à quodam R[abbi] Ismaele & sociis, ante Doctrinale Babylonicum.

‎‏‫ילמדנו‬‎ siue ‏‫תנחומא‬‎ . comme[n]taria sunt qualia quae proximè dicebam. sed in quinq[ue] Mosis libros. Eorum auctor est ‏‫ר’ תנחומא‬‎ & ipse cum primis uetus.

‎‏‫סדר עולם‬‎ , hoc est, Series mundi: liber chronicus, continens temporum rationem, quam omnes Iudaei plenis approbationis velis sequuntur, iam usque ab aliquot retrò saeculis.

‎‏‫מדרשות‬‎ in Psalmos; in Cantica; in Ecclesiasten; in Ruth; in Lamentationes Ieremiae; in Esther; in Prouerbia; denique ‏‫מדרש‬‎ Samuelis. Sunt aute[m] ‏‫מדרשות‬‎ prorsus illiusmodi comme[n]taria, qualia ‏‫רבות‬‎ , quae nuper dicebam. neq[ue] iis, etiam uetustate cedunt. quaedam etiam, nisi fallor, superant. Sunt enim etiam ipsa co[n]scripta ab illis, qui diceba[n]tur ‏‫אמוראים‬‎ . Floruerunt autem ‏‫אמוראים‬‎ ferè ab anno Christi ducentesimo quadragesimo, usq[ue] ad eius annum quadringentesimum septuagesimum sextum quo anno obiit ‏‫רב סימא בן רבא‬‎ , qui fuit ultimus inter ‏‫אמוראים‬‎ .

‎‏‫שאלתות‬‎ , i[d est] quaestiones de constitutionibus sacris, quae in quinq[ue] Mosis libris habentur. Conscripsit autem eas Rabbi ‏‫אחאי‬‎ , qui floruit anno Christi septingentesimo quadragesimo. fuitq[ue] unus ex iis, quos uocaba[n]t ‏‫גאונים‬‎ , quasi principes uiros dicas. Commentaria in quinq[ue] libros Mosis, quae conscripsit ‏‫ר’ שמעון בן יוחי‬‎ , circa te[m]pora Adriani Imperatoris.

‎‏‫ספרא‬‎ , siue, ‏‫תורת כהנים‬‎ , commentaria in Leuiticu[m] uetusta cum primis, quorum auctor dictus est Rabbi Iuda. Eum ego, coniectura quada[m], auguror fuisse, caecu[m] illum; qui inter ‏‫גאונים‬‎ floruit anno Christi circiter septinge[n]tesimo sexagesimo. fieri tamen potest, ut fallar.

Sequuntur libri Cabbalistici manu scripti aliquot, eiusdem Andreae Masij.

‎‏‫שערי אורה‬‎ , hoc est, porta lucis. Cuius libri ueluti specimen quodda[m] exhibuit Latinè, nostra ferè memoria, Paulus Riccius Caesaris Maxaemiliani medicus.

‎‏‫ר’ עקיבא‬‎ , de apicibus literarum. Floruit ille tempore Adriani Imper[atoris] cuius iussu dilaniatus est: cu[m] fautor atq[ue] adiutor fuisset secessionis, quam apud Iudaeos fecerat ‏‫בר כוזיבא‬‎ , Bar-Cosba.

Liber de decem ‏‫ספירות‬‎ , incerto auctore. cum explanatione adiecta.

‎‏‫ספר יצירה‬‎ , liber de creatione. cuius fabulantur Iudaei auctore[m] fuisse Adamum: Adscripta sunt diuersa etiam commentaria.

Liber inscriptus ‏‫משנת אברהם אבינו ויוסף בן עוזיאל‬‎ , hoc est, Deuterosis Abrahami patris nostri. & Rabbi Iosephi Vzielis filij. Sunt etiam ista tamquam commentaria libri ‏‫יצירה‬‎ .

Liber inscriptus ‏‫כתר שם טוב‬‎ , i[d est] Corona boni nominis; tacito nomine scriptoris. liber est exiguus. Sed in quo est recondite eruditio.

Liber inscriptus ‏‫שרשים מספרי קבלה‬‎ , hoc est, radices librorum Cabbalisticorum. neque hic auctoris nomen apparet.

‎‏‫מערכת האלוהות‬‎ , hoc est, dipositio rerum diuinaru[m]: liber in quo nihil ferè est praetermissum, quod ad Cabbalisticam philosophiam pertineat.

‎‏‫ספר הבהיר‬‎ , i[d est] liber ilustris. Eius auctor fuit, ut tradunt Iudaei, ‏‫ר’ נחוניא בן הקנה‬‎ , qui uixit ante composites Deuteroses Doct[rinalis] Hebr[aeorum]. Fuit enim ex ‏‫תנאים‬‎ , qui in ipsis deuterosibus citantur. In quibus huius quoq[ue] nomen non rarò occurit. Vidi ego etiam aliquando huius commentaria in Mosis libros. sed adhuc non potui adipisci.

‎‏‫פירוש תפלה‬‎ , hoc est, explanatio orationum, & precationum aliquot, quas solent Iudaei ad Deum adhibere. Hunc librum conscripsit R[abbi] Menahem Recanatensis: eoq[ue] prosequitur abstrusissima quaeq[ue] in intima philosophia Cabbalistica: Deiq[ue] proprietates, ut uocamus, explicat: & qua mente orandus sit Deus, docet.

‎‏‫סוד הייחוד‬‎ , Mysteriu[m] unitatis. Et hunc libellum ab illo Rabbi Menahem conscriptum esse suspicor. Eius argumentum praecipuè uersatur in simplicissima Dei unitate ostendenda.

‎‏‫עשר ספירות‬‎ , Explanatio est dece[m] numeroru[m], quibus Cabbalistae maximam suae doctrinae parte[m] tradu[n]t: sed breuis admodum. Auctoris nomen non apparet.

‎‏‫שם המפורש‬‎ , hoc est, Nomen explicatum, liber Cabbalisticus sanè mirabiliter scriptus, tacito auctore.

Epitome libri, qui inscribi ‏‫מבחר המאמרים‬‎ . Scripsit autem olim eum librum quidam Rabbi Nathan; cùm quinque Mosis libros arcanis modis interpretaretur; atque sacrum historiam, ad rectam & sanctam communis uitae uiam ubique acco[m]modaret. Itaq[ue] libellus iste lectu profectò dignissimus est. Sed parum Cabbalisticus.

Liber qui inscribitur ‏‫מאזני העיונים‬‎ , id autem est, statera co[n]templationum. Neq[ue] iste liber ferè distringitur in Cabbalistarum philosophia; sed ipsum creatorem, & res creatas contemplatur: qualis sit cuiq[ue] indita natura, & c[etera].

‎‏‫שערי צדק‬‎ , Porta Iustitiae: liber prorsus cabbalisticus. in quo ea doctrina, quae in Porta Lucis; de quo libro suprà dixi; ueluti inchoata erat, absoluitur. Est autem utriusq[ue] libri idem auctor, Rabbi Ioseph, cognomento Nyctelo. Cuius etiam pauca quaedam, Cabbalistico more scripta de notis uocalibus nominis diuini, apud me sunt. Et hi sunt ferè libri Cabbalistici, manuscripti, quos apud me habeo. Ceterùm alij auctores typis peruulgati, ex recentioribus, quibus usus sum, hi sunt.

R[abbi] Mosis Maimonij Aegyptij explanatio in Doctrinalis Misnaioth, siue deuteroses. Eiusde[m] liber qui inscribitur ‏‫מורה הנבוכים‬‎ , hoc est, doctor eorum qui dubitant, neq[ue] se expedire possunt.

In hunc librum varia diversoru[m] auctoru[m] commentaria, partim edita in lucem typis, alia manu scripta.

R[abbi] Solomonis Galli commentaria in Doctrinale, & in sacra Biblia.
R[abbi] Moses F[ilii] Nechmanni Gerundensis commentaria in Pentateuchum & in Iob.
R[abbi] Abraham F[ilii] Ezdrae co[m]mentaria in Biblia Sacra.
R[abbi] Bahaiai explanatio in quinq[ue] libros Mosis
R[abbi] Recanatensis siue Ricinetensis explanatio secretior, in eosdem libros
R[abbi] Dauidis Kimhi commentaria in maximam Bibliorum partem.
R[abbi] Isaiae explanatio compendiosa in Iosuam. Liber est manu scriptus.
R[abbi] Leui f[ilij] Gersonis, insignis philosophi comme[n]taria in Pentateuchu[m], & multos alios sacrae historiae libros.
Eiusdem; libri bellorum Domini: manu scripti.
R[abbi] Isaac filij Rabbi ‏‫עראמה‬‎ ; quem ego Aeramaeu[m] uoco; Commentaria in quinq[ue] libros Mosis, referta uaria doctrina: quae ille inscripsit, ‏‫עקידת יצחק‬‎ , ac si Isaaci uincula dicas.

R[abbi] Isaac Cari liber, inscriptus ab eo, ‏‫תולדות יצחק‬‎ , Generatio Isaaci. quo libro auctor multa loca per uniuersum Pentateuchum breuiter explicat, multa[que] dubia dissoluit.

R[abbi] Abraham Leuitae liber, cui titulus est, Cabbala. quo ille res gestas, atque ipsos principes synagogae apud Iudaeos, ab exsilio Babylonico, ad suam usq[ue] memoria[m], hoc est, usq[ue] ad annum Christi circiter millesimu[m] centesimum & sexagesimum, luculenter explicauit.

‎‏‫אבקת רוכל‬‎ hoc est, puluis aromaticus; liber cuiusda[m] Rabbi Iacob de bellis Messiae cum Antichristo, siue Gog & Magog. Tum de statu animarum post resurrectionem. deniq[ue] de homine creato & de quibusdam dictis Doctorum Hebr[aeorum] explicatis.

‎‏‫ספר המוסר‬‎ , hoc est, liber disciplinae: scriptus à quoda[m] R. Iuda. quo ille tum ea, quae ad commune[m] hominum vitam attinent, tum multa insuper legis diuinae mysteria, sed Iudaico more explicauit.

Liber inscriptus, ‏‫עיקרים‬‎ , hoc est, fundamenta sacrae legis videlicet, auctore Rabbi Iosepho Albo Soriense Hispano: doctus profectò liber: & ex media philosophia scriptus. Diuisus est autem in ‏‫מאמרים‬‎ , siue orationes quatuor. & harum unaquaeque in multa & varia capita. Prima oratione agitur universè de fundamentis diuinae legis; quae & qualia sint. Secunda, de primo fundamento, hoc est, de ipsa Dei essential, ut sic dicam. Tertia, de secundo fundamento. Id aute[m] est, Legem quam Moses edixit, caelestem esse. Quarta, de fundamento tertio, quod est; de poena malorum hominum, deq[ue] praemio proborum.

Liber cui titulus est, ‏‫נוה שלום‬‎ , i[d est] habitatio pacis. Eius auctor est Rabbi Abraham, cognome[n]to ‏‫שלום‬‎ , pax. opus grande, & multifaria eruditione refertum, de Deo, de mundo, de hominis corpore, & anima, de caeremoniis legis Mosis. De sacris vatibus, de arte Cabbalistica. & ut universe dicam: de rebus propè omnibus, de quibus Iudaei usquam solent in suis libris disputare.

Liber inscriptus ‏‫הליכות עולם‬‎ , consuetudo mundi. Est introductio ad Doctoru[m] Hebr[aeorum] disciplinam. Eius auctor est R. Iosua Leuita.

Liber inscriptus ‏‫פסיקה הליכות‬‎ auctore R. Menahem Ricinatense. quo ille, quid in Iudaeorum quibusuis caeremoniis obseruandum sit, definiuit, tamquam pronuniatis sententiis.

‎‏‫ספר הישר‬‎ i[d est] liber recti. Eius scriptor est, ‏‫רבינו תם‬‎ . Tractatur in eo, doctè sanè, et minimè vulgariter, de fundamentis atq[ue] mysteriis cultus diuini.

‎‏‫איילה אהבים‬‎ , Cerua amorum. Est explanatio & co[m]mentarius in Cantica Canticorum, auctore Solomone Leuita.

‎‏‫כוזרי‬‎ Liber continens variam disputatione[m] de religione Hebraeorum per colloquium. Scripsit eum Rab[bi] Iudas Leuita Hispanus Arabicè. Sed est in Hebraica[m] linguam traductus.

‎‏‫אור העמים‬‎ , Lux Populorum. In hoc libro agitur de Deo, an sit primus omnium rerum opifex. an corpus, an uero animus. Vnus, an plures. Cognoscens, moderansq[ue], res omnes, Omnipotens, an vero secus. Deinde hominis animus, possit ne corpus relinquere; res diuinas contemplari. & quae sunt his similes disputationes: est autem eius scriptor ‏‫ר’ עובדיה מספורנו‬‎ .

‎‏‫מבחר הפנינים‬‎ , hoc est, selectissimae gemmae. Sunt selectae sententiae ex veterum dictis, de sapientia, de prudentia, iniustitia, temperantia. & in summa, de omnibus ferè virtutibus & vitiis: atq[ue] aliis hominu[m] affectionibus: veluti de amore, de odio, de diuitiis, de paupertate &c. Cum doctis commentariis.

‎‏‫בחינת עולם‬‎ i. experimentum mundi: libellus à ‏‫ר’ ידעיה‬‎ Philosopho conscriptus, quo docet, res huius mundi caducas atq[ue] incertas esse. & proinde ad solas caelestes & diuinas nobis esse aspirandum. Adscripta est etiam explanation non inerudita.

‎‏‫אבן בחן‬‎ hoc est, lapis experimenti. Libellus scriptus à R. Calonymo Hispano, anno Christi circiter millesimo ducentesimo trigesimo nono. Argumentum ferè eiusmodi est cuiusmodi superiori libelli. Continet enim varia adhortamenta, quibus hominum animus à vanis mundi rebus auertatur ad res aeternas.

‎‏‫ספר תורה אור‬‎ libellus inscriptus, Lex lumen est. Tractat de ultimo animae thesauro: id est de vita vel beata, vel infelice. de Paradiso; de Gehenna; & de saeculo post mortem venturo. Doctus sane libellus, in quo tamen plurimae sunt Iudaicae nugae, et superstitions. Eius auctor est R. Ioseph Dauidis filius, Hispanus. Scripsit autem patrem nostrorum memoria.

R. Menahem F. Simonis commentaria in Ieremiam, & Ezechielem.
R. Benjamin F. Iudae Romani comment[aria] in duos posteriores libros Regum à capite septimo usque ad finem. Et in Paralipomena. Et in Prouerbia Solomonis.
R. Isaiae commentaria in libr. Iudicum. In duos priores libros Regum. atq[ue]. in septem priora capita libri tertij Reg. Nam cùm illuc commentando peruenisset, concessit fatis. Eiusdem etiam commentaria in Ezdram.
Denique habeo etiam manu scriptos commentarios R. Abraham Ezdrae in Isaiam, & XII prophetas minores, ab ipso auctore emendatos, auctosq[ue]

Praeter istos libros, habeo poetas aliquot Hebraeos: & inter eos R. Immanuelis magnum volumen suauissimis versiculis rhythmicorum more factis plenum. Sed istos & grammaticos pervulgatos, nihil attinet commemorare.

Finis

Footnotes: