Hebrew Bible, Mishlei (Proverbs), with commentary of Immanuel of Rome. Naples: Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser, between March 28 and September 26, 1487

Estimate

40,000 - 50,000 USD

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Description

104 leaves (10 3/8 x 7 3/4 in.; 265 x 195 mm). ( i-x^{8; xi^{10; xii^{8 ; xiii^{6) unfoliated, signed to the fold; quires iii, v, vi, xi, and xii signed on verso of conjugate leaves; leaves 6^{4-5 bound in reverse. Woodcut frame surrounding initial word, f. 1v. Manuscript title page on contemporary flyleaf; owners' notes and stamps on flyleaf recto, 1/1r, 1/2r-v, ,9/1r; Hebrew letters indicating chapter divisions added in manuscript throughout. Gutter cracked at flyleaf and f.1; marginal tears in first quire, repaired; loss in margin 1/1; dampstained and soiled. Modern brown calf, covers blind stamped with central foliate frame.}}}}}

Provenance

Moses Halfon-his stamp on several leaves; Jews' College- stamp on f.1r, deaccesioned 1999.

Literature

Offenberg, Census, 43; Iakerson, JTS, 45; Goff, Heb 34.; Giulio Busi, Libri e scrittori nella Roma ebraica del medioevo. Rimini: Luise Editore, 1990.

Catalogue Note

The first printed Hebrew edition of the Book of Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is one of several "Wisdom" books in the Hebrew Bible. Composed of numerous maxims, aphorisms and sayings attributed to King Solomon, it is a part of the longstanding tradition of Wisdom literature of the ancient Near East. The most common form of these wise sayings is the mashal (Hebrew: "comparison" or "parable," although frequently translated "proverb"). Typically a pithy, easily memorized saying based on experience and universal in application, the mashal in its simplest and oldest form is typically a couplet in which a definition was given in two parallel lines related to each other.

Founder of the first Hebrew press in Naples, Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser brought his knowledge of printing with him from his native Bavaria. Gunzenhauser printed of a series of biblical books from the Hagiographa in 1487. Between March 28 and September 26, Gunzenhauser produced the first Hebrew books printed in Naples: Psalms, Proverbs and Job. These three works are known collectively as Sifrei Emet ( lit. "Books of Truth" but also an acronym of their Hebrew titles). He was assisted in this endeavor by Hayim ben Isaac ha-Levi Ashkenazi, whose name appears in the colophon and who may have been a typesetter or proofreader. Surprisingly however, the text of Proverbs in this edition is incomplete in that three verses (14:12, 15:26-27) were omitted in the printing process. The shared surname Ashkenazi indicates that both Joseph and Hayim were Jews of German descent and a familial relationship is not out of the question. Gunzenhauser produced a total of nine Hebrew incunabula in Naples between 1487 and his death in 1490, after which his son Azriel maintained the family press through 1492, the end of Hebrew printing in Naples.

Although Immanuel of Rome is best known for his Mahbarot Immanuel, (SEE LOT 132) he was also the author of a series of commentaries on most of the books of the Hebrew Bible including Proverbs. By dividing his exposition of biblical passages into two parts, Immanuel succeeds in both explaining the text and proposing his own philosophical outlook. He first performs a strict grammatical examination of the passage and then in the second part of his comments, he explicates the content from a literal, philosophical, and at times, uniquely personal perspective. In addition to his biblical commentaries, he penned a philosophical work on the mystical nature of the Hebrew language, now lost.