Midrash Mishlei, (Midrash on Proverbs) Constantinople: [1517]

12 leaves (10 1/8 x 7 in.; 257 x 178 mm).  Double leaf signatures; library stamps on title and on last page obscured, small mend in blank fore-margin of title, some occasional spots. Cream cloth; soiled.

Vinograd, Constantinople 89; Yaari, Constantinople 53; Mehlman 167; Burton Visotzky, The Midrash on Proverbs 

12 leaves (10 1/8 x 7 in.; 257 x 178 mm). Double leaf signatures; library stamps on title and on last page obscured, small mend in blank fore-margin of title, some occasional spots. Cream cloth; soiled.
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Midrash Mishlei, a ninth-century collection of rabbinical commentary on the Book of Proverbs, is a watershed in midrashic literature, for it marks the point at which broader forms of classical midrash on the Scriptures gave way to verse-by-verse commentary. Unlike most earlier midrashim, it consistently pays attention to context, relates verses to each other, provides comments on apparently simple meanings of verses, and philologically considers the meaning of specific terms. At the same time, it resembles earlier midrash by considering narrative legends--offering, for example, fanciful versions of Solomon's meeting with the Queen of Sheba, the death of Moses, and Joseph's encounter with his brothers. It also alludes to medieval Jewish law and custom, anti-Karaite polemic, and rabbinic mysticism.