Difference between revisions of "Commentators:R. Yosef Bekhor Shor/0"

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<category>Background<fn>This section incorporates information from E. E. Urbach, Ba'alei HaTosafot (Jerusalem, 1968; hereafter: Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot).</fn>
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<category>Background<fn>Background literature on R"Y Bekhor Shor includes: E. E. Urbach, Ba'alei HaTosafot (Jerusalem, 1968; hereafter: Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot), Y. Nevo in his introduction to פירושי רבי יוסף בכור שור על התורה (Jerusalem, 1994), and Y. Priel, “רבנו יוסף בכור שור: מעמדו בעולם הפרשנות ותהליך החשיפה המחודש של פירושו,” Oreshet 1 (2010, hereafter: Priel, R. Yosef).</fn>
 
<subcategory>Life
 
<subcategory>Life
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
 
<li><b>Name</b> –&#160;
 
<li><b>Name</b> –&#160;
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
<li><b>Hebrew name</b> –&#160;ר' יוסף בכור שור<fn>The name is a reference to Devarim 33:17. This page will use the abbreviated form “Bekhor Shor”, which is how both the person and his commentary are often referred to in common parlance.<br/>According to the consensus view, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor is the same person as R. Yosef of Orleans, and R. Yosef b. Yitzchak b. HaNadiv R. Yosef of Chinon, two other names cited in Tosafist literature.<br/>There are, however, some scholars who dispute this identification. See Urbach: Ba’alei HaTosafot: 132-134, Y. Nevo in his introduction to פירושי רבי יוסף בכור שור על התורה (Jerusalem, 1994): 1-2, and Y. Priel, “רבנו יוסף בכור שור: מעמדו בעולם הפרשנות ותהליך החשיפה המחודש של פירושו,” Oreshet 1 (2010, herafter: Priel, R. Yosef): 114-115.<br/>Here we will assume the consensus view.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Hebrew name</b> –&#160;ר' יוסף בכור שור&#8206;<fn>The appellation "בכור שור" is a reference to Yosef's blessing in Devarim 33:17. According to the consensus view, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor is the same person as R. Yosef of Orleans.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>_ name</b> –&#160;</li>
 
<li><b>_ name</b> –&#160;</li>
 
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<li><b>Dates</b> –&#160;Middle to late 12th century<fn>While there is no direct evidence as to when Bekhor Shor was born or died, we know that he wrote a question to R. Tam (d. 1171) as a young man, which would indicate his birth could not have been much later than 1150.<br/>G. Walter (Joseph Bechor Schorr, der letzte nordfranzösische bibelexeget (Breslau, 1890):7-8) estimates that Bekhor Shor was born circa 1140.<br/>Regarding when he wrote his commentaries, S.A. Poznanski (מבוא על חכמי צרפת מפרשי המקרא , (Warsaw, 1913): LVIII) notes that Bekhor Shor cites (in Bereshit 33:6) a work by R. Shelomoh ibn Parchon that is known to have been written in 1161.<br/>A. Geiger posits that this Italian work could not have spread to Northern France for several years, and thus sets the composition date of Bekhor Shor’s Torah commentary as no earlier than 1170 (see. A. Geiger, ספר פרשנדתא על חכמי צרפת מפרשי המקרא (Leipzig, 1856): 41).<br/>Similarly, M. Idel (“"פירוש מזמור יט לר' יוסף בכור שור, Alei Sefer 9 (1981): 64) argues that Bekhor Shor’s commentary to Tehillim was influenced by Chovot HaLevavot, and thus could not have been written before 1161, when that work was first translated into Hebrew.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Dates</b> –&#160;Middle to late 12th century<fn>While there is no direct evidence as to when Bekhor Shor was born or died, we know that he wrote a question to R. Tam (d. 1171) as a young man, which would indicate his birth could not have been much later than 1150.<br/>G. Walter (Joseph Bechor Schorr, der letzte nordfranzösische bibelexeget (Breslau, 1890):7-8) estimates that Bekhor Shor was born circa 1140.<br/>Regarding when he wrote his commentaries, S.A. Poznanski (מבוא על חכמי צרפת מפרשי המקרא , (Warsaw, 1913): LVIII) notes that Bekhor Shor cites (in Bereshit 33:6) a work by R. Shelomoh ibn Parchon that is known to have been written in 1161.<br/>A. Geiger posits that this Italian work could not have spread to Northern France for several years, and thus sets the composition date of Bekhor Shor’s Torah commentary as no earlier than 1170 (see. A. Geiger, ספר פרשנדתא על חכמי צרפת מפרשי המקרא (Leipzig, 1856): 41).<br/>Similarly, M. Idel (“"פירוש מזמור יט לר' יוסף בכור שור, Alei Sefer 9 (1981): 64) argues that Bekhor Shor’s commentary to Tehillim was influenced by Chovot HaLevavot, and thus could not have been written before 1161, when that work was first translated into Hebrew.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Location</b> –&#160;Northern France<fn>More specifically Orleans, assuming Bekhor Shor is R. Yosef of Orleans.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Location</b> –&#160;Northern France<fn>More specifically Orleans, assuming Bekhor Shor is R. Yosef of Orleans.</fn></li>
<li><b>Education and Occupation</b> –&#160;No more than a skeletal history of Bekhor Shor’s life can be constructed from the sources that currently exist.<fn>There exists a lone medieval report of a historical incident involving Bekhor Shor (see Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot: 135). In this account, Bekhor Shor is confronted by a devoted convert to Christianity, and he succeeds in refuting Christianity based on Yeshayahu 52:13 and immediately bringing about the apostate’s repentance.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Education and Occupation</b> –&#160;No more than a skeletal history of R"Y Bekhor Shor’s life can be constructed from the sources that currently exist.<fn>There exists a lone medieval report of a historical incident involving Bekhor Shor (see Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot: 135). In this account, Bekhor Shor is confronted by a devoted convert to Christianity, and he succeeds in refuting Christianity based on Yeshayahu 52:13 and immediately bringing about the apostate’s repentance.</fn></li>
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
 
<li>Lived in the 12th century Northern French Tosafist milieu, and was a disciple of Rabbenu Tam.<fn>See Urbach ibid.: 137-139 for a discussion of the correspondence between the two.</fn></li>
 
<li>Lived in the 12th century Northern French Tosafist milieu, and was a disciple of Rabbenu Tam.<fn>See Urbach ibid.: 137-139 for a discussion of the correspondence between the two.</fn></li>
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<li>His prominent position within the Tosafist world is attested by frequent use of his commentaries by later Tosafist compendia.<fn>Though the commentaries often appear uncredited. Such compendia include Da’at Zekeinim, Hadar Zekeinim, and Chizkuni. He is cited less frequently in Moshav Zekeinim, Pa’aneach Raza, and Minchat Yehudah. See Y.H. Nisan, Medieval Ashkenazi Bible Interpretation: A Textual Analysis of Rabbi Joseph Bekhor Shor's Torah Commentary (McGill University MA thesis, 1997, hereafter: Nisan, Analysis): 103-118, for an in-depth analysis of this issue.</fn></li>
 
<li>His prominent position within the Tosafist world is attested by frequent use of his commentaries by later Tosafist compendia.<fn>Though the commentaries often appear uncredited. Such compendia include Da’at Zekeinim, Hadar Zekeinim, and Chizkuni. He is cited less frequently in Moshav Zekeinim, Pa’aneach Raza, and Minchat Yehudah. See Y.H. Nisan, Medieval Ashkenazi Bible Interpretation: A Textual Analysis of Rabbi Joseph Bekhor Shor's Torah Commentary (McGill University MA thesis, 1997, hereafter: Nisan, Analysis): 103-118, for an in-depth analysis of this issue.</fn></li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
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<li><b>Family</b> –&#160;Bekhor Shor cites his father once in his commentary,<fn>In his commentary to Vayikra 23:16. He does not mention his father’s name, but it seems to have been Yitzchak, see note above in the Name section.</fn> and he had a son who is cited in Tosafist literature, called R. Avraham b. R. Yosef of Orleans.<fn>See Urbach, ibid.: 140-141.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Family</b> – R"Y Bekhor Shor cites his father once in his commentary,<fn>In his commentary to Vayikra 23:16. He does not mention his father’s name, but it seems to have been Yitzchak, see note above in the Name section.</fn> and he had a son who is cited in Tosafist literature, called R. Avraham b. R. Yosef of Orleans.<fn>See Urbach, ibid.: 140-141.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Teachers</b> –&#160;R. Yaakov Tam<fn>See Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot: 132-139 regarding Halakhic correspondences between Bekhor Shor and R. Tam.<br/>Bekhor Shor, however, never mentions R. Tam or his grammatical work Hakhra’ot in his Torah commentary. Urbach (ibid.:136) theorizes that this is because Bekhor Shor paid scant attention to grammatical matters in his commentary.<br/>There are, however, cases where Bekhor Shor seems to be following his master’s commentary despite not citing him. See Nisan, Analysis: 92. See also ibid.: 19-25, for an analysis of Bekhor Shor’s grammatical comments.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Teachers</b> –&#160;R. Yaakov Tam<fn>See Urbach, Ba’alei HaTosafot: 132-139 regarding Halakhic correspondences between Bekhor Shor and R. Tam.<br/>Bekhor Shor, however, never mentions R. Tam or his grammatical work Hakhra’ot in his Torah commentary. Urbach (ibid.:136) theorizes that this is because Bekhor Shor paid scant attention to grammatical matters in his commentary.<br/>There are, however, cases where Bekhor Shor seems to be following his master’s commentary despite not citing him. See Nisan, Analysis: 92. See also ibid.: 19-25, for an analysis of Bekhor Shor’s grammatical comments.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Contemporaries</b> – <a href="R. Shemuel b. Meir (Rashbam)" data-aht="parshan">Rashbam</a>,<multilink><a href="#" data-aht="source"> R. Eliezer of Beaugency</a></multilink>,<fn>A Northern French peshat exegete.</fn><multilink><a href="#" data-aht="source"> R. Avraham Ibn Ezra</a></multilink><fn>The relationship between Ibn Ezra and Bekhor Shor is a matter of scholarly debate. Ibn Ezra is mentioned twice in Bekhor Shor’s commentary (Bereshit 49:4, Shemot 24:11), but both instances are introduced with the note “haggah”, apparently indicating that it was added by a copyist.<br/>There are affinities between the commentaries in a number of places, but on the question of influence there are a range of opinions, from those who think it indisputable that Bekhor Shor was acquainted with Ibn Ezra’s commentaries, to those who claim that Bekhor Shor was completely unaware of Ibn Ezra’s commentaries<br/> Some scholars also see some potential influence of Bekhor Shor on Ibn Ezra. See Nisan, Analysis: 83-90.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Contemporaries</b> – <a href="R. Shemuel b. Meir (Rashbam)" data-aht="parshan">Rashbam</a>,<multilink><a href="#" data-aht="source"> R. Eliezer of Beaugency</a></multilink>,<fn>A Northern French peshat exegete.</fn><multilink><a href="#" data-aht="source"> R. Avraham Ibn Ezra</a></multilink><fn>The relationship between Ibn Ezra and Bekhor Shor is a matter of scholarly debate. Ibn Ezra is mentioned twice in Bekhor Shor’s commentary (Bereshit 49:4, Shemot 24:11), but both instances are introduced with the note “haggah”, apparently indicating that it was added by a copyist.<br/>There are affinities between the commentaries in a number of places, but on the question of influence there are a range of opinions, from those who think it indisputable that Bekhor Shor was acquainted with Ibn Ezra’s commentaries, to those who claim that Bekhor Shor was completely unaware of Ibn Ezra’s commentaries<br/> Some scholars also see some potential influence of Bekhor Shor on Ibn Ezra. See Nisan, Analysis: 83-90.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Rabbinics</b> –&#160;
 
<li><b>Rabbinics</b> –&#160;
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
<li><b>Talmudic novellae</b> –&#160;Bekhor Shor is cited a number of times in Tosafot on the Talmud<fn>For a list of citations see Urbach, Ibid.: 132, note 2.</fn></li>
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<li><b>Talmudic novellae</b> – R"Y Bekhor Shor is cited a number of times in Tosafot on the Talmud<fn>For a list of citations see Urbach, Ibid.: 132, note 2.</fn></li>
 
<li><b>Halakhic codes</b> –&#160;</li>
 
<li><b>Halakhic codes</b> –&#160;</li>
 
<li><b>Responses to the works of others</b> –&#160;</li>
 
<li><b>Responses to the works of others</b> –&#160;</li>

Version as of 07:47, 12 August 2016

R. Yosef Bekhor Shor – Intellectual Profile

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R. Yosef Bekhor Shor
Name
R. Yosef Bekhor Shor
ר' יוסף בכור שור
Dates12th century
LocationNorthern France
WorksTorah and Tehillim commentaries, novellae on the Talmud, liturgical poems
Exegetical Characteristics
Influenced byRashbam, R. Tam
Impacted onSefer HaGan, Baalei HaTosafot, Ramban

Background1

Life

  • Name – 
    • Hebrew name – ר' יוסף בכור שור‎2
    • _ name – 
  • Dates – Middle to late 12th century3
  • Location – Northern France4
  • Education and Occupation – No more than a skeletal history of R"Y Bekhor Shor’s life can be constructed from the sources that currently exist.5
    • Lived in the 12th century Northern French Tosafist milieu, and was a disciple of Rabbenu Tam.6
    • He was a Halakhist/Talmudist whose novellae are included in Tosafot, as well as a Bible commentator.
    • From his writings it can be deduced that he knew Latin and was familiar with Christian biblical exegesis.7
    • He also was a paytan (author of liturgical poems)8 who seems to have had a rather well-developed literary sense.9
    • His prominent position within the Tosafist world is attested by frequent use of his commentaries by later Tosafist compendia.10
  • Family – R"Y Bekhor Shor cites his father once in his commentary,11 and he had a son who is cited in Tosafist literature, called R. Avraham b. R. Yosef of Orleans.12
  • Teachers – R. Yaakov Tam13
  • ContemporariesRashbam, R. Eliezer of Beaugency,14 R. Avraham Ibn Ezra15
  • Students – 
  • Time period – 
  • World outlook – 

Works

  • Biblical commentaries – Torah,16 Tehillim17
  • Rabbinics – 
    • Talmudic novellae – R"Y Bekhor Shor is cited a number of times in Tosafot on the Talmud18
    • Halakhic codes – 
    • Responses to the works of others – 
    • Responsa – Conducted Halakhic correspondence with R. Tam.19
  • Jewish thought – 
  • Other works – Piyuttim20
  • Misattributed works – 

Torah Commentary

Characteristics

  • Verse by verse / Topical – 
  • Genre – 
  • Structure – 
  • Language – 
  • Peshat and derash – 

Methods

  • – 

Themes

  • – 

Textual Issues

  • Manuscripts – All editions have been based on a sole extant manuscript – Munich 52. 
  • Printings – Published in 1994 by Mosad HaRav Kook as: פירושי רבי יוסף בכור שור על התורה (Ed. Y. Nevo), and recently included in Mikraot Gedolot HaKeter published by Bar Ilan University.21
  • Textual layers – 

Sources

Significant Influences

  • Earlier Sources – Rashi
  • Teachers – 
    • His father – cited only once in Vayikra 23:16.  The Sefer HaGan Shemot 27:18 records an additional interpretation which R"Y Bekhor Shor transmitted in the name of his father.
    • R. Tam – 
    • R. Eliezer of Mainz / Beaugency – cited only once in a gloss on Vayikra 22:25.22
  • Foils – 

Occasional Usage

  • Menachem b. Saruq – cited only once in Shemot 14:20.
  • R. Chayyug - cited only once in Devarim 11:26.
  • R. Avraham b. Hiyya – cited once in Devarim 28:63.23
  • R. Yosef Kara – cited nine times: Bereshit 4:23-24, 34:25, 49:9, Shemot 4:11, 20:1, Devarim 14:1, 28:68, 32:17, 33:1.
  • Rashbam – cited five24 times:  Bereshit 36:12 ("ורבי' שמו' מצא"),25‎ Shemot 2:14 ("ומשם רבי' שמואל שמעתי"),‎ 3:14 ("ור' שמואל פירש")‎, 6:13 ("ור' שמואל פירש"),‎ 14:25 ("ומשום רבי' שמואל שמעתי").  There are many other interpretations of R"Y Bekhor Shor, though, which were taken from or influenced by Rashbam.
  • Ibn Ezra – cited only twice in the glosses to the commentary on Bereshit 49:4, Shemot 24:11. and another time in the name of R"Y Bekhor Shor in Sefer HaGan Bereshit 2:23.
  • R. Shelomo Parchon – cited only once in the gloss to the commentary on Bereshit 33:6.
  • R. Ovadiah b. Shemuel HaSefaradi26 – cited nine27 times: Bereshit 2:2, 18:5, 39:2, Shemot 4:11, 10:2, 15:26, 22:19, 23:25, Devarim 31:18.28
  • R. Yitzchak HaGer – cited twice (both of which are glosses): Shemot 3:13,29 4:11.
  • R. Karshava – cited only once in Bereshit 44:10.
  • R. Tuv Elem – cited only once in a gloss to Vayikra 20:14.
  • R. Berechya – cited only once in a gloss to Vayikra 19:19.

Possible Relationship

Impact

Later exegetes

Supercommentaries