Eldad ben Maḥli ha-Dani | |
|---|---|
אֶלְדָּד בֶּן מַחְלִי הַדָּנִי | |
| Born | c. 851 |
| Died | c. 900 |
| Nationality | Jewish |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, traveler, philologist |
| Known for | Spreading accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes and unique halakhot |
| Notable work | Sefer Eldad |
Eldad ben Maḥli ha-Dani (Hebrew: אֶלְדָּד בֶּן מַחְלִי הַדָּנִי, lit. 'Eldad son of Mahli the Danite') (fl. c. 851 – c. 900) was a ninth-century Jewish merchant, traveller, and philologist. Though probably originally from South Arabia,[1] he professed to be a citizen of an "independent Jewish state" in East Africa, inhabited by people claiming descent from the lost Tribes of Dan, Asher, Gad, and Naphtali. Eldad visited Babylonia, Kairouan, and Iberia, where he spread fanciful accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes and halakhot which he claimed he had brought from his native country.
Eldad's Hebrew narrative Sefer Eldad established his reputation as a philologist whom leading medieval Jewish grammarians and lexicographers quoted as an authority on linguistic difficulties. His halakhot, which deal with the laws of shechita, differ in many places from the Talmudic ordinances, and are introduced in the name of Joshua ben Nun, or, according to another version, of Othniel Ben Kenaz. Eldad's accounts soon spread, and, as usual in such cases, were remolded and amplified by copyists and editors. There are numerous differing versions in several languages.[1]