Yefet ben Ali

Yefet ben Ali
NationalityKaraites
Era10th century CE
Known forCommentator on the Bible

Yefet ben Ali (Hebrew: יפת בן עלי הלוי (הבצרי))[1] was perhaps the foremost Karaite commentator on the Bible, during the "Golden Age of Karaism". He lived about 95 years, c. 914-1009.[2] Born in Basra in the Abbasid Caliphate (now in Iraq), he later moved to Jerusalem between 950 and 980, where he died. The Karaites distinguished him by the epithet maskil ha-Golah (teacher of the Exile).[3]

His commentaries were written in Judeo-Arabic, and covered the entire Hebrew Bible. They were accompanied by a very literal translation of the Hebrew text, which often violated the rules of Arabic grammar. These writings influenced the rabbinical sage Abraham ibn Ezra, who quotes Yefet forty-two times in his commentary of the minor prophets.

  1. ^ Also Japheth ben Ali, Japheth ha-Levi; Judeo-Arabic: Abu 'Ali Ḥasan b. 'Ali al-Lawi al-Baṣri (אבו עלי חסן בן עלי אלללוי אלבצרי). The name Ḥasan ("handsome") was seen as an Arabic equivalent of Yefet, based on the contemporary derivation of Yefet from י-פ-ה.
  2. ^ Pinsker, Simḥah (1860). לקוטי קדמוניות: לקורות דת בני מקרא והליטעראטור שלהם : ע״פ כתבי יד עבריים וערביים (in Hebrew). דרוק פאן א. דעללא טאררע.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference je was invoked but never defined (see the help page).