Naḥmias, Joseph ben Joseph

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NAḤMIAS, JOSEPH BEN JOSEPH

NAḤMIAS, JOSEPH BEN JOSEPH (first half of 14th century), biblical commentator in Toledo. Naḥmias belonged to an ancient and distinguished Spanish family. Apart from the fact that he studied under *Asher b. Jehiel, little is known of his life. His reputation rests upon his biblical commentary which apparently originally encompassed most of the Bible.

The following parts have been published with introductions by M.A. Bamberger: Esther (1891), Proverbs (1912), and Jeremiah (1913). Bamberger also published Nahmias' commentaries to Avot (1907) and to the piyyut Attah Konanta (in: jjlg, 6 (1909)), on the order of the Temple service for the Day of Atonement. His commentary to the tractate Nedarim has been preserved in manuscript. Naḥmias is also known to have translated many parts of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed.

bibliography:

Bamberger's introd. to his edition of the commentary to Jeremiah, Proverbs, Esther (all in German); Neubauer, in: jqr, 5 (1892/93), 709–13; Poznański, in zhb, 1 (1896/97), 118–21.

[Israel Moses Ta-Shma]