Me'or Enayim (The Light of the Eyes / 1573-75 Rossi), book (Hebrew)

Me'or Enayim <Hebrew> / The Light of the Eyes (1573-1575) is a book by Azariah de' Rossi.

Abstract

A seminal work for a number of reasons. De' Rossi's is the first translation of the Greek Letter of Aristeas into Hebrew (translated from the Latin). The interest in Aristeas begins the profound inquiry into the relationship between the LXX and the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. Beyond this, however, the most innovative feature of the text is in the author's use of sources. In the treatment of the rabbinic aggadot, de’ Rossi has no qualms about using non-rabbinic sources either to confirm or refute the many contradictions he sees in the rabbis’ history and science. His high level or erudition is on display in his effortless use of non-rabbinic materials, including Philo (whom, after long discussion, is given a rating of ‘neutral’), Josephus, and second temple period pseudepigrapha, Christian sources, including the New Testament, the Eastern and Western Church fathers, and contemporary Christian theologians, and a full range of Classical literature. His work betrays a level of historical, textual, and source criticism extremely well-developed for his time -- Jason Zurawski, University of Michigan

Editions and translations

Published in Mantua, Italy: 1573-75. Reissued in Berlin [Germany]: 1794; Vienna [Austria]: 1829; and Vilnius [Lithuania]: 1863-66. Translated into English (2001):

• The Light of the Eyes (2001 Rossi), book (English ed.)

Table of contents

• Introduction

• Part I: "The Voice of God" (the earthquakes in Ferrara of 1570)

• Part II: "The Splendor of the Elders" (translation of the Letter of Aristeas from Latin into Hebrew)

• Part III: "Words of Understanding"

• III.1: (on Philo, the LXX, and other miscellany)

• III.2: (on contradictory and unreliable statements in the rabbinic corpus)

• III.3: "Days of the World" (on problems with the age of the universe and Anno Mundi dating)

• III.4: (on the priestly vestments and the antiquity of the Hebrew language/alphabet)