Great Biblical Commentators: Biographies, Methodologies, and Contributions (Maggid Tanakh Companions)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The vast and vibrant world of biblical commentary has, over the generations, shaped not only our understanding of the Tanakh, but Judaism’s worldview and values as well. The biblical commentator - or parshan - is a spiritual seeker, proposing answers to the theological and existential questions raised by the text and serving as mediator between Tanakh and the reader. Keenly aware of their contemporary reality, biblical exegetes search for the Torah’s answers to both timeless human issues and to the most crucial questions of their time. Dr. Avigail Rock’s widely hailed work, Great Biblical Commentators, is a groundbreaking study that surveys over twenty of the greatest biblical exegetes in the course of Jewish history - beginning with Onkelos; continuing with leading medieval commentators such as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Ramban, and Aharonim such as Malbim and Netziv; and ending with influential twentieth-century commentators. It includes discussion of the commentators’ exegetical methods, their interactions with their historical period and environment, and their contributions to the world of exegesis. Through exploration of the commentators’ biographies and methodologies, and enriched by carefully chosen and insightful examples from their works, this book contextualizes and illuminates their philosophies, while giving us a glimpse into their masterful thought and analyses.
- Surveys over twenty of the greatest biblical exegetes in the course of Jewish history
- Explores commentators’ biographies, methodologies, and interactions with their historical period
- Illuminates their philosophies and provides insight into their masterful thought and analyses
- Preface by Yehuda Rock
- Introduction
- 1. Biblical Translations and Targum Onkelos
- 2. Saadia Gaon
- 3. Rabbi Yona ibn Janaĥ
- 4. Rashi
- 5. Rabbi Yosef Kara
- 6. Rashbam
- 7. Rabbi Yosef Bekhor Shor
- 8. Summary of Exegesis of Northern France and Introduction to Spanish Exegesis
- 9. Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra
- 10. Rabbi David Kimhi
- 11. Ramban
- 12. Ĥizkuni – Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah
- 13. Rabbi Yosef ibn Caspi
- 14. Ralbag
- 15. Abarbanel
- 16. Sforno
- 17. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
- 18. Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg
- 19. Shadal
- 20. Malbim
- 21. The Netziv
- 22. Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffmann
- 23. Prof. Moshe David Cassuto
- 24. Rabbi Mordechai Breuer
- Title: Great Biblical Commentators: Biographies, Methodologies, and Contributions (Maggid Tanakh Companions)
- Author: Avigail Rock
- Publisher: The Toby Press
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Pages: 448
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- ISBNs: 9781592646074, 1592646077
- Resource ID: LLS:MTCGRTBBLCCNTRBTNS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-07-09T03:02:45Z
Rabbanit Dr. Avigail (Poupko) Rock (1971–2019) was a prominent lecturer and educator in the field of Tanakh and its exegesis. Dr. Rock received her PhD from the Tanakh department of Bar-Ilan University for her thesis on the biblical exegete R. Yosef ibn Caspi. She was one of the first women licensed as a Rabbinical Advocate and taught at the Institute for Rabbinical Advocates.
Due to her unique skill in deriving inspirational educational messages from literary and exegetical analysis, Dr. Avigail Rock was a sought-after lecturer and a source of inspiration for students all over the world. Her untimely passing at the age of forty-eight left her family and community bereft of her teachings, sage advice, and unfailing good humor.
More about Dr. Avigail Rock and her Torah at avigailrock.com.