Joseph Kimhi

Joseph Kimchi, also: Josef Qimchi (* 1105 in Spain, † 1170 in Narbonne ), also under the name of Petit Maître or the acronym Rikam known, was a Jewish grammarian, exegete and translator of the 12th century.

After the Almohad Spain had occupied, Kimchi fled to Provence and settled down in the city of Narbonne. Its main importance lies in the fact that he participated in the introduction of the learning of Spanish Jewry in Christian Europe, even if it his two sons, Moses and David Kimchi should surpass in importance later. He was personally acquainted with Abraham ibn Ezra and quoted from it in his writings. For his readers in Provence, which could not read the written Arabic works of his predecessors, he wrote works in Hebrew, such as Sefer ha - Sikaron ( "Book of Remembrance" ), in which the concept of five long and five short is introduced Hebrew vowels. Together with the grammatical works of his sons this book was later used by Elijah Levita.

In his exegetical works, Kimchi focused on the Pshat, ie the literal meaning of an expression, in contrast to the homiletic versions that prevailed among his contemporaries in Provence. He is the author of Sefer ha - Berit ( " Book of the Covenant " ), which was printed in 1710 in Constantinople, Opel, one of the first anti -Christian polemics in Europe. The book is designed as a dialogue between a " believer " ( ma'amin ) and a " heretic " (min) and attacks Christological interpretations of the Bible, where the original sin, the incarnation of God and the moral standards of Jews and Christians in the question of usury rate discussed. This polemical book exerted particular influence on Kimchi's son David and Nachmanides.