JOSEPH BEN TANḤUM YERUSHALMI

JOSEPH BEN TANḤUM YERUSHALMI
JOSEPH BEN TANḤUM YERUSHALMI (b. 1262), Hebrew poet, son of the grammarian-exegete Tanḥum b. Joseph Yerushalmi of Cairo. It seems that he spent most of his life in Egypt, though he traveled to Jerusalem, Hebron, and other cities of Palestine. At the age of 15 Joseph composed 'Arugot ha-Besamim', a collection of poems with tajnīs rhymes, distributed in 10 sections (arugot), in imitation of Moses ibn Ezra's Sefer ha-'Anak; the book was published by J. Dishon in 2005. As a means of earning a livelihood Joseph had to write poems in honor of several Jewish patrons. Many of his poems were dedicated to Maimonides' grandson david b. abraham maimuni , who had befriended him. Joseph also addressed verses to David's son, Abraham, to several relatives of this family,   and to many others. He celebrated the familiar events (births, circumcisions, weddings) of his sponsors and wrote elegies in case of illness. On the death of his father in 1291 he composed a lamentation in which he mentions the conquest of Acre by the Crusaders. He may have still been alive in 1330. Beside the poems collected in the Arugot ha-Besamim, with Arabic glosses, other of Joseph's poems were collected in a Divan, divided into seven sections (abwāb). The extant manuscripts are all fragmentary and contain only poems of section 2 (Letters and maqāmāt), 4 (Eulogies and Congratulations), 5 (Love and Wine), 6 (Elegies and Dirges), 7 (Miscellaneous). He knew the most important Andalusian Hebrew poets very well and was particularly influenced by moses ibn ezra and Judah Al-Ḥarizi ; most genres of the Spanish-Hebrew poetry are represented in the Divan. There are poems with verses in different meters, strophic verse (muwashshaḥ) occasionally with Arabic endings, maqāmāt in which the narrator is called Aḥiṭūb b. Ḥakmoni, and plays on words (tajnīs). A small number of liturgical poems also appear. Although the compositions are without originality, and often even devoid of precise expression, Joseph displays a knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew literary tradition and stylistic skill and is no doubt the most representative Hebrew poet of Egypt in the 13th century. A.M. Habermann published a number of his shorter wine and love poems. Several other poems and maqāmāt were published by H. Brody, J. Schirmann, S.M. Stern, P. Naveh, H.V. Sheynin, J. Yahalom, and J. Dishon. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Brody, in: Kobez al Jad, 9 (1893), 7–8, 17–19; Poznański, in: REJ, 40 (1900), 129–53; 41 (1900), 46–61; Mann, Texts, 1 (1931), 435–45; J. Schirmann, Shirim Ḥadashim min ha-Genizah (1965), index; idem, in: Kobez al Jad, 3 (1939), 62–64; Habermann, in: Maḥbarot le-Sifrut, 2 no. 2 (1942), 39–40; Ashtor, Toledot, 1 (1944), 163–6; S.M. Stern, in: Tarbiz, 18 (1947), 184–86; Toledano, in: Sinai, 42 (1958), 339–55; P. Naveh, in: Molad, 25 (1968), 237–44; idem, in: Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, 9 (1970), 57–75, V. Sheynin, in: AO, 22 (1969), 245–71. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Y. Ratzaby, in: Pirkei Shirah, 1 (1990), 77–110, 2 (1999), 53–81; J. Yahalom, in: Sefer Yisrael Levin (1994), 145–54; idem, in: Pirkei Shirah, 3 (2003), 87–98; S. Einbinder, in: Medieval Encounters, 1 (1995), 252–70; J. Dishon, in: Dappim le-Meḥkar be-Sifrut, 12 (1999/2000), 25–63; idem (ed.), The Book of the Perfumed Flower Beds (Heb., 2005). (Jefim (Hayyim) Schirmann / Angel Sáenz-Badillos (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Joseph ben Tanhum Yerushalmi — (b. 1262)    Egyptian Hebrew poet. At the age of 15 he composed a collection of poems in imitation of Moses ibn Ezra. On his father s death in 1291 he composed a lamen tation in which he mentions the conquest of Acre by the crusaders. He was the… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • TANḤUM BEN JOSEPH (Ha-)YERUSHALMI — (c. 1220–1291), philologist and biblical exegete. Few biographical details are known of him. As his name indicates, either he or his family originated from Jerusalem, and according to Bacher, he lived for some time in Ereẓ Israel and subsequently …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • DAVID BEN ABRAHAM MAIMUNI — (1222–1300), nagid of Egyptian Jewry and grandson of maimonides . David was only 15 years old when his father abraham b. moses b. maimon died (1237) and in spite of his youth, he was appointed nagid a few months later. A few years afterward… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ABRAHAM BEN SOLOMON — (c. 1400), Oriental biblical exegete, possibly from Yemen. His commentary on the Bible is written in Arabic, but contains some Hebrew excerpts. He makes use of very early midrashic sources, some otherwise unknown, quotes Simeon b. Yoḥai in the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • POETRY — This article is arranged according to the following outline (for modern poetry, see hebrew literature , Modern; see also prosody ): biblical poetry introduction the search for identifiable indicators of biblical poetry the presence of poetry in… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • LINGUISTIC LITERATURE, HEBREW — This article is arranged according to the following outline: introduction foreword the beginning of linguistic literature linguistic literature and its background the development of linguistic literature Foreword: A Well Defined Unit the four… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • JUDEO-ARABIC LITERATURE — JUDEO ARABIC LITERATURE, written in Arabic by Jews for Jews. It is written in an idiom which is linguistically closer to the spoken form of Arabic than is the idiom used in Muslim literature. It may plausibly be assumed that, prior to the rise of …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • PIYYUT — (Heb. פִּיּוּט; plural: piyyutim; from the Greek ποιητής), a lyrical composition intended to embellish an obligatory prayer or any other religious ceremony, communal or private. In a wider sense, piyyut is the totality of compositions composed in …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ALPHABET, HEBREW — The origin of alphabetic script has always been a subject of human curiosity. According to Greek mythology, script was brought to Greece from Phoenicia. This tradition was accepted by the Greek and Roman writers, some of whom developed it even… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • HEBRAISTS, CHRISTIAN — (1100–1890). Factors governing gentile enterprises in Hebrew scholarship prior to the latest phase of more widespread secular attitudes may be distinguished as (1) motivation; (2) scholarly facilities; and (3) occasion; appreciation and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”