Da'at Miqra
Encyclopedia
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
scholarship. The project was headed by Yehuda Kiel
Yehuda Kiel
Yehuda Kiel was an Israeli educator and Bible commentator.-Biography:Kiel was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1916. Following the Russian Revolution, he moved with his family to Panevėžys, Lithuania and later to Latvia.In 1936, Kiel emigrated to Mandate Palestine...
, who received the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
for his part in the enterprise.
Overview
The singularity of Da’at Miqra lies in its combination of a traditional outlook and the findings of modern research. The Da’at Miqra editors have sought to present an interpretation based primarily upon PeshatPeshat
Peshat is one of four classical methods of Jewish biblical exegesis used by Rabbis and Jewish bible scholars in reading the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh. Peshat is part of a group of exegetical methods known together as Pardes...
— the direct, literal reading of the text — as opposed to Drash
Drash
Drash may refer to:* Midrash, a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text* Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter , a portable shelter* Alan Drash, pediatric endocrinologist* Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash, a computer game...
. They do so by incorporating geographic references, archaeological findings and textual analysis, presenting a clear link between the commentary's traditional approach and contemporary methodology. There has been some suggestion that the Da’at Miqra‘s dualistic approach reflects an underlying polemic against biblical criticism
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
, without directly addressing the views and queries of bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
critics but via a commentary aimed at debunking their methodology.
Methodology and structure
The Da’at Miqra relies upon the Aleppo CodexAleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the 10th century A.D.The codex has long been considered to be the most authoritative document in the masorah , the tradition by which the Hebrew Scriptures have been preserved from generation to generation...
for its basic text. The commentary includes clarifications of difficult words and etymological references—particularly with regard to the names of locations mentioned—and contains various notes aimed at demonstrating, expanding upon or presenting alternate views on the text. Each book of the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
is divided into parts, each of which is preceded by a description of the chapter’s division and literary style and a general explanation of the portion. In addition, each book contains a general introduction aimed at clarifying general issues within the text, such as the dating of its authorship, its historical background, parallels to other biblical books, an explanation of various repeating phrases or personas, and the like.
Editorial staff
Editors of the series included Yehuda Elitzur of Bar-Ilan UniversityBar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, the International Bible Contest champion and Bible scholar Amos Hakham, Sha’ul Yisra’eli and Mordechai Breuer
Mordechai Breuer
Mordechai Breuer was an Orthodox rabbi. He was one of the world's leading experts on Tanakh , and especially of the text of the Aleppo Codex....
.