Eldad ha-Dani
Encyclopedia
Eldad ha-Dani or Eldad HaDani or Eldad ben Mahli ha-Dani was a Jewish, Hebrew-writing merchant and traveler of the ninth century. He professed to have been a citizen of an "independent Jewish state" in eastern Africa
, probably in the Gihon
region, inhabited by people claiming descent from the tribes of Dan
(hence his name, "ha-Dani" = "the Danite"), Asher
, Gad
, and Naphtali. Starting from this state, Eldad visited Babylonia
, Kairouan
, and Spain
, causing everywhere a great stir among the Jews by his fanciful accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes
, and by the halakhot
which he asserted he had brought from his native country. These halakhot, written in Hebrew
, deal with the slaughtering and subsequent examination of animals (see Kosher). They differ widely from the Talmud
ic ordinances, and are introduced in the name of Joshua ben Nun
, or, according to another version, of Othniel Ben Kenaz. Eldad's accounts soon spread, and, as usual in such cases, were remolded and amplified by copyists and editors. There are no fewer than eight versions with important variations. The following is a summary of Eldad's narrative according to the most complete of these versions:
(probably the Nile
)," Eldad traveled with a man of the tribe of Asher. A great storm wrecked the boat, but God prepared a plank for him and his companion, on which they floated until thrown ashore among a cannibal Ethiopian
tribe called Romrom. (As to the existence in former times of such a tribe, see Metz in "Das Jüdische Litteraturblatt," 1877, No. 41.) The Asherite, who was fat, was immediately eaten, while Eldad was put into a pit to fatten. Soon after a fire-worshiping tribe assailed the cannibals, and Eldad was taken prisoner. He remained in captivity during four years, when his captors brought him to the province of Azania
n (according to another version, to China
), where he was ransomed by a Jewish merchant for thirty-two pieces of gold
. Eldad continued his journey, and fell in with the tribe of Issachar
, dwelling among high mountains near Media
and Persia, their land extending ten days' journey on every side. "They are at peace with all, and their whole energy is devoted to the study of the Law; their only weapon is the knife for slaughtering animals." Their judge and prince is called Nahshon and they use the four methods of capital punishment. The tribe of Zebulon occupies the land extending from the province of Armenia to the River Euphrates. Behind the mountains of Paran the tribe of Reuben faces them. Peace reigns between these two tribes; they war as allies and divide the spoils. They possess the Bible
, the Mishnah
, the Talmud
, and the Haggadah.
The Tribe of Ephraim
and half of the Tribe of Manasseh
dwell in the southern mountains of Arabia, and are very warlike.
The Tribe of Simeon
and the other half of the Tribe of Manasseh
are in the land of the Chazars. They take tribute from twenty-eight kingdoms, and many Muslims are subjected to them.
The tribe of Dan emigrated to the land of gold, Havilah (Kush), shortly after the separation of Judah and Israel. The tribes of Naphtali, Gad, and Asher joined the Danites later. They have a king called Adiel ben Malkiel, a prince by the name of Elizaphan, of the house of Elihab, and a judge named Abdan ben Mishael, who has the power to inflict the four capital punishments prescribed in the Law. The four tribes lead a nomadic life, and are continually at war with the five neighboring Ethiopian kings. Each tribe is in the field three months, and every warrior remains in the saddle without dismounting from one Sabbath to the next. They possess the entire Scriptures, but they do not read the Roll of Esther (not having been included in the miraculous salvation mentioned in it) nor Lamentations (to avoid its disheartening influence). They have a Talmud in pure Hebrew, but none of the Talmudic teachers is mentioned. Their ritual is introduced in the name of Joshua, who had received it from Moses, who in his turn had heard its contents from the Almighty. They speak only Hebrew (Eldad himself professed not to understand a word of Ethiopic or Arabic).
On "the other side of the river of Kush" dwell the Bene Mosheh (tribe of Levi
). The River Sambation
encircles their land. It rolls sand and stones during the six working days and rests on the Sabbath. From the first moment of Sabbath to the last, fire surrounds the river, and during that time no human being can approach within half a mile of either side of it. The four other tribes communicate with the Bene Mosheh from the borders of the river. The Bene Mosheh dwell in beautiful houses, and no unclean animal is found in their land. Their cattle and sheep as well as their fields bear twice a year. No child dies during the lifetime of its parents, who live to see a third and fourth generation. They do not close their houses at night, for there is no theft or wickedness among them. They speak Hebrew, and never swear by the name of God.
and those of the Talmud
, and by some strange Hebrew expressions used by him; but the gaon Ẓemaḥ ben Hayyim of Sura, whose opinion they had asked, tranquilized them by saying that there was nothing astonishing in the four tribes disagreeing with the Talmud on some halakic points. Moreover, Eldad's personality, asserted the gaon, was known to him through Isaac ben Mar and R. Simḥah, with whom the Danite associated while he was in Babylon
ia. Hisdai ibn Shaprut; cites Eldad in his letter to the king of the Khazars
, and Eldad's halakot were used by both Rabbinites and Karaites as weapons in defense of their respective creeds. Talmudic authorities like Rashi
, Abraham ben David
(RABaD), and Abraham ben Maimon quote Eldad as an unquestioned authority; and lexicographers and grammarians interpret some Hebrew words according to the meaning given them in Eldad's phraseology.
," which appeared in the twelfth century. Intending to refute Eldad's assertion of the existence of independent Jewish states — an assertion contrary to the teaching of the Roman-Catholic Church — the Christian
writer told of a priest who ruled over the great kingdom of Ethiopia, to which were subject some Jewish tribes, including the Bene Mosheh who dwelt beyond the River Sambation. However, many writers of the Middle Ages
expressed doubts as to the genuineness of Eldad's narrative and his halakot, most explicitly Abraham ibn Ezra
(Commentary to Exodus ii. 22) and Meïr of Rothenburg (Responsa, No. 193).
, Grätz
, and Adolf Neubauer
saw in him a Karaite missionary endeavoring to discredit the Talmud
by his statement that the four tribes did not know the names of the Tannaim
and Amoraim, and that their halakot were different from those of the Talmud. This opinion was refuted by Moses Schorr
and Adolf Jellinek
, who observed that Eldad's halakot contain rules concerning the examination of slaughtered animals which are not accepted by the Karaites. P. Frankl regarded Eldad as a mere charlatan whose sayings and doings are not worth attention. Reifmann denied outright the existence of Eldad, and considered the letters of the community of Kairwan and of Ẓemaḥ ben Ḥayyim
of Sura
to be forgeries. Metz
was the first to analyze the contents of Eldad's book in the light of the reports of other travelers. A. Epstein followed Metz's method, and came to the conclusion that Eldad's book is somewhat of the nature of a historical novel in which truth is mixed with imagination. The halakot are, according to him, genuine, and were in use among the countrymen of Eldad, either in a province of eastern Africa or in Yemen
, where the Jews at that time knew Hebrew, but not the Talmud. For Eldad could not have been a native of Ethiopia
, the country of the Falashas, since there only Ge'ez
is spoken; and no trace of this language appears in Eldad's Hebrew; there are, however, some traces of Arabic, which Eldad must have known, although he asserted the contrary.
Some Zionist thinkers have considered Eldad ha-Dani to be an early precursor of their movement, as having presented to the Jews of his time the bright vision of a sovereign Jewish state. The radical Revisionist Zionist Israel Eldad
, whose original family name was "Scheib", had taken "Eldad" as his nom de guerre during his involvement in the anti-British underground and later made this his official family name.
("Entdecktes Judenthum," ii. 527).
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, probably in the Gihon
Gihon
Gihon is the name of the second river mentioned in the second chapter of the biblical Book of Genesis. The Gihon is mentioned as one of four rivers issuing out of the Garden of Eden that branched from a single river within the garden. The name may be interpreted as "Bursting Forth, Gushing"...
region, inhabited by people claiming descent from the tribes of Dan
Tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...
(hence his name, "ha-Dani" = "the Danite"), Asher
Tribe of Asher
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher! was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
, Gad
Tribe of Gad
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Gad was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Gad was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed,...
, and Naphtali. Starting from this state, Eldad visited Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
, Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, causing everywhere a great stir among the Jews by his fanciful accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
, and by the halakhot
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
which he asserted he had brought from his native country. These halakhot, written in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, deal with the slaughtering and subsequent examination of animals (see Kosher). They differ widely from the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic ordinances, and are introduced in the name of Joshua ben Nun
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, or, according to another version, of Othniel Ben Kenaz. Eldad's accounts soon spread, and, as usual in such cases, were remolded and amplified by copyists and editors. There are no fewer than eight versions with important variations. The following is a summary of Eldad's narrative according to the most complete of these versions:
His travels
On leaving the land "on the other side of the river of KushKingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
(probably the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
)," Eldad traveled with a man of the tribe of Asher. A great storm wrecked the boat, but God prepared a plank for him and his companion, on which they floated until thrown ashore among a cannibal Ethiopian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
tribe called Romrom. (As to the existence in former times of such a tribe, see Metz in "Das Jüdische Litteraturblatt," 1877, No. 41.) The Asherite, who was fat, was immediately eaten, while Eldad was put into a pit to fatten. Soon after a fire-worshiping tribe assailed the cannibals, and Eldad was taken prisoner. He remained in captivity during four years, when his captors brought him to the province of Azania
Azania
Azania is the name that has been applied to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In Roman times—and perhaps earlier—the name referred to a portion of the Southeast African coast south of the Horn of Africa, extending south perhaps as far as modern Tanzania....
n (according to another version, to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
), where he was ransomed by a Jewish merchant for thirty-two pieces of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. Eldad continued his journey, and fell in with the tribe of Issachar
Issachar
Issachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah , and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
, dwelling among high mountains near Media
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
and Persia, their land extending ten days' journey on every side. "They are at peace with all, and their whole energy is devoted to the study of the Law; their only weapon is the knife for slaughtering animals." Their judge and prince is called Nahshon and they use the four methods of capital punishment. The tribe of Zebulon occupies the land extending from the province of Armenia to the River Euphrates. Behind the mountains of Paran the tribe of Reuben faces them. Peace reigns between these two tribes; they war as allies and divide the spoils. They possess the 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...
, the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, and the Haggadah.
The Tribe of Ephraim
Tribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph....
and half of the Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
dwell in the southern mountains of Arabia, and are very warlike.
The Tribe of Simeon
Tribe of Simeon
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Simeon was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BC, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
and the other half of the Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
are in the land of the Chazars. They take tribute from twenty-eight kingdoms, and many Muslims are subjected to them.
The tribe of Dan emigrated to the land of gold, Havilah (Kush), shortly after the separation of Judah and Israel. The tribes of Naphtali, Gad, and Asher joined the Danites later. They have a king called Adiel ben Malkiel, a prince by the name of Elizaphan, of the house of Elihab, and a judge named Abdan ben Mishael, who has the power to inflict the four capital punishments prescribed in the Law. The four tribes lead a nomadic life, and are continually at war with the five neighboring Ethiopian kings. Each tribe is in the field three months, and every warrior remains in the saddle without dismounting from one Sabbath to the next. They possess the entire Scriptures, but they do not read the Roll of Esther (not having been included in the miraculous salvation mentioned in it) nor Lamentations (to avoid its disheartening influence). They have a Talmud in pure Hebrew, but none of the Talmudic teachers is mentioned. Their ritual is introduced in the name of Joshua, who had received it from Moses, who in his turn had heard its contents from the Almighty. They speak only Hebrew (Eldad himself professed not to understand a word of Ethiopic or Arabic).
On "the other side of the river of Kush" dwell the Bene Mosheh (tribe of Levi
Levi
Levi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
). The River Sambation
Sambation
According to rabbinic literature, the Sambation is the river beyond which the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were exiled by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V.-Location:...
encircles their land. It rolls sand and stones during the six working days and rests on the Sabbath. From the first moment of Sabbath to the last, fire surrounds the river, and during that time no human being can approach within half a mile of either side of it. The four other tribes communicate with the Bene Mosheh from the borders of the river. The Bene Mosheh dwell in beautiful houses, and no unclean animal is found in their land. Their cattle and sheep as well as their fields bear twice a year. No child dies during the lifetime of its parents, who live to see a third and fourth generation. They do not close their houses at night, for there is no theft or wickedness among them. They speak Hebrew, and never swear by the name of God.
Reception of his story
This fanciful narrative, the origin of which is to be found in the haggadic literature, of which Eldad must have had a very extensive knowledge, was accepted by his contemporaries as true. The inhabitants of Kairwan were, it is true, troubled by the differences between his halakhotHalakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and those of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, and by some strange Hebrew expressions used by him; but the gaon Ẓemaḥ ben Hayyim of Sura, whose opinion they had asked, tranquilized them by saying that there was nothing astonishing in the four tribes disagreeing with the Talmud on some halakic points. Moreover, Eldad's personality, asserted the gaon, was known to him through Isaac ben Mar and R. Simḥah, with whom the Danite associated while he was in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
ia. Hisdai ibn Shaprut; cites Eldad in his letter to the king of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, and Eldad's halakot were used by both Rabbinites and Karaites as weapons in defense of their respective creeds. Talmudic authorities like Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, Abraham ben David
Abraham ben David
Rabbeinu Abraham ben David was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics...
(RABaD), and Abraham ben Maimon quote Eldad as an unquestioned authority; and lexicographers and grammarians interpret some Hebrew words according to the meaning given them in Eldad's phraseology.
Source of "Prester John"
The influence of Eldad's narrative extended beyond Jewish circles. It was the source of the apocryphal letter of the so-called "Prester JohnPrester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
," which appeared in the twelfth century. Intending to refute Eldad's assertion of the existence of independent Jewish states — an assertion contrary to the teaching of the Roman-Catholic Church — the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
writer told of a priest who ruled over the great kingdom of Ethiopia, to which were subject some Jewish tribes, including the Bene Mosheh who dwelt beyond the River Sambation. However, many writers of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
expressed doubts as to the genuineness of Eldad's narrative and his halakot, most explicitly Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
(Commentary to Exodus ii. 22) and Meïr of Rothenburg (Responsa, No. 193).
Nineteenth century opinions
"Modern" (that is, up to 1906) critics were divided in their opinions concerning Eldad. PinskerPinsker
Pinsker is a surname and may refer to:* Leon Pinsker* Simchah Pinsker, Polish Hebrew scholar and archeologist...
, Grätz
Heinrich Graetz
Heinrich Graetz was amongst the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective....
, and Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
saw in him a Karaite missionary endeavoring to discredit the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
by his statement that the four tribes did not know the names of the Tannaim
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
and Amoraim, and that their halakot were different from those of the Talmud. This opinion was refuted by Moses Schorr
Moses Schorr
Moses Schorr, Polish: Mojżesz Schorr was a Rabbi, Polish historian, politician, Bible scholar, assyriologist and orientalist. Schorr was one of the top experts on the history of the Jews in Poland. He was the first Jewish researcher of Polish archives, historical sources, and pinkasim...
and Adolf Jellinek
Adolf Jellinek
----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...
, who observed that Eldad's halakot contain rules concerning the examination of slaughtered animals which are not accepted by the Karaites. P. Frankl regarded Eldad as a mere charlatan whose sayings and doings are not worth attention. Reifmann denied outright the existence of Eldad, and considered the letters of the community of Kairwan and of Ẓemaḥ ben Ḥayyim
Zemah ben Hayyim
Zemah ben Hayyim was Gaon of Sura from 889 to 895. He was the stepbrother and successor of Nahshon ben Zadok, and has become known especially through the reply which he made to the inquiry of the Kairwanites regarding Eldad ha-Dani...
of Sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
to be forgeries. Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
was the first to analyze the contents of Eldad's book in the light of the reports of other travelers. A. Epstein followed Metz's method, and came to the conclusion that Eldad's book is somewhat of the nature of a historical novel in which truth is mixed with imagination. The halakot are, according to him, genuine, and were in use among the countrymen of Eldad, either in a province of eastern Africa or in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, where the Jews at that time knew Hebrew, but not the Talmud. For Eldad could not have been a native of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, the country of the Falashas, since there only Ge'ez
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
is spoken; and no trace of this language appears in Eldad's Hebrew; there are, however, some traces of Arabic, which Eldad must have known, although he asserted the contrary.
Some Zionist thinkers have considered Eldad ha-Dani to be an early precursor of their movement, as having presented to the Jews of his time the bright vision of a sovereign Jewish state. The radical Revisionist Zionist Israel Eldad
Israel Eldad
Israel Eldad , was a noted Israeli independence fighter and Revisionist Zionist philosopher...
, whose original family name was "Scheib", had taken "Eldad" as his nom de guerre during his involvement in the anti-British underground and later made this his official family name.
Editions
Eldad's travels have been published from the various existing versions: Mantua, 1480; Constantinople, 1516; ib.1519; Venice, 1544, 1605, 1648; Fürth, with a Judæo-German translation by S. H. Weil, 1769; Zolkiev, 1772; Jessnitz, 1772; Leghorn, 1828; in Jellinek's "Bet ha-Midrash," iii., vi.; Presburg, 1891 (ed. by Abraham Epstein). As to the differences between the various versions, see D. H. Müller, "Die Recensionen und Versionen des Eldad ha-Dani," in "Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften" (vol. xli. Vienna, 1892). Eldad's narrative was translated into Latin by G. Genebrard (Paris, 1584), and also, anonymously, into Arabic (St. Petersburg MSS. Nos. 674, 703) and into German (Dessau, 1700; Jessnitz, 1723). Extracts of the Hebrew text are given by Bartolocci ("Bibl. Rab.," i. 100) and by Johann Andreas EisenmengerJohann Andreas Eisenmenger
Johann Andreas Eisenmenger was a German Orientalist, now best known as the author of the anti-Semitic polemic, Entdecktes Judenthum .-Studies rabbinical literature:...
("Entdecktes Judenthum," ii. 527).