David Kimhi

David Kimhi (Hebrew: דוד קמחי‎‎, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK (רד"ק) (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian.

Kimhi was born in Narbonne, Provence, the youngest son of Rabbi Joseph Kimhi and the brother of Rabbi Moses Kimhi, both also biblical commentators and grammarians.

His father died while David was still as a child, and Kimhi was raised by his brother Moses. Later, he supported himself by teaching Talmud to the young. He was well versed in the whole range of Hebrew literature, and became the most illustrious representative of his name. Works of the Kimhi family were underwritten by the Ibn Yahya family of Lisbon, Portugal.

Kimhi saw himself primarily as a compiler and summarizer. As a noted Hebrew grammarian, his book Michlol (מכלול‎) and his dictionary of the Hebrew language called Sefer Hashorashim (Book of Roots) (ספר השורשים‎) draws heavily on the earlier works of Rabbi Judah ben David Hayyuj and Rabbi Jonah ibn Janah, as well as from the work of his father. These two books were originally written as one, although over the years they have come to be printed separately. This book, while based on his predecessors, shows a significant amount of innovation, stakes out new territory in his scholarly fields, and from a methodological point of view is superior to what came before. For example, in Michlol, Kimhi expounds on his predecessors' opinions in a clear, straightforward way with a comprehensive approach to the Hebrew structure. Sefer Hashorashim highlights his talent as a writer because of its logical organization, particularly the way he bases his definitions upon etymology and comparisons between languages. Another of Ḳimḥi's works, "'Eṭ Sofer," (עט סופר‎) was a sort of abridged version of Michlol and acted as a manual for Biblical scribes. This was a necessary compilation of rules for the writing of Bible-rolls, Masoretic notes, and accents, due to widespread ignorance among the scribes of the 12th century.

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