Johann Buxtorf, impresario of Hebrew and Jewish books

Abstract

"Johann Buxtorf was a Hebrew scholar of prodigious energy and learning who believed that Christian scholars must master not only the Hebrew Bible but also the entire range of Jewish writing. He surveyed a vast corpus of Jewish texts and used them to describe the customs and ceremonies of Ashkenazic Jews. Working as an editor and a censor, he strove--not always successfully--to produce editions of the Hebrew Bible and prayerbook that contained the best of Jewish learning but were purified of anti-Christian sentiments. This book uses unpublished sources of many kinds, from Buxtorf's marginal notes in his Jewish books to letters to him in Hebrew from Jewish print professionals, to tell his story."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Johann Buxtorf Makes a Notebook -- Compilation and Observation in Buxtorf 's Synagogue of the Jews -- Guides to Reading Jewish Texts: Buxtorf the Bibliographer -- In the Printing House: Buxtorf the Bookman -- Buxtorf and Censorship -- Tiberias: Buxtorf on the Masoretic Vowel Points and Accents.