JACOB, D. CHAJIM B. ISAAC IBN ADONIA, the celebrated editor of Bomberg's Rabbinic Bible, was born at Tunis about 147o. When about forty years of age, circa 151o, he was driven from his peaceful home and literary labours. He then went to Italy, lived for some time in Rome and in Flor ence, and not finding any occupation he at last went to Venice, where through the exertions of R. Chajim Alton, he became connected, in 152o, with the celebrated Hebrew printing-office of Daniel Bomberg as corrector of the press. He published (1) the celebrated lod Ha-Chezaka of Maimonides, Venice 1524; and (2) edited, in four volumes folio, the Rabbinic Bible called Bomberg's second Rab binic Bible, Venice 1524-1525, the first being the one edited by Felix Pratensis [PRATENSIS]. The following are the contents of this stupendous work.
The first volume, embracing the Pentateuch (rron), begins, i., with the elaborate introduction of the editor, in which he discusses the Afassora, the Keri, and Kethib, the variations between the Tal mud and the Masson., the Tikune Sopherim onpri nriviD), and the order of the larger Massora ; ii., an index of the sections of the whole O. T. according to Massora ; and iii. Ibn Ezra's preface to the Pentateuch. Then follow the five books of Moses in Hebrew, with the Chaldee paraphrases of Onkelos and Jonathan b. Uziel, and the commentaries of Rashi and Ibn Ezra, the margins being filled uF with as much of the Massora as they would admit.
The second volume, comprising the earlier prophets (iVIT.M1 e., Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings, has the Hebrew text, the Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan b. Uziel, and the commen taries of Rashi, Kimchi, and Levi b. Gershon, and the Massora in the margin.
The third volume, comprising the later prophets e., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets, contains the He brew text, the Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan b. Uziel, the commentaries of Rashi, which extend over all the books in this volume, of Dm Ezra on Isaiah and the minor prophets, and of Kimchi on Jeremiah, and the Massora in the margin.
The fourth volume, comprising the Hagiographa (IVC1117), gives the Hebrew text, the Chaldee paraphrase of Joseph the blind, the commentaries of Rashi on the Psalms, Ezra, Nehemiah, the five Megilloth, and Chronicles ; of Ibn Ezra on the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, the five Megil loth, Ezra, and Nehemiah ; of Levi b. Gershon on Ploverbs and Daniel ; of Saadia on Daniel and the second Targum of Esther. Appended to this volume are, i., the Massora which could not get into the margin of the text, in alphabetical order, with Jacob b. Chajim's directions ; ii., the various read ings of Ben-Asher and Ben-Naphtali, and the Eastern and Western Codd. ; and iii., a treatise upon the points and accents, containing the work 4n-ri 1-11nril "nprt or 11p1ri sZ by Moses Nakdan. Jacob b. Chajim bestowed the utmost labour in amassing the Massora and in purifying and arrang ing those materials which Felix Pratensis published very incorrectly in the first edition of Bomberg's Rabbinic Bible. He was, moreover, the first ho, in his elaborate introduction, furnished the Biblical student with a treatise on the Massora ; and his edition of the Bible is of great importance to the criticism of the text, inasmuch as from it most of the Hebrew Bibles are printed. Kennicott pub lished a Latin tmnslation of Jacob b. Chajim's valuable introduction from an anonymous MS. in the Bodleian Library in an abridged form (Comp. Dizertation the second, Oxford 1759, p. 229-244), and Ginsburg has published an English transla tion of the whole with explanatory notes, ia the yournal of Sacred Literature 1863. In after life Jacob b. Chajim embraced Christianity, a circum stance which will account for Elias Levita's vitu perations against him Or= i1111V 'MUM 4r111 Z1P.)).—C. D. G.