NORZI, JEDIDJA SALOMON DI, B. ABRAHAM, was born in Mantua about 156o, and derived his family name from the fact that his parents resided in Norzi or Norica, a small town in the district of Spoleto. He studied under Samuel Cases, and, through his great piety and profound learning, was elected to the Co-rabbinate, first with Luliano Shalom Cases, who died in 163o, then with Eliezer Cases, and, from 1634 up to the time of his death, was co-rabbi with Jacob Chajim Cases. As early as 1588 Norzi was favour ably known among his literary co-religionists through a work on the jurisprudence of the He brews olzivro rktc,), which was published in Mantua 1597. The work, however, to which he devoted the whole of his life, and through which he immortalized his name, is the critical and Mas soretic commentary on the entire Hebrew scrip tures. To render his critical labours as complete as possible, and to edit the Hebrew text in as perfect a condition as solid learning and conscientious in dustry could make it, Norzi left no resources un touched. He searched through the Midrashim, the Talmud, and the whole cycle of rabbinic literature, for various readings. He consulted all the Massoretic works, both published and unpub lished ; he collated all the MSS. to which he could get access, amongst which was the MS. from To ledo of the year 1277, now Cod. de Rossi 7S2 ; he compared all the best printed editions, and availed himself of the learning and Critical labours of his predecessors and friends, especially of the MS. work called rt-m+ Y'D rrcn, the Massaro, the Hedge of the Law, by Meier b. Todros Abulfia of Borgos,* and of the co-operation of his friend Menacham di Lonzano of Palestine,t who also furnished Norzi with important MSS. from his
own library ; and though he lived to finish the work to which he consecrated his life, having corn; pleted it in 1626, and called it r1D 113, The Re pairer of the Breach, after Is. lviii, 12, he did not live to see the fruit of his labours printed, as he died about 1630. His work remained in MS. for about 112 years. The commentary. was then edited by Raphael Chajim Basila, and published for the first time, with Hebrew text, under the altered title 4"ty nron, a Gift Offering, he Oblation of Salo mon Yedittla (the name of Norzi, being an abbreviation of nrAY), Mantua, 1742-44 in four parts and 2 vols. 4to. Basila, the learned editor, added some notes, and also appended a list of goo variations. A second edition appeared in Vienna, 1816. The commentary on the Pentateuch alone, with the Hebrew text, appeared in Dobrovna 1804 ; on the Prophets and the Hagiographa, with the Hebrew text, Vilna circa 182o. Norzi also wrote. a treatise on the accents, entitled intinri n*Nn>, which he quotes in his commentary on Gen. i. 11 ;‘ Num. xi. 15 ; I Sam. xv. 6 ; Esth. i. 6 ; ii. 8 ; I. xxxviii. 2 ; Eccles. ii. 7 ; and a treatise on the ritz called nDn which he quotes in the Comment. on Gen. i. I1, but which have not as yet come to light. Comp. Steinschneider, Catalogus Lib. Heir. in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, col. 2376-77 ; Fiirst, Bibliotheca 7ndaica, vol. iii. p. 39, 4o.—C. D. G.