FRANKFURTER, MOSES R. SIMEON. This distinguished Hebraist flourished between 170c and 1762, was judge of the Jewish community, and a celebrated typographer in Amsterdam, and wrote glosses on the Pentateuch, which he called mnp rimn, a small offering ; on Joshua, Judges, and 2 Samuel, and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Jonah, which he de nominated r61-ii ;min, a great ofering ; and on the Psalms, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Chronicles, which he called mnim nrun, an even ing ofering-. The work, however, which immortal ized Frankfurter's name, is The Great Rabbinic Bible, over which he spent the greater part of bis life, and which he edited with the utmost care. The scholar ship, the perseverance, and the fortune required to edit this work, and its great utility to the Biblical student, may be judged of from the following analy sis of its contents. This gigantic work is called rtyn 1-1,rip, the Congregation of Moses, and was published in Amsterdam in 1724-1727, four volumes royal folio.
The first volztme, embracing the Pentateuch (n-rin), begins with an Index Rerum, and a Trea tise on the design of the Law by Obadiah Sephorno ; a general Introduction ; an Index of all the chap ters, and another of all the sections of the O. T., giving the commencement of the verses ; Intro ductions by Chaskuni, Levi b. Gershon, Sephorno, and Ibn Ezra. Then follow the five books of Moses in Hebrew and Chaldee by Onkelos, in two parallel columns, surrounded by the Massora, Commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Levi b. Ger shon, Jacob b. Asher (Baal Ha-Turinz), Chas kuni, Jacob de Illescas (avi Sephorno, and Frankfurter (ruvn ynlp), the editor.
The second volume, comprising the earlier Pro phets (=inn a,N+=), e., Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, begins with Prefaces of David Kinichi, Levi b. Gershon, Samuel b. Laniado, Frankfurter, etc. Whereupon follow the Hebrew and the Cbaldee, with Commentaries by Rashi, D. Kimchi, Levi b. Gershon, Samuel b. Laniado CV+ 49:), Frankfurter (ninp min), and notes on Judges and Samuel by Isaiah de Trani. At the end of Judges (p. 97, etc.), are added tIte notes of Aaron b. Chajim, called rim; n9, the heart of Aaron on Joshua and Judges ; and at the end of Samuel (p. 278, etc.), are Meier Arama's notes on Isaiah and Jeremiah, called nvin) light and perfection.
The third volume, comprising the later Prophets onrint: D'N''Z)), i.e., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor Prophets, begins with Pre faces by a grandson of Laniado, Frankfurter, and Be-Rab, then follow the Hebrew text and the Chaldce Paraphrase, surrounded by the Massora and the Commentaries of Rashi and D. Kimchi,
which extend over all the books in this volume ; of Ihn Ezra on Isaiah and the minor Prophets ; I3e gab owinv ,n)i.b) on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the minor Prophets ; Meier Arama (a,n)rn wirs) on Isaiah and Jeremiah ; Samuel Laniado on Isaiah ; Frankfurter (;41-ii min) on Isaiah, Jere miah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Jonah ; Almosino on Hosea, Habakkuk, and Micah ; and Sephorno on Jonah, Habakkuk, and Zechariah.
The fourth volume, comprising the Hagiographa i.e., the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Five Megilloth, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and nicles, begins with Prefaces of Ibn Ezra, furter, Ibn Tachia, and then follow the Hebrew text and the Chaldee Paraphrase, with Comment aries of (I.) Rashi on the Psalms, Proverbs, Job; Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles ; (2.) ibtz Ezra on the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song. of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah ; (3.) Biz .7act'a on tbe Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles ; (4.) Si75/zorno on the Psalms, Job, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes ; (5.) Yaabez clan rron) on the Psalms, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles ; (6.) Levi b. Gershon on Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Daniel ; (7.) Frankfurter (m,v nriin) on Pro verbs, Ruth, Esther, and Chronicles ; (S.) D. latuchi on Daniel and Chronicles ; (9.) Menachenz Ha-Meieri on Proverbs ; (to.) David Ibtt Yachja (7D1 ap) on Proverbs ; (r t.) Nachniania'es on Proverbs ; (r2.) Farissol on Job ; (13.) Simon Duran (nn.ln mrriN) on Job ; (14.) Anima on the Song of Songs ; (15.) Saadia on Daniel ; and (r6.) Samuel Alepo on Psalms cxix. -cxxxiv.
Whereupon follow the Great Massora, the various readings of the Eastern and Western Codd., a Trca tise upon the Accents, and the differences between Ben-Asher and Ben-Naplathali. This work, as will be seen front its contents, constitutes in itself a library of Biblical literature and exegesis, and is in dispensable to the historico - critical expositor.— C. D. G.