Given the availability of literal commentaries
to the Bible, including those of Rashi, R. Joseph Kara, Samuel Ben Meir
(Rashbam), R. Abraham Ibn Ezra and others, one of the key questions that vexed
R. Joseph Bekhor Shor and his contemporaries was whether there was a need for
yet another additional Bible commentary. The argument put forward here suggests
that R. Joseph Bekhor Shor chose a path that combined continuity and
innovation. The fluid movement between the familiar and the novel is the main contribution
of R. Joseph Bekhor Shor's exegesis. While remaining committed to the
traditional approach to interpretation, R. Joseph Bekhor Shor succeeded in
paving new pathways and introducing original methods that had not previously
been developed by his predecessors.
This book serves as a vital tool for researchers
of the Bible commentaries of Northern France, for those who study the teachings
of R. Joseph Bekhor Shor and for all who enjoy studying the Bible and its
commentaries.