Between Intellect and Intoxication: An Exploration of Tanḥum ha-Yerushalmi's Commentary to the Book of Jonah

LITTLE IS KNOWN about the life of Tanhum ha-Yerushalmi, the thirteenth-century exegete who has been dubbed "the Ibn Ezra of the East."1 His commentaries were first introduced to the West by Edward Pococke (1604-91), who had obtained manuscripts of Tanhum's commentaries while visiting the Near East.2 Yet it was not until the mid-twentieth century that scholarly attention began to focus more seriously on his oeuvre.3 Tanhum's commentary to the Book of Jonah* * * 4 in particular has been the subject of a number of studies, since it is in that work that he presented an extended allegorical interpretation (ta'wlt) of the text.5 However, while scholars have analyzed Tanhum's "literalist" exegesis in some detail, they have yet to explore his method of allegoresis and central elements of his philosophical worldview in depth.6 This essay is intended as a preliminary step in that direction.Despite scholarly attempts to cull biographical data from his works, little can be said about the life of Tanhum ha-Yerushalmi with certainty. Indeed, we know more about his death than his life: according to the heading of a poem recorded in his son's dlvoan, Tanhum died in Fustat on Wednesday, 21 Tammuz, 5051 a.m. (June 27, 1291 C.E.).7 It is not clear whether the gentilic Ha-Yerushalmi - in Arabic al-Quddi, al-Muqaddadi, or al-Maqdadi-was applied to him personally or inherited patrilineally (as may have been the case with his son, Joseph b. Tanhum HaYerushalmi).8 In response to Bachers attempt to identify his profession based on his familiarity with the specialized terminology of medicine, Hadassa Shy has pointed out that Tanhum in fact employed the technical terminology of other fields as well, such as astronomy, physics, and even carpentry.9 Efforts to prove that Tanhum was either of Palestinian birth or had spent a period living there based on geographical and topographical references have similarly proven inconclusive.10 The primary cultural and intellectual factors that informed Tanhum's own work were drawn from the Andalusian exegetical tradition and the works of Maimonides,11 but the impact of mystical trends is also quite evident from a careful reading of his works.12Tanhum produced at least two major works: a commentary on the Prophets and Hagiographa titled Kitab al-ljaz wal-bayan (The Book of Simplification and Elucidation),13 and a lexicon of Maimonides' Midhneh torah titled Al-murdhid al-kafi (The Sufficient Guide).14 Kitab al-ljaz wal-bayan was accompanied by a comprehensive introduction titled Al-kulliyyat,15 fragments of which are extant in manuscript.16 It has also been suggested based on several fragmentary manuscripts that Tanhum composed a commentary on the Pentateuch,17 although Wechsler has expressed his skepticism concerning the attribution of these texts.18 Throughout his works, Tanhum refers to a broad range of exegetes, grammarians, lexicographers, and translators, in addition to classical rabbinic literature.19Hadassa Shy suggests that Tanhum's literaiy works be viewed through the lens of Maimonides' own project: Maimonides states that once a Jew has studied the Hebrew Bible, he20 is obliged to study the Oral Law, of which the Miahneh torah is a complete summaiy.21 According to Shy, Tanhum's works are intended to render these twin pillars of the Torah- the Hebrew Bible and the Miahneh torah-accessible to their readers.22 Why earlier biblical commentaries did not suffice for Tanhum is not certain, but some tentative suggestions can be made: (1) the earlier JudeoArabic commentaries tended either to be lacunose, often selecting veiy few expressions to discuss from within an entire chapter,23 or excessively long-winded;24 (2) the geonic commentaries may not have been perceived by Tanhum to have been truly philosophical;25 (3) Maimonides' exegetical approach had yet to be applied systematically in a commentaiy in Arabic; (4) Tanhum wished to synthesize a wide range of existing exegetical and linguistic material in order to facilitate easier study. …