Description
HEBREW ANTIQUITIES
Book Summary
This work gathers the Hebraist exegetical treatises that Benito Arias Montano included in the Apparatvs sacer of the Biblia Regia. Edited and coordinated by Luis Gómez Canseco, this edition offers a profound analysis of aspects such as the symbology of gestures, the interpretation of biblical measurements, sacred geography, temple construction, and the meaning of ornaments in the Old Testament. It is a key piece for understanding 16th-century humanist erudition and the controversies surrounding the most ambitious polyglot Bible of its time, while also complementing the Libro de José, a work that received the National Translation Award.
What is it about?
The work focuses on the Antiqvitatvm Ivdaiicarvm libri IX, where Arias Montano displays an exhaustive knowledge of Hebrew antiquities. Through these treatises, the author examines elements of the biblical world that go beyond the letter of the sacred text: from ritual gestures to the dimensions of Solomon’s Temple, to the geography of the Holy Land and the chronology of biblical time. These studies, with their marked Hebraist character, were one of the main causes of the opposition faced by the Biblia Regia, as they addressed Jewish tradition from a philological and symbolic perspective. The current edition, prepared by Luis Gómez Canseco, presents these texts with academic rigor, facilitating access for researchers and readers interested in Renaissance biblical exegesis.
Main Topics
- Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics of the Old Testament in the 16th century.
- Study of Hebrew antiquities: biblical gestures, measurements, geography, and time.
- Symbology and meaning of ornaments and sacred structures in the Jewish tradition.
- Controversy surrounding the Biblia Regia and the role of Hebraist studies in humanist Europe.
- Critical edition and translation of Renaissance Latin texts.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at researchers, philologists, historians of religion, and advanced students of theology or biblical studies. It will also be of great interest to specialists in Renaissance humanism, as well as readers with an academic background who wish to delve into biblical exegesis from a scholarly and contextualized perspective.
What this book provides
- Access to a critical edition of Arias Montano's Hebraist treatises, fundamental to understanding the Biblia Regia.
- A detailed vision of Old Testament symbology and practices from the perspective of 16th-century humanist erudition.
- Historical and philological contextualization that allows for an understanding of the religious and academic controversies of the era.
- An essential complement for those studying the Libro de José and the work of the Spanish humanist.
- Academic rigor endorsed by the University of Huelva and the Bibliotheca Montaniana collection.
Technical Sheet
- Author: Arias Montano, Benito
- Publisher: University of Huelva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literature: history and criticism, Literary studies: c. 1500–c. 1800, History
- Collection: Bibliotheca Montaniana
- Binding: Other
- Publication date: 2013
- Number of pages: 777
- Weight: 3827 g
Editorial Assessment
This edition of Hebrew Antiquities represents a significant contribution to the study of Spanish biblical humanism. The work of Arias Montano, carefully edited by Luis Gómez Canseco, offers specialists first-hand material to analyze Renaissance exegesis and the intellectual tensions it generated. Its length and density make it a required reference for university libraries and research centers, rather than for a general audience. The interested reader will find here a high-level philological work that illuminates a little-known but essential facet of 16th-century erudition.