Joseph Kara’s Torah commentaries: towards a reconstruction

This article presents 15 passages from Hezekiah ben Manoah’s Commentary on the Torah, arguing that they can be sourced to Joseph Kara’s lost commentary on the Torah. The identification of their origin in Kara is based on their invocation of a literary principle common in Kara’s commentary, the principle of anticipation, and on usages that are unique to Kara: ךדמלו םדק,רמול דיתעש יפל and המתת אלש. These glosses do not appear in extant northern French commentaries such as those of Rashbam, Joseph Bekhor Shor and others, leading to the conclusion that their source was Kara’s lost commentary. The article’s findings may serve as a basis for a broader study that will examine other literary principles and unique linguistic forms found in Kara, using them to identify additional sections of his lost commentary.