Genesis 5:24 in Karaite Exegesis: Printed Commentaries

Abstract

This article addresses the niche problem of interpreting the text of Gen 5:24 “Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him” in Karaite exegetical literature. It aims to investigate with what technique this crucial text for Enochian literature was read and explained in biblical commentaries belonging to the canon of Karaite exegetical literature, and especially how the meaning of the verb “took” was interpreted. The subject of this study is the passages concerning the character of Enoch that are attested in three Hebrew-language commentaries published in print, dating from the 13th, 14th, and 19th centuries. These are Sefer ha-mivḥar ve-tov ha-misḥar by Aaron ben Joseph, Sefer keter Torah by Aaron ben Elijah, and Tirat kesef by Joseph Solomon ben Moses Lutski. All these commentaries were printed by the Karaite printing press in Gozleve (Eupatoria) in the 19th century and were used for educational purposes, including in the Polish-Lithuanian Karaite communities. Except for small fragments, these commentaries have never been translated or critically edited. The editions of the commentaries on Gen 5:24 included in this article provide a representative illustration of the peculiarities of Karaite biblical exegesis in the period from the late Middle Ages onward.