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Sep 1, 2026
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Displaying 85 - 96 of 300
Lot 85 Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum – Basel, 1527 – Aramaic-Latin Dictionary – First Latin Edition
![Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum non tã ȧd Chaldaicos interpretes q[ue] Rabbinorũ intelligenda cómentaria necessarium, Ar](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale109/85_1.jpg "Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum – Basel, 1527 – Aramaic-Latin Dictionar")
![Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum non tã ȧd Chaldaicos interpretes q[ue] Rabbinorũ intelligenda cómentaria necessarium, Ar](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale109/85_2.jpg "Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum – Basel, 1527 – Aramaic-Latin Dictionar")
![Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum non tã ȧd Chaldaicos interpretes q[ue] Rabbinorũ intelligenda cómentaria necessarium, Ar](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale109/85_3.jpg "Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum – Basel, 1527 – Aramaic-Latin Dictionar")
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $4,000
Including buyer's premium
Aruch, Dictionarium Chaldaicum non tã ȧd Chaldaicos interpretes q[ue] Rabbinorũ intelligenda cómentaria necessarium, Aramaic-Latin dictionary, selected and adapted from Aruch by R. Natan son of Yechiel of Rome and other books, edited by Sebastian Münster. Basel: Johann Froben, 1527. First Latin edition.
Aramaic-Latin dictionary to Aramaic words in the Targum and Rabbinic literature, edited by the learned Hebraist Sebastian Münster. While the name of the work, Aruch, is borrowed directly from R. Natan's work, the original Hebrew text was evidently not available to Münster during his work on the book, and he instead relied on a German manuscript copying of Aruch HaKatzar and perhaps several other works.
Printed from right to left.
Fine illustrated title page, with angelic figures, based on a woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger.
The book begins with a printed dedication by the author, Sebastian Münster, to the Bishop of Rochester John Fischer (1469-1535) encouraging him in his Hebrew studies (dated April 1527).
Printer's device on last leaf.
Ownership inscription on bottom margins of title page, dated 1609[?].
[8], 434, [2] pages. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Worming to first leaves, affecting text and title frame (significant worming to one leaf). Verso of title page repaired with paper. Several loose and partially detached gatherings. Old cardboard binding.
Joseph Prijs, Basle, no. 26.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $800
Sold for: $1,000
Including buyer's premium
"Dictionarium trilingue, in quo scilicet Latinis vocabulis in ordinem alphabeticum digestis, respondent Graeca & Hebraica" – Shilush Leshonot, a Latin-Greek-Hebrew dictionary, edited by Sebastian Münster. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1530.
Latin-Greek-Hebrew dictionary, following the order of the Latin alphabet. Printed from left to right.
On verso of title page, introduction by editor, Sebastian Münster, on the importance of the present work to students of Hebrew (dated July 1530).
Initial letter panels decorated with fine woodcuts.
Printer's device on last page.
238, [1] pages. 29 cm. Overall good condition. Stains (dark stains to last leaf). Light wear. Worming in one place across all leaves, affecting text. Tears, including small open tears to inner margins of title page, repaired with paper strip. New leather binding. Housed in fabric-coated cardboard slipcase.
Joseph Prijs, Basle, no. 32.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $800
Sold for: $1,000
Including buyer's premium
Mitzvot Lo Taaseh UMitzvot Aseh, Praecepta mosaica sexcenta atque tredecim – Kitzur Smag, an abridgment of Sefer Mitzvot Gadol by R. Moshe of Coucy by an unknown author, with translation and additions in Latin by Sebastian Münster. Basel: Heinrich Petri, [1533]. Hebrew and Latin.
Separate title pages for Hebrew and Latin parts.
First edition of Kitzur Smag. The identity of the author of this work sparked a controversy. No manuscripts of this work are known. Some (such as the Chida) attribute the abridgment to R. Moshe of Coucy himself, while others attribute it to Sebastian Münster, the translator and editor, who authored it for polemical purposes to ridicule Judaism. Bibliographer Joseph Prijs demonstrates the Hebrew text was not authored by Münster, and R. Avraham Chavatzelet suggests an author among the exiles of the Portuguese Expulsion in 1497. See enclosed material.
In many copies, two leaves with principles of Christianity were defaced (by Jewish owners of the book). In the present copy the leaves are intact.
Latin inscriptions on blank leaves at end of Latin part.
Printer's device on last leaf of Hebrew part.
[168] leaves; [80] leaves (last three leaves of Latin part blank). Approx. 15 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dark dampstains at beginning of Hebrew and Latin parts. Tears, including open tears to title pages of both parts, repaired with paper. New leather binding.
Joseph Prijs, Basle, no. 37.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $2,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Binyamin Ze'ev, halachic responsa and rulings, Parts I-II, by R. Binyamin Ze'ev son of R. Matitiah. Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1538. Both parts in one volume.
The present copy contains handwritten corrections of the author, R. Binyamin Ze'ev: on pp. 73b, 210b, 260a, 337b, 405b and 501b. On p. 456b, a lengthy addition in his handwriting, signed with the following words: "So it seems to me, the layman" (as R. Binyamin Ze'ev commonly refers to himself in his book).
Glosses by another writer (in early Italian script) and many inscriptions with notations within text (emphasis and manicules). Most glosses by this writer are summaries of content, but two include commentary (as on leaf 399).
This book was brought to press by its author, R. Binyamin Ze'ev son of Matitiah of Arta, Greece, one of the greatest halachic authorities of his generation, and was the first book of halachic responsa to be published at the initiative of its author.
The book aroused great controversy due to several halachic decisions it contains which some leading Italian rabbis strongly contested, and R. Binyamin was dismissed from his position as rabbi of Arta in its wake. Some changes were made during the course of the printing, including the omission of sections 255-256 (at the end of Part I) "in order to maintain peace", and their replacement with two leaves of new text.
The book was proofread solely by R. Binyamin Ze'ev, as he writes in the colophon at the end of the book, and the great trouble entailed allowed mistakes to creep into the printing. After the initial printing, R. Binyamin Ze'ev proofread and corrected some of the copies by hand. This book is ascribed great importance in halachic literature, though some halachic authorities banned it following the opposition it aroused.
The Maharshal, his contemporary, who opposed relying on the halachic decisions in the book, notably relates to the errors which in his view crept into it: "If he is righteous, why did G-d allow an error to come about through him? Was he not the author, who brought the book to print in person?". The Rama, however, lists the author among the leading halachic authorities and relies upon his decisions. (On the book, the controversy it aroused and the differences between the copies, see: Meir Benayahu, Mavo LeSefer Binyamin Ze'ev, Jerusalem, 1989).
The last three leaves contain: a poem by Matityahu, the author's son (Thesaurus of Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry, III, p. 80, no. 245), and a eulogy by the author for his son R. Matityahu; praise of Yaakov son of Matityahu Foa for those who assisted in the printing of the book.
367, [2], 376-399, 399-575 leaves. 22 cm. Most leaves in overall good condition, first and last leaves in fair condition. Stains, including dampstains (dark stains to first and last leaves). Tears and open tears, including large tears to title page, affecting text, repaired with paper to both sides of title page. Worming in a few places. Early leather binding, with defects.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $700
Sold for: $1,375
Including buyer's premium
Two grammar books by R. Eliyahu Bachur, printed in Basel, 1539:
• Masoret HaMasoret, on grammar and the Masorah, by R. Eliyahu Bachur-Ashkenazi. Basel: Heinrich Petri, [1539].
Signature on title page and ownership inscription on second leaf of "R. Herz Medelsheim" – apparently Herz Cerfbeer of Medelsheim, brother-in-law of R. David Sinzheim, author of Yad David, French Jewish leader, lobbyist and official who provided food to the government, served as the head of Jewish affairs in Alsace, and was the only Jew granted the right to live in Strasbourg at the time. Other inscriptions to title page and several leaves.
Printed and bound with:
• Tuv Ta'am, on cantillation, by R. Eliyahu Bachur-Ashkenazi. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1539.
Second edition of both books, edited by Sebastian Münster. Hebrew colophon (from first Venice edition, 1538), and on verso, Latin colophon with up-to-date printing information.
Both books were printed together with continuous collation, along with another book, a Latin epitome of both books, by Sebastian Münster, not in the present copy.
Masoret HaMasoret: [128] leaves. Tuv Ta'am: [56] leaves. Both leaves of last gathering of Tuv Ta'am, before last leaf with printer's device, are blank. 13.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Light wear. Significant worming to margins of some leaves of Tuv Ta'am. Small marginal tears to several leaves. Stamps. New leather binding.
Joseph Prijs, Basle, no. 58.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $400
Sold for: $1,188
Including buyer's premium
The Jewish War, De bello Iudaico libri septem, by Flavius Josephus. Lyon: Sebastian Gryphius, 1539. Latin.
The Jewish War, in Latin translation. Volume III of the complete works of Josephus, with printer's device of Gryphius – a griffon with the body, tail and hind legs of a lion, and head and wings of an eagle, a play on the printer's name.
The Jewish War (De Bello Judaico) was evidently authored in Aramaic between 75 and 79 CE (no original Aramaic manuscript survives, but Josephus himself supervised the received Greek version). This work recounts the history of the Roman conquest of Judea in the first century CE. The core of the book describes the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire that took place in the years 66-70, including a description of the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple.
The work is based on Josephus' firsthand experience as commander of the Jewish forces of the Galilee and his capture by the Romans. The work's tone is apologetic, aiming both to reconcile the Empire with the Jews and to prevent a further Jewish rebellion. Apart from the information on the Jewish-Roman war, Roman army tactics and the like, this work is of singular importance as a primary source for first-century Judaism. The Latin translation of the work is ascribed to Rufinus of Aquileia (344/345-411 CE).
582 pages, [9] leaves. 18 cm. Good condition. Stains. Light wear and stains. Puncture to title page. Ink inscriptions on several pages. Parchment binding.
Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $600
Sold for: $4,500
Including buyer's premium
Iosephus Hebraicus diu, desideratus, et nunc ex Constantinopolitano, exemplari iuxta Hebraismum opera Sebastiani Munsteri uersus – Yosifon, by Yosef ben Gurion. Bilingual Hebrew-Latin edition, translated and edited by Sebastian Münster. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1541.
At the beginning of the book is a Hebrew title page with small woodcut decorations. Detailed divisional title page for Latin part (printed left to right), with all printing information.
Woodcut initial panels in Latin part. Hebrew text vocalized.
Printed after first edition (Mantua, ca. 1475, notwithstanding the title page's reference to Constantinople), but the beginning and end of the book are omitted from the present edition.
Yosifon is a historical chronicle of the Jewish people from the Second Temple period until the Jewish Revolt. Scholars now believe that the book was authored in southern Italy in the 10th century as an adaptation of the Latin translations of Josephus.
Printer's device on last leaf of both parts.
Old, blurred non-Hebrew inscriptions to endpapers at beginning of Hebrew part.
[132] pages; [12], 178, [2] pages. 27.5 cm. Most leaves in good-fair condition, first leaves of Latin part in fair condition. Stains, including dampstains (many traces of former dampness to beginning of Latin part and several other leaves). Wear. Marginal tears to several leaves. Many defects and rubbing marks to Latin title page, affecting text. New leather binding, with large portions of an early binding attached. Housed in fabric-coated cardboard slipcase.
Joseph Prijs, Basle, no. .60
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $3,000
Including buyer's premium
Both parts of the Michlol by R. David Kimchi – the Radak (Sefer HaDikduk, also known as Michlol, and Sefer HaShorashim), printed by Daniel Bomberg, in one volume:
• Michlol, on Hebrew grammar, by the Radak, with commentary by R. Eliyahu Ashkenazi (Bachur). Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1545.
Large format. A small-format edition was printed concurrently.
Praise and poem by R. Shlomo son of Mazal Tov from Constantinople 1493 edition printed on last leaf, followed by colophon.
• Sefer HaShorashim, second part of the Michlol by the Radak. Venice: Daniel Bomberg by Cornelio Adelkind, 1546.
Two poems in praise of edition by R. Eliyahu Bachur printed on last leaf, followed by colophon.
At top of title page of Sefer HaShorashim, early ownership inscriptions in Ashkenazic cursive script: "Yaakov son of R. Eliezer Shalit Heilprun" and his son "Avraham Heilprun" – the father may be R. Yaakov Heilprin of Lublin (d. 1636), son of R. Eliezer Lipman Heilprin of Lublin, a relative of R. Meir (Maharam) of Lublin and an ancestor of R. Yechiel Heilprin, author of Seder HaDorot. For another autograph by him, see Lot 98.
Next to both signatures is another ownership inscription (in early Ashkenazic script contemporaneous with printing): "Mordechai son of my elderly father Meir… Nikolsburg".
Two books in one volume. Michlol: 69 leaves. Sefer HaShorashim: 143, [1] leaf. Colorful edges. Approx. 27 cm. Michlol in good condition, Sefer HaShorashim in good-fair condition. Stains, including light dampstains to Sefer HaShorashim. Tears to title page of Sefer HaShorashim, including open tear affecting title frame and text on verso of leaf, repaired with paper (another repair across inner margins of title page). Light scraping of stamps from title page of Michlol. Close trimming, affecting printed marginal notes, to several leaves of Michlol and many leaves of Sefer HaShorashim. New binding with leather spine (wear and defects to spine).
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $500
Sold for: $813
Including buyer's premium
Sefer HaShorashim, second part of the Michlol by R. David Kimchi (the Radak). Venice: Daniel Bomberg by Cornelio Adelkind, 1546.
On title page, ownership inscription in square script of "Chaim son of R. Moshe Yitzchak Pincherle of Gorizia". At top of title page, signature (in Ashkenazic script of ca. 19th century): "David HaLevi Horowitz", with stamp.
Several short handwritten glosses. On p. 43b, interesting lengthy gloss (in early Ashkenazic cursive script) criticizing the Polish confusion of Chet and Kaf as more serious than the German confusion of Hei and Chet.
On last leaf, two poems in praise of the edition by R. Eliyahu Bachur. At the end of the second poem is a handwritten line of poetry mocking R. Eliyahu Bachur's haughtiness.
On verso of back endpaper, birth inscriptions in Ashkenazic cursive script, dated 1815-1833.
143, [1] leaves. 31.5 cm. Varying condition; title page in fair condition, most leaves in fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains and traces of former dampness. Wear and creases. Marginal tears to title page and other leaves. Worming. Title page detached. Without binding.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $300
Sold for: $625
Including buyer's premium
Kol Bo, year-round laws and customs, including kosher laws, monetary laws and more. Venice: Marco Antonio Giustiniani, 1547.
Kol Bo is an early halachic work, printed anonymously. Over the years, the identity of its author was subject to dispute. Today it is considered an early edition of the work Orchot Chaim by R. Aharon HaKohen.
Signatures on title page: "Yitzchak Altaras". On title page and leaf 1 (of second sequence), signatures: "Shlomo son of R. Yitzchak Altaras" (signature on title page partially deleted).
R. Yitzchak Altaras, an important member of the Venetian community in the early 18th century. His son R. Shlomo Altaras immigrated from Venice to Split (Bosnia, present-day Croatia). He later emigrated to Eretz Israel, settling in Aleppo on the way (where he passed away in the 1770s-1780s and was eulogized by the city rabbis). R. Shlomo Altaras brought with him books and manuscripts, mainly kabbalistic, from Italy and Bosnia (see: R. Moshe Hillel, Ohel Re'em, p. 162, note 73).
Marginal glosses and inscriptions to several leaves (Hebrew and non-Hebrew).
Censorship expurgation.
4, 143, 145-158 leaves. Lacking leaf 144. Approx. 29 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including large dampstains, and traces of former dampness with mold stains. Wear. Tears and open tears, to title page and other leaves (large open tear to last leaf), affecting title frame and text, repaired with paper. Worming, affecting text. New parchment binding.
Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $1,800
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Book of Tehillim, with simple commentary and kabbalistic commentary, by R. Shlomo Attiya, a disciple of R. Levi ibn Habib. Venice: printer not indicated, 1549. Only edition of commentary.
Large-format edition of the Book of Tehillim. The verses of Tehillim are printed in square letters, in two columns in the center of the page (next to the inner margins), with the commentary in Rashi script around it.
The commentary incorporates a simple explanation of difficult words and ideas, as well as deeper comments according to the kabbalistic method.
On the verso of the title page is printed an introduction by the author, which is a valuable historical documentation of the Jewish communities and rabbis of the period, in the generation following the Spanish Expulsion.
The commentator details at great length the Torah scholars he met in various cities, including Salonika, Adrianople, Constantinople, Petra and cities throughout Italy (Venice, Ferrara, Padua, Mantua, Ancona, Verona, Rome and Cremona). Throughout the introduction, the author mentions many dozens of rabbis and Torah scholars as a record for future times.
At the beginning of the introduction, the author also relates some personal information on his early studies under R. Avraham Samsol, R. Yosef Fasi and R. Levi ibn Habib.
The author, R. Shlomo son of Shem Tov Attiya (d. 1560) was a Torah scholar and kabbalist of the 16th century. Born in Salonika, he studied under R. Yosef Fasi and R. Levi ibn Habib. He later immigrated to Eretz Israel, where he passed away in 1560. R. Shlomo Attiya was one of the first authors to write an exhaustive commentary covering all of the Book of Tehillim.
On title page, signature in Italian cursive script: "Aharon Salem". On leaves of book: short glosses and inscriptions, and censorship expurgations.
42, 41-65 leaves. 28.5 cm. Fair condition. Many stains, including large dark dampstains and traces of former dampness. Worming, slightly affecting text, and tears, partially repaired with paper strips. Deleted stamps on title page and other leaves, with paper repairs over some. Old binding.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value
Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Sep 1, 2026
Opening: $500
Sold for: $1,750
Including buyer's premium
Three books in one volume, two Hebrew works with Latin translations, with another book in Latin:
• Ruach HaChen, Physica hebraea, philosophical-scientific work attributed to R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon, with Latin translation by the apostate Johann Isaac Levita. Cologne: Iacobus Soter, 1555. Hebrew and Latin on facing pages.
This work is attributed to R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon, but there is no evidence that he is the true author. Some attribute the work to R. Yaakov son of R. Abba Mari Anatoli, a Provençal scholar, but this attribution also appears to be erroneous, leaving the author's identity unknown. The book has been published in many editions over time.
• De Astrologia, Rabbi Mosis filii Meimon epistola, letter of the Rambam on astrology, addressed to the rabbis of Marseille, with Latin translation by the apostate Johann Isaac Levita. Cologne: Iacobus Soter, 1555. Hebrew and Latin on facing pages.
With Latin introduction (some words in Hebrew).
The work comprises the letter of the Rambam to the sages of Marseille regarding astrology and its use, and the Rambam's opinion absolutely discounting it.
The Hebrew text of the letter was first printed with Responsa and Letters of the Rambam (Constantinople, ca. 1514).
• Bound with:
Anacreonticorum Odae, by Johann Aurpach. Munich: Adam Berg, 1570. Latin.
Latin poetry in the style of Anacreon.
Latin ownership inscriptions on title page and blank leaf at end of book.
Ruach HaChen: [15], 157, [2] pages. Letter of the Rambam: [43] leaves. Anacreonticorum Odae: [46] leaves. 15 cm. Partially dark paper. Fair condition. Stains. Much worming to margins, affecting text. New binding, with leather spine and corners.
Category
Early Printed Books – 16th-17th Centuries
Catalogue Value