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Adeni, Solomon ben Joshua

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

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Arabian author and Talmudist, who lived during the first half of the seventeenth century at Sanaa and Aden in southern Arabia, from which town he received the name "Adeni" or "the Adenite." He was a pupil of the Talmudist Bezalel Ashkenazi and of the cabalist Ḥayyim Vital. In 1624, or, according to other authorities, in 1622, he wrote a commentary on the Mishnah, entitled "Meleket Shelomoh" (The Work of Solomon). Only a few fragments of this have been published, but they are quite sufficient to indicate the value of the whole work. In this commentary, Adeni exhibits considerable critical ability. He analyzes the Mishnah in a manner that is quite modern, and which is accompanied by a strictly scientific penetration that enables him to enter into the most minute details of the mishnaic text, its punctuation and spelling. The great value of Adeni's work was recognized by Manasseh ben Israel, who made use of its critical conclusions in his edition of the Mishnah of 1632. Adeni incorporated in his work Joseph Ashkenazi's valuable amendments to the Mishnah. In addition to his commentary he wrote "Dibre Emet" (Words of Truth), which, according to Azulai, contains critical notes on the Masorah. In 1854 the manuscript of "Meleket Shelomoh," his first work, was in the hands of Nathan Coronel of Jerusalem, whereas that of his second work, "Dibre Emet," seems to have been lost.