Bible Encyclopedias
Benjacob, Isaac B. Jacob

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Benisch, Abraham

Next Entry
Benjamin

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Russian bibliographer, author, and publisher; born in Ramgola, near Wilna, Jan. 10, 1801; died in Wilna July 2, 1863. His parents moved to Wilna when he was still a child, and there he received instruction in Hebrew grammar and rabbinical lore. He began to write early, and composed short poems and epigrams in pure Biblical Hebrew which are among the best of their kind in Neo-Hebraic literature. For several years he lived in Riga, where he was engaged in business, always studying and writing in his leisure hours. Later he became a publisher and book-seller and went to Leipsic, where he published his first work, "Miktamim we-Shirim" (Epigrams and Songs), which also contains an important essay on epigrammatic composition (Leipsic, 1842). Of the other works which he published there, his corrected edition of R. Baḥya ibn Pakuda's "Ḥobot ha-Lebabot," with an introduction, a short commentary, and a biography of the author, together with notes and fragments of Joseph Ḳimḥi's translation by H. Jellinek, is the most valuable (Leipsic, 1846; Königsberg, 1859, without the introduction).

In 1848 Benjacob returned to Wilna, and for the next five years he and the poet Abraham Bär Lebensohn were engaged in the publication of the Bible with a German translation (in Hebrew type) and the new "Biurim" (Wilna, 1848-53, 17 vols.), which did much good as a means of spreading the knowledge of German and a proper understanding of the Hebrew text among the Jews in Russia. When this work was done he brought out his corrected and amended edition of Ḥayyim Joseph David Azulai's "Shem ha-Gedolim" (Wilna, 1853; Vienna, 1862), which is still the standard edition of that important work. In 1862 Benjacob announced his intention to begin the publication of popular editions of classical Hebrew works which had become rare or high-priced. He died soon after the appearance of the first volume of Azariah dei Rossi's "Meor 'Enayim," with which he started the series (Wilna, 1863).

In his later years Benjacob was one of the leaders and representatives of the Jewish community of Wilna, and took an active part in all communal affairs. In his correspondence with Isaac Bär Lewinsohn, which is partly published in "Ha-Kerem" (pp. 41-62, Warsaw, 1888), Benjacob throws much light on the condition of the community in the beginning of the second half of the nineteenth century, and especially on the lamentable condition of the Rabbiner Schule (Rabbinical Seminary) which the government established there and in Jitomir in 1848, and closed in 1873. Benjacob himself was originally destined to be one of the teachers of the Wilna Seminary, but never filled the position; and later he became one of the severest critics of that institution. These letters are also interesting on account of the idea they give of the perplexities of the old Maskilim of the Mendelssohnian school in Russia, like Benjacob, who were being swept aside by the younger generation which had the advantage of a Russian training. He could not speak Russian, and most of the representatives of the community suffered from the same disability, excepting a few merchants who cared little for the fate of the seminary; and the older members were at a great disadvantage when pitted against the young students, who could gain whatever they desired from the authorities on account of their correct Russian accent.

Benjacob corresponded with Jewish scholars in Western countries, and was known during his lifetime for his great achievements as a bibliographer, although his monumental work, the "Oẓar ha-Sefarim, Thesaurus Librorum Hebræorum tam Impressorum quam Manuscriptorum," did not appear till seventeen years after his death (Wilna, 1880). It was published by his son Jacob, and contains 17,000 entries of Hebrew printed and manuscript works, with valuable notes by M. Steinschneider. An author-index to the work together with additions has been promised by Steinschneider ("Hebr. Bibl." 20:73; "Festschrift," p. ). It is the greatest Jewish bibliographical work in the Hebrew language, and is still the standard bibliography of printed books down to 1863.

Besides other minor works and articles published in various Hebrew periodicals and collections, Benjacob also commenced a German-Hebrew dictionary and a Mishnaic-Talmudic dictionary with a German translation, both of which were left unfinished.