But his eclipse was only
momentary. Richard Simon, who gave so vigorous an impulse to
Biblical studies in France, and who, if Bossuet had not
forestalled him, would possibly have originated a scientific
method of exegesis, profited by the commentaries of the man he
called
major et praestantior theologus. All the
Christians with pretensions to Hebrew scholarship, who endeavored
to understand the Bible in the original, studied Rashi, not only
because he helped them to grasp the meaning of the text, but also
because in their eyes he was the official rabbinical authority.
He was quoted, abridged, and plagiarized - a clear sign of
popularity. Soon the need arose to render him accessible to all
theologians, and he was translated into the academic language,
that is, into Latin. Partial translations appeared in great
number between 1556 and 1710. Finally, J. F. Breithaupt made a
complete translation, for which he had recourse to various
manuscripts. His work is marked by clear intelligence and great
industry. This translation as well as the commentary of Nicholas
de Lyra might still be consulted with profit by an editor of
Rashi.
Since the Christians did not devote themselves to the Talmud as
much as to the Bible, they made but little use of the Talmudic
commentaries of the French rabbi. Nevertheless John Buxtorf the
Elder, who calls Rashi
consummatissimus ille theologiae
judaicae doctor, frequently appeals to his authority in the
"Hebrew and Chaldaic Lexicon.
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