Joseph Kimḥi

Joseph ben Isaac Kimḥi was born in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) and, following the Almohad invasion of his homeland, fled to Languedoc, in southern France. There he wrote works of Hebrew grammar and exegesis, comparing Hebrew, Arabic, and even the local vernacular. His exegetical contributions adhered to scripture’s “plain sense” (peshat) meaning. He also waded into long-standing grammatical disputes among medieval philologists and argued forcefully against Christian interpretations of scripture. He translated Judeo-Arabic texts into Hebrew.