Commentary: On the Song of Songs

Apparently originally from Basra, Iraq, Yefet ben Eli ha-Levi al-Baṣrī became one of the leading scholars in the Karaite circles of learning in Jerusalem. Yefet’s surviving writings consist primarily of Judeo-Arabic translations and commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, in which he combines theological rationalism, exegesis, and anti-Rabbanite polemic. These commentaries were extremely popular among later Karaites and survive in many copies. Yefet’s ideas were cited by later Karaite authors, and his influence can be felt in Byzantine Karaite writings as well. Yefet also composed a legal work titled Book of the Commandments, a commentary on the prayers, and a refutation of Se‘adya Ga’on. Yefet’s engagement with Islamic ideas, particularly kalām theology, is apparent throughout his writings.