Commentary: On Exodus

Joseph Bekhor Shor

On Exodus 30:1

Late 12th Century

You shall make an altar for burning incense. (Exodus 30:1)

The kingdom of heaven resembles a kingdom on earth. Just as human kings do, they make an incense burner—the sacrificial altar is like a kitchen—and there is a table and a lampstand. The place where the animals are slaughtered is far from the residence of the king, but the table and the…

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Here, Joseph Bekhor Shor provides a psychological understanding of the components of the Tabernacle and of the process of offering sacrifices after sin. Citing rabbinic precedent, he compares the divine kingdom with a human one and insists that God has no need for cultic worship. Rather, these rituals grant humanity opportunities to gain access to the divine and to atone for their failures. Joseph’s rationalization of the commandments in this and other passages is a significant feature of his thought. His move away from the hyper-literal tendencies of some of his colleagues made him popular among Tosafist exegetes, who quote his insights extensively.

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Bible Translations and Commentaries

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Joseph Bekhor Shor

b. ca. 1140

Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor was an exegete, Tosafist, and poet born in Orléans, in northern France. He was a student of Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam), and a written exchange between the two survives in the latter’s Book of the Upright (Sefer ha-yashar). Joseph composed a Hebrew commentary on the Torah and on the Psalms. His approach was generally focused on the peshat (plain meaning) of scripture, though less rigidly than other twelfth-century northern French figures. Joseph’s commentaries also contain significant anti-Christian polemics. His name appears in printed Tosafot on the Talmud, and he composed several piyyutim (liturgical poems) that address the calamities of his day.

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