Note 41 — INTRODUCTION. (continued 2)

Comp. Wolfii Bibl. Rabbin. Vol. i. pp. 932–936; Ewald und Dukes, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Alten Auslegung und Spracherklärung des Alten Testamentes, Zweites Bändchen, p. 5, seqq. We must confess that Dukes’ arguments, here produced against the genuineness of this commentary, appear inconclusive. Such an allegorical exposition is just what might have been expected from Saadias, judging from his predilection for Rabbinisms and allegorising, which appears in his translation of the Pentateuch. Moreover, ‏רבים מההלקים‎ does not necessarily imply commentaries written before Saadias, but may refer to the opinions of some of his contemporaries. It is, however, probable that the translator of it into Hebrew has omitted some verbal explanations, deeming them unnecessary for his purpose. ↑