Bidspirit auction | Tzemach David HeChadash – A

Tzemach David HeChadash – A Foundational Work of Jewish Historiography. Magnificent Engraved Title Page. Frankfurt am Main, 1692. - Tzemach David HeChadash, a history of the Jewish people and the nations of the world from Creation until the author’s own time, by the gaon Rabbi David Gans. Frankfurt am Main, 1692. An attractive edition of one of the most important, influential, and widely read historical works ever printed in Hebrew. Its author, Rabbi David Gans, a disciple of the Rema and the Maharal of Prague, was among the first Hebrew writers to present a systematic and chronological account of both Jewish and world history. The work surveys the major events in the history of the Jewish people and of the nations of the world, from Creation through the author’s era, recording the dates and years of each event. As such, Tzemach David is regarded as one of the earliest Hebrew historical works in the modern sense of the term and served for generations as a primary source for understanding the continuity of Jewish history within the broader framework of world events. Rabbi David Gans [1541–1613] was one of the most remarkable Jewish scholars of the Renaissance period. Alongside his mastery of Torah and rabbinic literature, he devoted considerable attention to astronomy, mathematics, and history, and maintained contact with leading scientists of his age, including the celebrated astronomer Tycho Brahe. His writings reflect a rare synthesis of traditional Jewish scholarship and contemporary scientific and historical knowledge. The volume opens with two title pages, including a particularly impressive engraved copperplate title page, considered among the finest produced in seventeenth-century Hebrew printing. At its center appear King David and King Solomon, while the four corners depict the symbolic beasts representing the Four Kingdoms—Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome—according to the traditional interpretation of the Book of Daniel. Tzemach David enjoyed extraordinary circulation and influenced generations of Jewish historians and chroniclers. For centuries it remained one of the most widely read Jewish historical works and continues to occupy an important place in the study of early modern Jewish historical consciousness. Stephansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 539. 47, [5]; 81; 81–95, [8] leaves. 20 cm. Condition: Very good. Minor staining. Original leather binding. A particularly attractive copy of an early and sought-after edition of one of the foundational works of Jewish historical literature.