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I've been wondering about the status of Jewish commentators on the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Rashi, Ibn Ezra, etc.) and other post-Biblical Jewish authors (e.g. Josephus) in Christianity. Are there prominent modern Christian scholars or strains of thought that make use of the writings of these figures? Are there examples of them being cited by well-known Christian exegetes?

Note: I'm not interested in the status of the Christian Bible itself as a commentary on the Hebrew Bible. I'm only interested in examples of purely Jewish sources being used in post-Biblical Christianity.

Affable Geek
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    Welcome to the site! I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for... If even one Christian cares what one of these commentators say, then the answer is "yes", given that Christianity is made up of the body of all believers, not a single institution. Can you clarify a bit more about what you're looking for? Otherwise this seems either unclear as to what you're asking, or potentially too broad for a StackExchange question. – David Stratton Nov 07 '13 at 03:14
  • By the way, if you haven't had a chance yet to read them, you should check out the following posts, which are meant to help newcomers "learn the ropes": help page and How we are different than other sites? Almost everyone mistakes the purpose of this site at first, so I share these with all newcomers. You seem to have avoided the common misconception with your first question, however, so don't think that's directed at you, personally! – David Stratton Nov 07 '13 at 03:16
  • Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish Bible commentator, and I'd say he had a pretty large impact on Christianity... – Flimzy Nov 07 '13 at 03:25
  • @DavidStratton Thank you for the help. I've tried to narrow down the question, though I'm still not sure if it's specific enough. Unfortunately I don't know enough about Christian denominations or commentators to know which of them in particular I should focus this question on. –  Nov 07 '13 at 03:40
  • What do you mean by "Bible"? Is it "Old Testament"? Jewish commentators don't comment on New Testament. – Mawia Nov 07 '13 at 05:10
  • You could try "The Real Kosher Jesus: Revealing the Mysteries of the Hidden Messiah" Michael L. Brown – user Nov 07 '13 at 11:50
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    This is still a list question. – Flimzy Nov 07 '13 at 13:32
  • @Malper: What kind of answer are you hoping to find? Maybe we can help focus the question sufficiently for you. – Flimzy Nov 07 '13 at 13:32
  • @Flimzy Let me put it this way. In Judaism, the traditional commentators are understood as being critical for understanding the text of the Hebrew Bible. Some of them are quoted quite often (Rashi, Ramban, etc.) while others are only quoted infrequently (e.g. Rabbi Samuel David Luzzatto). I'm curious about how frequently these figures get cited by Christians, and whether the Jewish commentators that Christians frequently cite are the same as those that are frequently cited by Jews. I'd really like some concrete examples of prominent Christian figures citing these commentators. –  Nov 07 '13 at 14:07
  • @Malper: Thanks for the explanation. I think it sounds like a very interesting question; however it seems to me that it's more a discussion topic than a SE-style question. I may be wrong; it may be possible to form it into a good question for this site; I'm just not quite sure how best to do it. – Flimzy Nov 07 '13 at 14:10
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is a list question. The SE framework is not a good fit for questions where the answer is simply a list. –  Nov 07 '13 at 18:01

2 Answers2

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Jewish commentators like Rashi, Ibn Ezra, etc. write comments on the Old Testament(Torah). Jews only have the Torah while Christians have one more set of books, the New Testament. Jewish commentators write explanations based on Jewish traditions and oral traditions, some of which are unknown to Christians.

There are also Christian Bible commentators. For instance, see this site, biblehub.com for reading Christian Bible online, it has Commentaries. Sometimes they also take the help of Jewish commentators to better understand the background, culture, history and the context.

For Christians, the New Testament explains the Old Testament. For instance, Rashi wrote that Isaiah 53 is speaking about Israel nation while the New Testament says that it speaks about the suffering of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.

Rashi's commentary on Isaiah 53:3

Despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to illness, and as one who hides his face from us, despised and we held him of no account. (Isaiah 53:3, Jewish Bible)

[RASHI'S COMMENTARY] Despised and rejected by men: was he. So is the custom of this prophet: he mentions all Israel as one man, e.g., (44:2), “Fear not, My servant Jacob” ; (44:1) “And now, hearken, Jacob, My servant.” Here too (52:13), “Behold My servant shall prosper,” he said concerning the house of Jacob. יַשְׂכִּיל is an expression of prosperity. Comp. (I Sam. 18:14) “And David was successful (מַשְׂכִּיל) in all his ways.”

Acts 8:30-34 (NIV)

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”[a]

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

[a] Isaiah 53:7,8 (see Septuagint)

Mawia
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Yes, John Gill was one Christian scholar who made frequent use of the Jewish commentators.