Bible and Jewish Interpretation of the Bible

Only the so-called Masora from Eretz Israel, i.e. the Masoretic hypertext with vocalization, accentuation and the addition of various annotations, allows the ancient consonantal text (Qumran) to become a medieval Masoretic text. The aim of the research at the chair is the first study of the Western European (Ashkenazic) Masora tradition between the 11th and 15th centuries, which differs from the Oriental Masora philologically and in its external appearance as a masora figurata. It also deals with the process of inculturation of the masora and the Hebrew Bible text into the Christian environment (architecture; book art).

The Heidelberg Chair focuses in particular on the interpretative tradition of the medieval northern French school of exegetes, i.e. the exegetical commentaries of R. Shelomo Yitzchaqi (RaShY) and his school, R. Avraham Ibn Ezra, the members of the Qimchi family and R. Moshe ben Nachman ('RaMBaN = Nachmanides'). In addition, the surviving Hebrew-French Bible glossaries, especially from the 13th century, are also dealt with. These Bible glossaries, which reproduce the vernacular glosses in Hebrew graphics, are exceptional witnesses not only for exegetical and cultural-historical Judaic research, but also for morphological, phonological and lexical research into Old French between the 11th and 13th centuries. They form fundamental texts for research into the interrelations between Jewish intellectual history and the non-Jewish environment.

The biblical interpretation of the representatives of the so-called science of Judaism in Germany and Eastern Europe is being researched primarily with regard to its influence on modern Judaism and its understanding of religion and culture.