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Bible Encyclopedias
Pratensis, Felix
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or is noted as the famous editor of the editio princeps of Bomberg's Rabbinic Bible. Little is known of his personal history beyond that he was born a Jew, was corrector of the press in Bomberg's famous printing-office, embraced Christianity in Rome in 1513, was created magister theologus in 1523, and that he died in 1539. The Rabbinic Bible, which immortalized him, was published in four parts (Venice, 1516-17) four years after his embracing Christianity; and, besides the Hebrew text, contains as follows:
1. In The Pentateuch, the Chaldee paraphrase of Oinkelos and the commentaries of Rashi.
2. The Prophets, the Chaldee paraphrase and the commentaries of Kirnchi.
3. The Hugiographa, the Chaldee paraphrase and Kimchi's commentary on The Psalms, the Chaldee paraphrase and Ibn-Jachja's commentary on Proverbs, the Chaldee paraphrase and Nachmanides's and Farissol's commentaries on Job; the reputed Chaldee paraphrases of Joseph the Blind and Rashi's commentary on The Five Megilloth; Levi ben-Gershom's commentary on Juziel; Rashi's and Simon Darshan's (פי 8 השמעוני ) commentary on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles, the latter consisting of excerpts from the Jalkut Shimoni. (See CARA); (See MIDRASH). Appended to the volume are the Targum Jerusalem on the Pentateuch, the Second Targum on Esther, the variations between Ben-Asher and Ben-Naphtali, the differences between the Eastern and Western Codd., Aaron b. — Asher's Dissertation on the Accents, Mainmonides's thirteen articles of faith, (See MAIMONIDES), the six hundred and thirteen precepts, (See PRECEPTS), a Table of the Parshoth and Haphtaroth, both according to the Spanish and German ritual. Considering that this was the first effort to give some of the Masoretic apparatus, it is no wonder that the work is imperfect, and that it contains many blunders. Pratensis also published a Latin translation of the Psalms, with annotations, first printed at Venice in 1515, then at Hazenau in 1522, and at Basle in 1526. See Wolf, Bibliotheca Hebraica, 2, 363; 3, 935 sq.; Masch's ed. of Le Long's Bibliotheca Sacra, 1, 96 sq.; Steinschneider, Catalogus L'br. Hebr. in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, col. b. 2111 sq.
These files are public domain.
McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Pratensis, Felix'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/pratensis-felix.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
