Earliest Printing of Commentaries
The Hebrew Bible was codified by the rabbis at the Great Assembly and, in its Latin translation, was first printed as volume 1 of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455. The complete Tanakh in Hebrew, with commentaries by Rashi, Radak, Ramban, and Ralbag was printed in 1517 by Daniel Bomberg and edited by Felix Pratensis under the name Mikraot Gedolot.
The Hebrew Bible was handed down in manuscript form along with a method of checking the accuracy of the transcription known as mesorah. Many codices containing the masoretic text were gathered by Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah and were used to publish an accurate text. It was published by Daniel Bomberg in 1525. Later editions were edited with the help of Eliyahu ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita. Various editions of Mikraot Gedolot are still in print.
Read more about this topic: Jewish Commentaries On The Bible
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