Nathan Ben Jehiel

Nathan Ben Jehiel

Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (Hebrew: נתן בן יחיאל מרומי; Nathan ben Y'ḥiel Mi Romi according to Sephardic pronunciation) (c. 1035–1106) was a Jewish Italian lexicographer. He was born in Rome not later than 1035 to one of the most notable Roman families of Jewish scholars. Owing to an error propagated by Azulai, he has been regarded as a scion of the house of De Pomis. Now, however, it is regarded as almost a certainty that he belonged to the Anaw (Degli Mansi) family. Nathan's father, R. Jehiel ben Abraham, aside from being an acknowledged authority on the ritual law, was, like the majority of the contemporary Italian rabbis, a liturgic poet.