Commentaries on the Later Books of the Hebrew Bible

This chapter assesses Rashi's commentaries on the later books of the Hebrew Bible. In his commentaries on the later books of the Hebrew Bible (the Prophets and the Writings, collectively referred to by the Hebrew acronym Nakh ), Rashi made extensive use of rabbinic material, though to a lesser degree than in his commentary on the Torah. About a quarter of the commentary on the Torah is original material; in the commentaries on Nakh , the figure is about two-thirds, the amount varying with the nature of each book and its commentary. Rashi makes less use of midrashic language, and the commentaries differ somewhat in character too. In addition, he gives more consideration to historical background, to literary devices, and, especially, to anti-Christian polemic. The chapter then looks at how questions of language and grammar, as well as references to daily life, receive considerable attention in Rashi's commentaries.