Elias Levita the lexicographer and the legacy of Sefer ha-Shorashim

This article focuses on the reinterpretation of the lexicographic tradition of Sefer ha- Shorashim (“Book of Roots”) in the Renaissance, in the context of the Christian kabbalist Giles of Viterbo (1469-1532) and of the Jewish intellectual Elias Levita (1469-1549). I provide an insight into Giles of Viterbo’s interest in Hebrew exegesis, lexicons and grammar, which enhanced Levita’s activity. Then, I go through some innovative aspects of the lexicographic works by Levita, Meturgeman (“Interpreter”), a dictionary of Aramaic roots from the Targum, and Tishbi, a lexicon of post-biblical Hebrew.