Kehilath Jahacob: Being a vocabulary of words in the Hebrew Language.

A scarce Talmud and holy scripture vocabulary, published by the pioneer of Hebrew printing in London A. Alexander.

Jacob Rodrigues Moreira was an educated Jewish author associated with the Haskalah movement. This lexicon is his only surviving publication. The work contains an approbation by Rabbi Moseh Cohen d'Azevedo (1720-1784), also known as the Haham of London (the Wise Man of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation of London). This biblical lexicon arranged in triple column, containing more than four thousand words/idioms (each in Hebrew, English and Spanish) arranged in fifty-eight topical chapters. Moreira carefully arranged the Hebrew terms and phrases according to subject, coining new terms where needed and translated them to Spanish. His son, Haim Moreira, translated the terms to English. The final, 58th chapter contains an imaginary dialogue between the author and his son.

Alexander Alexander (Alexander ben Judah Leib) was one of the pioneers of the Hebrew printing in London, active in the 18th-19th centuries. He had established his Hebrew press in London in 1770 and published the first bilingual Hebrew-English Common Prayer-book and Haggadah.

The engraved Hebrew title page of this volume is signed by M. Marrebeeck, an 18th century Dutch print publisher, that was most likely working in Amsterdam.

First edition; 4to (26.5 x 21.5 cm); missing the Hebrew and English title pages, the Spanish title is present, approbation leaf by Rabbi Moseh Cohen de Azevedo in Spanish and Hebrew; Hebrew, English and Spanish index of the chapters and erratas; preface to the reader in Spanish and English; late calf-backed cloth, spine rubbed and chipped; edges of first and last few leaves are browned and chipped, with marginal chips affecting text on the last leaf; slight browning and staining to leaves; [26], 183, [1] pp.

Vinograd, London 75; Alston XIV, 197; ESTC T168924; Roth B15.40; Not in Vancil or Zaunmuller.