Peter Martyr and the Rabbinic Bible in the interpretation of Lamentations

This thesis is a contribution to the study of the biblical interpretation of the Italian Reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562). Specifically researched is Martyr's use of the Jewish resources of the 1525 Bomberg Bible in his interpretation of Lamentations, Martyr's earliest surviving commentary. The form of this investigation is as follows: first, an introduction to the use of Jewish resources by Christian students of scripture; secondly, an annotated translation of Martyr's Lamentations commentary; thirdly, conclusions concerning Martyr's use of Jewish commentary. After a select bibliography, there are appendices which include a synopsis of sixteenth century Latin translations of Lamentations and an annotated translation of the Jewish commentators on Lamentations in the 1525 Bomberg Bible. An argument will be made that Martyr drew much useful philology from the Jewish commentators but also unwittingly absorbed considerable non-philological exegesis in order to embellish his commentary and on occasion to evade the results of philological exegesis