The »Book of Faith« (Sefer Emunah)

The article discusses Sefer Emunah (»Book of Faith«), an anti-Jewish polemic written in Hebrew that was edited by Protestant reformer Paul Fagius in 1542, exploring its dating, authorship, original purpose, and reception in close engagement with the existing research literature. Moreover, the argumentation used in Sefer Emunah for the veracity of the Christian faith is outlined throughadetailed analysis of the Hebrew and Latin sources incorporated therein. In contrast to previous research, this study demonstrates that Sefer Emunah must be considered an early modern text that originated from the German-speaking territories. Its date of composition can be narrowed to between 1517 and 1529. The polemic was most likely originally intended for missionary purposes but was later exclusively utilized in Christian Hebraist circles for scholarly and pedagogical objectives. Its anonymous author drew extensively on medieval Jewish controversial literature and commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and Kabbalah, which were particularly popular among early Christian Hebraists. Additionally, his line of reasoning is often supported by late medieval Latin polemics, such as Pablo de Santa María's Scrutinium Scripturarum and Alphonso de Espina's Fortalitium Fidei.