Scepter of Judah

The Scepter of Judah (Hebrew: Shebet Yehuda שבט יהודה‎) was a text produced by the Sephardi historian Solomon Ibn Verga. It first appeared in the Ottoman Empire in 1550.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} It contains some 75 stories of Jewish persecution,^[8] and is a transitional work between the medieval and modern periods of Jewish history.^[9][10] Born in Spain, Verga's views were shaped by the expulsion in 1492, his forced baptism, and the massacres as he fled Portugal.^[8][11] Shevret Yehudah was "the first Jewish work whose main concern was the struggle against ritual murder accusations."^[9] It was cited by his contemporary Samuel Usque, Consolação às Tribulações de Israel ("Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel"), Ferrara, 1553.^[12][13][14] Rebecca Rist has called it a satirical work that blends fiction with history.^[15] Jeremy Cohen has said Verga was a pragmatist who presented benevolent and enlightened characters with a happy ending.^[16]

The work was essentially a comprehensive analysis of sixty-four different persecutions that the Jewish people had suffered since antiquity. Hardly an insular text, it made use of Latin sources as well. It also had a certain anthropological value, as Ibn Verga discussed the customs and practices of Jews in various lands. Ibn Verga also sought to highlight what he felt were the faults of his people, and as such, much of his criticisms of the Jews are exaggerated for effect.

In many ways the Scepter of Judah was the first and most significant work of Jewish historiography; it was essentially the first time that such a comprehensive interest had been expressed by the Jews in their past. Ibn Verga sought to clarify the problem of anti-Jewish sentiment, which had manifested itself in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. According to the author, the expulsion from Spain and Jewish exile in general were natural phenomena that were subject to historical forces of causation and explanation. They were not simply "punishment" for the sins of the Jewish people, as had been the time-honored way of explaining such misfortunes.

The text posited the view that the hatred of the Jews is a popular inheritance which is passed from generation to generation. It is occasioned by religious fanaticism (as had been the case in Spain) and is compounded by envy and jealousy; it also stems from a lack of education. Ibn Verga also suggested that there was perhaps too much flaunting of opulence amongst the Sephardim; certain festivities had been too extravagant, which had raised antagonism and jealousy amongst Catholics. Whether this was actually the case is debatable.

The Scepter of Judah was one of the most popular Jewish history books of all time, perhaps the most popular until the 19th century.

Further reading

• Library of Congress

References

1. Hamilton, Michelle M.; Silleras-Fernandez, Nuria (2021-04-30). In and Of the Mediterranean: Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Studies. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0-8265-0361-9.
2. Funkenstein, Amos (1989). "Collective Memory and Historical Consciousness". History and Memory. 1 (1): 5–26. ISSN 0935-560X. JSTOR 25618571.
3. Melton, J. Gordon (2014). Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History [4 Volumes]: 5,000 Years of Religious History. ABC-CLIO. p. 1514. ISBN 978-1-61069-026-3.
4. Cohen, Jeremy (2017). A Historian in Exile: Solomon ibn Verga, "Shevet Yehudah," and the Jewish-Christian Encounter. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4858-6. JSTOR j.ctv2t4c2k.
5. "Ibn Verga, Solomon". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
6. "The "Shebet Yehudah" and sixteenth century historiography | Article RAMBI990004793790705171 | The National Library of Israel". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
7. Raz-Krakotzkin, Amnon (2007). "Jewish Memory between Exile and History". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 97 (4): 530–543. ISSN 0021-6682. JSTOR 25470226.
8. Cohen, Jeremy (2013). "Interreligious Debate and Literary Creativity: Solomon ibn Verga on the Disputation of Tortosa". Jewish Studies Quarterly. 20 (2): 159–181. doi:10.1628/094457013X13661210446274. ISSN 0944-5706. JSTOR 24751814.
9. Cohen, Jeremy (2009), "The blood libel in Solomon ibn Verga's Shevet Yehudah", Jewish Blood, Routledge, pp. 128–147, doi:10.4324/9780203876404-13, ISBN 978-0-203-87640-4, retrieved 2023-11-05
10. Ruderman, Daṿid; Veltri, Giuseppe; Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreis für Renaissanceforschung; Leopold-Zunz-Zentrum zur Erforschung des Europäischen Judentums; Herzog August Bibliothek, eds. (2004). Cultural intermediaries: Jewish intellectuals in early modern Italy. Jewish culture and contexts. Philadelphia, Pa: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3779-5.
11. Wacks, David A. (2015). Double Diaspora in Sephardic Literature: Jewish Cultural Production Before and After 1492. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01572-3. JSTOR j.ctt16gzfs2.
12. Diner, Hasia R. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of the Jewish Diaspora. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-024094-3.
13. Schuartz, Miriam Sílvia (2011-10-05). "Presença do Sublime na Consolação às Tribulações de Israel, de Samuel Usque". Vértices: 140–158. doi:10.11606/issn.2179-5894.ip140-158. ISSN 2179-5894.
14. Loeb, Isidore (1892). "Le folk-lore juif dans la chronique du Schébet Iehuda d'Ibn Verga". Revue des études juives. 24 (47): 1–29. doi:10.3406/rjuiv.1892.3805. S2CID 263176489.
15. Rist, Rebecca (2015-12-17). "Papal Power and Protection in the Shebet Yehudah". Journal of Religious History. 40 (4): 490–507. doi:10.1111/1467-9809.12324. ISSN 0022-4227.
16. Watts, James W. (March 2011). "Jewish Blood: Reality and Metaphor in History, Religion, and Culture". Religion. 41 (1): 105–107. doi:10.1080/0048721x.2011.553085. ISSN 0048-721X.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Solomon Ibn Verga". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.