Page - 13 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/01

Miriam Benfatto The Hidden Jesus The Nazarene in Jewish Polemical Literature: The Case of the 16th-Century Text Sefer Ḥizzuq Emunah ABSTRACT This article traces the figure of Jesus that was hidden through the polemical and apol- ogetic strategy of the text known as Sefer Ḥizzuq Emunah (Strengthening of the Faith), composed at the end of the 16th century by Lithuanian Karaite scholar Isaac ben Abra- ham Troki (c. 1533–1594). Despite belonging to a Karaite group, Isaac ben Abraham of- ten used rabbinic quotations and Jewish classical commentators. His material was there- fore intelligible to the wider Jewish community and it was also accessible to non-Jews and Marranos. Indeed, this text was translated into Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Latin by the end of 17th century. Sefer Ḥizzuq Emunah was a privileged example of what Christians knew about Jewish anti-Christian literature and was read by significant European intellectuals and philosophers. This text circulated widely among European thinkers, becoming an important source of anti-Christian ideas among non-Jewish in- tellectuals. The influence of Sefer Ḥizzuq Emunah demonstrates how closely the Jewish and Christian worlds interacted and connected during the early modern period. KEYWORDS Isaac ben Abraham Troki, Sefer Ḥizzuq Emunah, Jewish Polemical Literature, Quest for the Historical Jesus, Anti-Christian Work BIOGRAPHY Miriam Benfatto recently received her PhD in History, Culture and Civilizations from the University of Bologna. She is currently Subject Expert and Teaching Assistant in the fol- lowing teaching programs, History of Christianity and Introduction to the Study of Reli- gions at the University of Bologna. Benfatto studied in Bologna, Paris, Tel Aviv and Ox- ford and has written on Jewish anti-Christian polemical literature and on the quest for the historical Jesus. Her principle research interests are the historical Jesus, anti-Chris- tian polemical texts and Hebrew manuscript studies. DOI: 10.25364/05.4:2019.1.2 The Hidden Jesus | 13www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1