David de Pomis explained

David ben Isaac de Pomis (David de' Pomi) (1524–1594) was an Italian-Jewish physician, rabbi, linguist, philosopher, a significant figure in the intellectual exchange between Jews and Christians, and publisher of a 1587 trilingual Hebrew-Aramaic, Latin, and Italian dictionary known as Semah David, and De Medico Hebræo Enarratio Apologica, an apologetic work which deals with Jewish medicine.^[1]

Biography

Born into a wealthy family of bankers in Spoleto, Umbria, his father lost his fortune during the Italian Wars.^[2] His family claimed descent from King David.^[3] According to ancient Italian-Jewish tradition, his aristocratic family, called "Min HaTapuchim", or of the apples (pomis or pomeria), was relocated from Jerusalem to Rome by Titus.^[4] In 1527, when Pomis was two, the Sack of Rome prompted his family to relocate to Camerino. Along the way, the convoys carrying their possessions were attacked and their goods taken. Now poor, they relocated to Bevagna and then to Todi.^{[5] [6]} He studied at the University of Perugia and graduated with his medical degree in 1551, before settling in Magliano Sabino, but was compelled to migrate from town to town for a lengthy period due to the Church's anti-Jewish legislation.^[7]

Pope Paul IV's bull prevented Jewish physicians from treating Christians.^[8] However, Pope Pius IV granted Pomis the right to treat Christian patients in 1565, but died five days later, and his successor Pope Pius V rescinded the grant.^[2] Pomis then moved to Venice after 1569. In Venice he established relationships with Margaret of Savoy,, Pasquale Cicogna, and Francesco Maria, Duke Urbino, as well as Jewish leaders such as Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen.

Pomis translated Ecclesiastes into Italian and wrote a work on the bubonic plague,^[2] and wrote other works of biblical exegesis.^{[9] [10]} He is notable for his call for equality and religious liberty for Jewish people.^[11] His Zemah David was dedicated to Pope Sextus V, who had reversed the earlier anti-Jewish physicians bull.^[12] He cites David Kimhi's Shorashim, Nathan ben Yehiel's Arukh, and Elia Levita's Tishbi.^[13] He was cited by Johannes Buxtorf and Joseph Scaliger.^[14] His Medico Hebræo earned praise from Aldus Manutius the Younger.^[3] His work defended Jews, recounting the anti-Jewish actions of the time and refuting anti-Jewish claims, and emphasized medical humanism and compassion.^{[15] [16]}

Further reading

• Book: Pomis, David de . Dittionario novo Hebraico ...: in 3 lingue . 1587 . he.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

• Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. i. 311–313;
• Jost, Annalen, 1839, p. 223;
• Grätz. Gesch. ix. 504;
• Il Vessillo Israelitico, 1875, p. 175; 1876, p. 319;
• Berliner's Magazin, 1875, p. 48;
• Steinschneider, Jewish Literature, p. 235;
• idem, in Monatsschrift, xliii. 32;
• Dukes, in R. E. J. i. 145–152;
• Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. der Juden in Rom, ii. 259–260;
• Carmoly, Histoire des Médecins Juifs, i. 150–153.

Notes and References

1. Book: Graetz, Heinrich . History of the Jews: Volume 4 . 25 July 2020 . BoD – Books on Demand . 978-3-7523-3834-8 . en.
2. Book: Heller, Marvin J. . The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book: Volume Two . 5 December 2022 . BRILL . 978-90-04-53167-3 . en.
3. Web site: POMIS, DE - JewishEncyclopedia.com . 9 September 2024 . www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
4. Friedenwald . Harry . 1942 . Apologetic Works of Jewish Physicians . The Jewish Quarterly Review . 32 . 3 . 227–255 . 10.2307/1452355 . 1452355 . 0021-6682.
5. Web site: Tovia Preschel. Tovia. Preschel. 5 June 2024 . David de Pomis, Italian Rabbi, Physician Philosopher and Philologist . 8 September 2024 . en-US.
6. Web site: POMIS, David de' – Enciclopedia . 8 September 2024 . Treccani . it.
7. Book: Brisman, Shimeon . A History and Guide to Judaic Dictionaries and Concordances . 2000 . KTAV Publishing House, Inc. . 978-0-88125-658-1 . en. 60.
8. Book: Yachnin, Paul . Shakespeare's World of Words . 22 October 2015 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-4742-5290-4 . en.
9. Book: Freedman, Harry . Shylock's Venice: The Remarkable History of Venice's Jews and the Ghetto . 15 February 2024 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-3994-0726-7 . en.
10. Book: Veltri, Giuseppe . Renaissance Philosophy in Jewish Garb: Foundations and Challenges in Judaism on the Eve of Modernity . 2009 . BRILL . 978-90-04-17196-1 . en.
11. Book: Karp . Jonathan . The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 7, The Early Modern World, 1500–1815 . Sutcliffe . Adam . 30 November 2017 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-13906-9 . en.
12. Fuchs . James L. . פוקס . ג'ימס . 1989 . ספרי רפואה יהודיים ויחסי יהודים-נוצרים בראשית העת החדשה באירופה / Jewish Medical Compendia and Jewish-Christian Relations in Early Modern Europe . Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies / דברי הקונגרס העולמי למדעי היהדות . י . 83–90 . 23535618 . 0333-9068.
13. Book: Berns, Andrew D. . The Bible and Natural Philosophy in Renaissance Italy: Jewish and Christian Physicians in Search of Truth . 2015 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-107-06554-3 . en.
14. Book: Mandelbrote . Scott . Jewish Books and their Readers: Aspects of the Intellectual Life of Christians and Jews in Early Modern Europe . Weinberg . Joanna . 23 May 2016 . BRILL . 978-90-04-31815-1 . en.
15. Book: Shulvass, Moses A. . Jews in the World of the Renaissance . 28 August 2023 . BRILL . 978-90-04-67039-6 . en.
16. Book: Mampieri, Martina . Living under the Evil Pope: The Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV by Benjamin Neḥemiah ben Elnathan from Civitanova Marche (16th cent.) . 26 November 2019 . BRILL . 978-90-04-41515-7 . en.