IḲRIṬI (), SHEMARIAH B. ELIJAH OF NEGROPONT: Italian philosopher
and Biblical exegete; contemporary of Dante and Immanuel; born
probably at Rome about 1275, the descendant of a long line of
Roman Jews. His father, in his youth, went as rabbi to Crete,
whence his surname, "Ha-Yewani" (="the Greek"), or "Ha-Iḳriṭti"
(= "the Cretan"). Shemariah had a critical mind, and knew
Italian, Latin, and Greek. Up to 1305 he studied the Bible
exclusively; then he took up Talmudic haggadah and philosophy.
His reputation was such that he was called to the court of King
Robert of Naples, where he devoted himself chiefly to Biblical
studies and wrote commentaries on Scripture. By 1328 he had
completed philosophic commentaries on the Pentateuch (especially
the story of the Creation), the Book of Job, and Canticles. He
aimed at bringing about a union between Karaites and Rabbinites;
the Karaites, in fact, recognized and honored him. The death of
a son (1330) interrupted his work for a time, but he soon took
it up again. In 1346