kimhi saw himself primarily as a compiler and summarizer. as a noted hebrew grammarian, his book "michlol" () and his dictionary of the hebrew language called "sefer hashorashim" (book of roots) () draws heavily on the earlier works of rabbi judah ben david hayyuj and rabbi jonah ibn janah, as well as from the work of his father. these two books were originally written as one, although over the years they have come to be printed separately. this book, while based on his predecessors, shows a significant amount of innovation, stakes out new territory in his scholarly fields, and from a methodological point of view is superior to what came before. for example, in "michlol," kimhi expounds on his predecessors' opinions in a clear, straightforward way with a comprehensive approach to the hebrew structure. "sefer hashorashim" highlights his talent as a writer because of its logical organization, particularly the way he bases his definitions upon etymology and comparisons between languages. another of ḳimḥi's works, "'eṭ sofer," () was a sort of abridged version of "michlol" and acted as a manual for biblical scribes. this was a necessary compilation of rules for the writing of bible-rolls, masoretic notes, and accents, due to widespread ignorance among the scribes of the 12th century.