Overview
Menahem ben Saruq compiled the Mahberet, the earliest extensive Hebrew dictionary written in Hebrew rather than Arabic. Working within the scholarly circle supported by Hasdai ibn Shaprut in Córdoba, Menahem organized biblical vocabulary according to roots and sought to explain difficult scriptural language. Dunash ben Labrat sharply criticized many of his analyses, prompting responses from Menahem’s students and establishing grammar as a field of sustained debate. The Mahberet reflects a period when Andalusian Jewish scholars applied systematic linguistic methods to scripture while creating technical Hebrew terminology for future readers.
