Daniel Bomberg

Who was Daniel Bomberg?

Daniel Bomberg was an early printer of Hebrew language books. A Christian, born in Antwerp, he was primarily active in Venice between 1516 and 1549.

He produced the editio princeps of the Mikraot Gedolot, the Rabbinic Bible, consisting of the Hebrew text plus rabbinical commentaries, between 1516 and 1517, and the first and oldest complete set of the Talmud, between 1520 and 1523, a well-preserved copy of which is contained in the Valmadonna Trust Library.

Bomberg found a ready audience among the Jews of Italy, whose numbers had been swelled by exiles from Spain and Portugal. Bomberg's presses eventually produced some 230 Hebrew books, and his innovations in Hebrew typography set the standard for later printers.

Bomberg's edition of the Talmud later became perceived as the "uncensored" version.