David ben Boaz

Who is David ben Boaz?

David ben Boaz was a Karaite Jewish scholar who flourished in the tenth century CE. He is reported to have been the fifth in the line of descent from Anan ben David, the founder of Karaism He was thus considered resh galuta or exilarch of the Karaite community within the Abbasid Caliphate, in opposition to the rabbinical claimant

The Karaite chronicler al-Hiti mentions David under the year 383 of the Hegira, and gives the titles of the following three works written by him: a commentary on Ecclesiastes; a commentary on the Pentateuch; a treatise on the fundamental principles of the Pentateuch. Of these three only a fragment of the second, comprising Leviticus and the latter half of Deuteronomy, is still extant in manuscript in the St. Petersburg Library. In this commentary, says Harkavy, David frequently attacks Saadia Gaon, whom he never calls by name, but by the appellation "hadha al-rajul".

David was succeeded as resh galuta of the Karaites by his son Solomon ben David.