Solomon Dubno

Who was Solomon Dubno?

Solomon ben Joel Dubno was a Russian poet, grammarian, and student of the Masorah born at Dubno, Volhynia. When he was 14 years old his parents married him to the daughter of the Talmudist Simhah ben Joshua of Volozhin. Having exhausted the knowledge of his Volhynian instructors, Dubno went to Galicia, studying there for several years Biblical exegesis and grammar under the direction of Rabbi Solomon of Cholm. Dubno soon became proficient in these branches of Jewish science, and was charged by his master with the revision and publication of his work on the Hebrew accents, Sha'are Ne'imah.

From 1767 to 1772 Dubno lived at Amsterdam, attracted by its rich collections of Hebrew books. On leaving Amsterdam he settled in Berlin, earning a livelihood by teaching. Among his pupils was the son of Moses Mendelssohn, who, highly appreciating Dubno's scholarship, became his patron and friend. Dubno wrote a commentary for Mendelssohn's translation of the Bible, of which only a portion—the Alim li-Terufah —was published. See Jew. Encyc. iii. 192, s.v. Bible Translations.

In 1782-3, he spent about six months in Wilna, living with the wealthy Jewish financier Joseph Pesseles. After the death of Mendelssohn, Dubno stopped for a short time in Frankfort-on-the-Main, and then returned to Amsterdam. There, at first fêted, and later ignored, deriving a scanty income from the loan of the books from his rich library, he remained until his death on June 26, 1813.