Highlighting: “Hebrew Root Dictionary,” By Rabbi Nahorai Kotkin. Kodesh Press. 2019. Paperback. 247 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1947857148.

(Courtesy of Kodesh Press) One of the great blessings of our age is the renewed and dedicated interest in Tanach. Yet sometimes in a very crowded field a book appears that has something very special to contribute. That is precisely what “Hebrew Root Dictionary” by Rabbi Nahorai Kotkin does. In the modern age there have been several dictionaries of Tanach that have been written, but all have excluded the traditional Jewish commentaries. Until now nobody has collected the writings of the great pillars of the mesorah to see how they have interpreted—or better, defined—the words of Tanach, whether rare or common. Rabbi Kotkin’s dictionary does just that. He collects all (or at least many of) the places a word is defined in the Talmud, targumim or Rishonim. He then extracts them and arranges all of those comments into dictionary form for quick access. He draws from all the major rishonim like Rashi, Ramban, Sforno, Ibn Ezra and others. It is a most needed and welcome publication. For Jewish Bible interpretation, “Hebrew Root Dictionary” has earned a rightful place on the shelf of any serious Tanach student.