Ladino editions of the <em>Séfer Yosipón</em>

Abstract

The Séfer Yosipón or Séfer Bin Gorión stands out as one of the Hebrew classics of the historic prose genre translated into Judeo-Spanish with the widest circulation among Sephardim. Working from the various existing editions of the Ladino text, and the various prologues of their editors, the study will show the reasons that made it a work of historiographical and moral instruction that prevailed among its medieval and subsequently Sephardic readers. The study also takes into account the historical consciousness and real interest in the work, the interpretation of the historical events by the translator and editors, the adaptations, textual omissions, mentions and exclusions of Ottoman monarchs, and the patronage of the editions in Ladino.