Felix (2)
Felix
(Pratensis), an eminent Jewish scholar of the 16th century, was born in Prato, Tuscany. He was the son of a rabbi, who taught him the Oriental languages. He travelled in Italy after the death of his father, and, becoming convinced of the truth of Christianity, was baptized, and shortly after entered the order of St. Augustine. The date of his profession of Christianity is uncertain, but it probably took place before 1506. He translated the Psalms into Latin, dedicating the work to Leo X, and received authority from the pope to translate the other books of the Old Testament. v He revised the text of the two first Hebrew editions of the Bible published by Bomberg, carefully correcting the proofs himself. He died in 1557. His works are,
1. Psalterium ex hebraeo ad verbum fere tralatum adjectis notationibus (Venice, 1515, 4to): this version has been inserted in the Psalterium Sextuplex (Lyons, 15030, 830m):
2. Biblia sacra hebraea, cum utraque masora et targum, item cum Cossmentariis rabbinorum; cura et studio Felicis Pratensis, cum prafatione latina Leoni Anuncupata' (Venice, 1518, 4 vols. fol.). There are- said to be versions of Job and other-books of the Bible by Felix, but they have never been published..-Biographie Universelle, 14:273.