Isaac ben Jacob Benjacob (10 January 1801, Ramygala – 2 July 1863, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian Jewish maskil, [1] best known as a bibliographer, author, and publisher.
His 17-volume Hebrew Bible included Rashi, Moses Mendelssohn, as well as his own Mikraei Kodesh, which "emended" the biblical text and helped spread the Haskalah movement.
[1][3] Benjacob began to write early and composed short poems and epigrams in pure Biblical Hebrew that are among the best of their kind in Neo-Hebraic literature.
These letters are also interesting on account of the idea they give of the perplexities of the old Maskilim of the Mendelssohnian school in Russia, such as Benjacob, who were being swept aside by the younger generation, which had the advantage of Russian training.
The older members were at a great disadvantage when pitted against the young students, who could gain whatever they desired from the authorities on account of their correct Russian accent.
Benjacob corresponded with Jewish scholars in Western countries and was known during his lifetime for his great achievements as a bibliographer, although his monumental works, the Otzar ha-Sefarim, Thesaurus Librorum Hebræorum tam Impressorum quam Manuscriptorum, did not appear until seventeen years after his death (Vilnius, 1880).