Yalkut Shimoni

Since the interpretations of the ancient exegetes usually referred to several passages, and since Yalkut Shimoni endeavored to quote all such explanations, repetitions were inevitable, and aggadic sayings relating to two or more sections of the Bible were often duplicated.

He drew from the ethical and historical aggadah, such as Abot de-Rabbi Natan, Tanna debe Eliyahu (Rabbah and Zuṭa), Derech Eretz[which?

Rapoport[3] maintained that R. Simeon (11th century, the father of R. Joseph Ḳara) was its author, but this assertion is untenable since Yalkut Shimoni includes midrashim of a later date.

According to Zunz, the work was written by R. Simeon Ḳara, who lived in southern Germany at that period, and the title "ha-Darshan" was bestowed upon him probably at a later date.

It is certain that a manuscript of Yalkut Shimoni, mentioned by Azariah dei Rossi, existed in 1310;[4] but despite this, there is scarcely any allusion to the work during the 14th and 15th centuries.

The part relating to the Pentateuch appeared between 1526 and 1527, and the entire work was later published in Venice (1566) with certain emendations and deviations from the Salonica edition.

All later texts are merely reprints of the Venetian edition, with the exception of one published at Livorno (1650–1659), which contained additions and corrections as well as a commentary by R. Abraham Gedaliah.

The latest text prior to 1900 (Vilna, 1898) is based on the editions of Lublin, Venice, and Livorno, and contains footnotes giving the sources, a glossary of difficult words, and an index of the chapters and verses of Biblical passages.