"חושך שפתיו משכיל" (משלי י,יט): האמנם?

This article addresses the varied reactions in the rabbinical world to the issue of critical Bible study. Some rabbis who held fast to the traditional attitude toward the study and analysis of the biblical text chose either to ignore or to negate entirely the findings of biblicalresearch. Others chose to study the findings of biblical research, to understand what had undermined prevailing traditional assumptions and generated the birth of the school of biblical criticism, and offered suggestions as to how the conflict between traditional and new values could be resolved. Yet another option, which has yet to merit comprehensive study, was not to make their views on this issue public. Referred to as sod as early as R. Abraham ibn Ezra's twelfth-century Bible commentary, this trend gained momentum in the nineteenth century, and is here illustrated by citations from Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (Shir), Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal), and Nachman Krochmal (Ranak), on the one hand, and Abraham Geiger, on the other. The author further suggests that this method continues to be employed at present by rabbis who explore biblical studies.