The literary-historical approach of yefet ben 'eli the karaite in his commentary of the book of amos

This article gives an overview of the exegetical approaches in Yefet's biblical commentaries, especially his literary-historical approach as a central component of Yefet's commentary on the Book of Amos. Yefet espouses an essentially historical approach to the biblical text; evident both by his deductions of the nature of society, and by dating the events mentioned in the book, based on biblical "evidence" taken from references to other biblical texts. He treats these events as developing narratives using both literary and historical tools. This approach guides his interpretations and helps him to determine whether metaphorical or literal interpretation is most appropriate.