Pinto, Josias, Ben-joseph

Pinto, Josias, ben-Joseph a Jewish rabbi, was born at the beginning of the 17th century at Lisbon, and settled at Damascus. He is also called רי8Š, i.e. Rabbi Josias Pinto, and wrote מאור עינים, "Light of the Eyes," annotations on the Fountain of Jacob, עיו יעקב, by R. Jakob ibn-Chabib (Venice, 1643, and often since): — כסŠ מזקק, "Purified Silver," a diffuse exposition on the Pentateuch (ibid. 1628): — כסŠ נבחר, "Choice Silver." a succinct exposition on Genesis and Exodus:— כסŠ צרוŠ, "Proved Silver," a commentary on Proverbs (Amsterd. 1714-35): — — שו8ת, legal decisions (Venice, 1694; Smyrna, 1756). See Furst, Bibl. Jud. 3. 104; De Rossi, Dizionario storico degli autori Ebrei (Germ. transl. by Hamburger), p. 265; Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. 1, 399 sq.; 3, 281 sq.; Lindo, Hist. of the Jews in Spain and Portugal, p. 336; Etheridge, Introduction to Hebrew Lit. p. 437; Finn, Sephardim, p. 462; Steinschneider, Catalogus Libr. Hebr. in Bibl: Bodl. p. 1547. (B. P.)