Besides tosafot on the greater part of the
Talmud, Joseph wrote a notable
Biblical commentary. Even more than
Rashi, to whose exegetical school he belonged, he confined himself to literal interpretations (
peshat). Anticipating later
Biblical criticism, he assumed the presence of duplicate narratives in the Bible, and he strove to give rational explanations to the miraculous stories. Thus he interprets "
tree of life" () as "tree of healing", explaining that the fruit of the tree possessed the virtue of healing the sick, without, however, bestowing eternal life. In regard to the transformation of
Lot's wife into a pillar of salt () he explains that, disbelieving in the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah, she lingered on the road, and was overtaken by the rain of brimstone and fire, which are usually mixed with salt. Well acquainted with the
Vulgate and
Christian Biblical exegesis, Joseph, in commenting on
Psalm 2, cites
Jerome, whose explanation of the word "bar" (in Aramaic: "son") he criticizes. He was explicitly anti-Christian, as shown by his commentaries on (against the belief in the
Trinity), on (against Christian allegorizing) and on (attempting to connect the magical powers of
false prophets with the
miracles of Jesus in the New Testament). His commentary on the
Pentateuch is still extant in manuscript in the libraries of
Leyden and
Munich. Part of it, on
Genesis and
Exodus, was published by
Jellinek Extracts from the remaining books were published by
Abraham Berliner in
Peleṭat Soferim (1872). The entire commentary was published in Hebrew by Mossad HaRav Kook. == Selichot ==