ABSTRACT
A paraphrastic translation of Song of Songs (the Rabbanite Targum) and a commentary on that biblical book by the Karaite Yefet ben Eli both betray the authors’ views on the diaspora, especially regarding their group's position as a minority in a sometimes hostile environment. While there are many similarities in the way these books explain and apply the Hebrew text to their readers, one difference stands out and affects the way the two minorities, Rabbanite and Karaite Jews, react to their exilic circumstances: the Rabbanites do not have any theological arguments or sociological inclination to lift the exile themselves and actively strive for a majority society somewhere, while the Karaite Yefet ben Eli offers both.
