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Saul ben Anan

SAUL BEN ANAN (c. 800), sectarian leader, son of *Anan b. David. He succeeded his father as head of the sect of Ananites about the end of the eighth century. In *Karaite tradition, which regards Anan as the titular founder of Karaism, Saul is listed second in the hereditary line of Karaite "princes." Nothing is known of his activity, except for his reported interpretation of the Seventh Commandment in the sense that adultery covers all illicit intimacy. He was succeeded in his princely office by his son *Josiah.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

S. Pinsker, Likkutei Kadmoniyyot (1860), 44 (first pagination), 53, 62, 106, 186 (second pagination); Mann, Texts, 2 (1935), index; L. Nemoy, Karaite Anthology (1952), 6, 21.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.