Zante, Abraham

Physician and poet; born in Crete in 1670; died in 1729. He must have removed at an early period to Zante. He studied under Hezekiah Manoah Provençal, a physician of Verona. He was the author of a poetical paraphrase of the Psalms, which he published, together with other poems of his own, under the title "Kehunat Abraham" (Abraham's Priesthood), Venice, 1719. A specimen of this work, now quite rare, was reprinted in the periodical "Ha-Meassef," 3:1, and in "Bikkure ha-'Ittim," 5:83. While he shows a good command of the Hebrew language, his poetry is not of a high order.