ZARḲO, JUDAH BEN ABRAHAM:
Hebrew poet distinguished for the elegance of his style; flourished at Rhodes in the sixteenth century. During a residence at Constantinople he wrote his "Leḥem Yehudah" (Constantinople, 1560), which contains an allegory on the soul, metrical and nonmetrical poems, and epigrams directed against various celebrities, including Maimonides and Judah Sabara. A letter written by him to congratulate Joseph Hamon on his marriage is given at the beginning of the anonymous Hebrew style-book "Yefeh Nof," and some of his shorter poems have been published by Edelmann in his "Dibre Ḥefeẓ" (London, 1853).
Bibliography:
- Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 1371 et seq.;
- Grätz, Gesch. ix. 395;
- Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 395.
