Wikipedia's first sentence called it “grandson of rashi and was a biblical commentator and talmudist”. Today it says “leading french tosafist and grandson of shlomo yitzhaki”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "”. It now reads “French rabbi Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as the "”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Rabbi Shmuel the son of Meir ( 1085 - 1174 ), more commonly known by the acronym The Rashbam , was the grandson of Rashi and was a biblical commentator and Talmudist . The Rashbam was born in France , in somewhere close to Troyes . He learned from his grandfather, Rashi and from the Riva .1His commentary on the Torah is renown for its stress on the plain meaning of the text, and this approach often led him to state views that were somewhat controversial (thus resulting in the omission of his commentary on the first chapters of Bereishit in many earlier editions of the Chumash). Parts of his commentary on the Talmud have been preserved, and they appear on the pages of most of tractate Bava Batra as well as the last chapter of tractate Pesachim. He was the teacher of his brother Rabbeinu Tam . v t e2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17265185.
The opening as it stood in 2010 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Shmuel ben Meir (c.1085 - c.1158), also known as Rashbam after his Hebrew acronym , was a leading French Tosafist born in the vicinity of Troyes .His father was Meir ben Shmuel and his mother was Yocheved, the daughter of Rashi .Like his grandfather Rashi, the Rashbam was a biblical commentator and Talmudist .He was the older brother of the Tosafists Isaac ben Meir (the Rivam) and Jacob ben Meir (Rabbeinu Tam).He was a colleague of Rabbi Joseph Kara .He learned from Rashi and from Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi (the Riva). He was the teacher of his brother, Rabbeinu Tam. His commentary on the Torah is renowned for its stress on the plain meaning ( peshat ) of the text. This approach often led him to state views that were somewhat controversial (thus resulting in the omission of his commentary on the first chapters of Genesis in many earlier editions of the Pentateuch ). Parts of his commentary on the Talmud have been preserved, and they appear on the pages of most of tractate Bava Batra (where no commentary by Rashi is available), as well as the last chapter of tractate Pesachim .Rashbam earned a living by tending livestock and growing grapes, following in his family tradition.Known for his piety, he defended Jewish beliefs in public disputes that had been arranged by church leaders to demonstrate the inferiority of Judaism.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 362132106.
The opening as it stood in 2015 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158) after his death known as "Rashbam" , a Hebrew acronym for: RA bbi SH muel B en M eir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki , "Rashi." The commentary of R.Samuel ben Meir, Rashbam, on Qoheleth ed.Salters - 1985 "This book, designed for students of the Hebrew Bible and medieval exegesis, presents a small part of the work of R.Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and one of the leading figures in Rashi's school of exegesis in northern ..."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668049080.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam" , a Hebrew acronym for RA bbi SH muel B en M eir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki , "Rashi". The commentary of R. Samuel ben Meir, Rashbam, on Qoheleth ed. Salters - 1985 "This book, designed for students of the Hebrew Bible and medieval exegesis, presents a small part of the work of R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and one of the leading figures in Rashi's school of exegesis in northern ..."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962467690.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
French rabbi Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam" , a Hebrew acronym for RA bbi SH muel B en M eir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki , "Rashi". The commentary of R. Samuel ben Meir, Rashbam, on Qoheleth ed. Salters - 1985 "This book, designed for students of the Hebrew Bible and medieval exegesis, presents a small part of the work of R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and one of the leading figures in Rashi's school of exegesis in northern ..."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1145274529.
The opening as it stood in 2025
French rabbi Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as the "Rashbam" , a Hebrew acronym for RA bbi SH muel B en M eir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki , "Rashi". The commentary of R. Samuel ben Meir, Rashbam, on Qoheleth ed. Salters - 1985 "This book, designed for students of the Hebrew Bible and medieval exegesis, presents a small part of the work of R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and one of the leading figures in Rashi's school of exegesis in northern ..."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1292282902. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “grandson of rashi and was a biblical commentator and talmudist”. Today it says “leading french tosafist and grandson of shlomo yitzhaki”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "”. It now reads “French rabbi Samuel ben Meir ( Troyes , c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as the "”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
grandson of rashi and was a biblical commentator and talmudist
Now
leading french tosafist and grandson of shlomo yitzhaki
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
