Bacher describes the glosses on Isaiah by the 11th-century Judaeo-Spanish scholar Yehuda Ibn Balaam, discussing first his relationship to other scholars of his milieu, especially Saadya Gaon and Abulwalîd, whose works he both cited and at times argued against. In contrast to the former, Ibn Balaam did not hesitate to admit his inability to understand a word or phrase. He opposed the rationalistic and historicizing exegesis of Ibn Gikatilla, upholding a messianic interpretation of several Isaiah passages. Much of his commentary is taken up with explaining grammatical points and word meanings; his lexical discussions frequently draw on comparisons with rabbinic Hebrew, Aramaic, and especially Arabic. His commentary also touches historical, chronological, and religion-philosophical issues. Bacher supplies a selection of Ibn Balaam's comments in German translation. Rabbi Wilhelm Bacher was a noted Orientalist, linguist, and Talmudic scholar known particularly for his work on aggadah.