Hebrew text with vowel points, together with an English translation
and a bibliographical account. A second volume appeared in 1841
containing elaborate notes by Asher himself and by such eminent
scholars as Zunz and Rapoport, together with a valuable essay by the
former on the Geographical Literature of the Jews and on the Geography
of Palestine, also an Essay by Lebrecht on the Caliphate of Bagdad.

In addition to twenty-three several reprints and translations
enumerated by Asher, various others have since appeared from time to
time, but all of them are based upon the two editions of the text from
which he compiled his work. These were the Editio Princeps, printed by
Eliezer ben Gershon at Constantinople, 1543, and the Ferrara Edition
of 1556, printed by Abraham Usque, the editor of the famous "Jews"
Bible in Spanish.

Asher himself more than once deplores the fact that he had not a
single MS. to resort to when confronted by doubtful or divergent
readings in the texts before him.

I have, however, been fortunate enough to be able to trace and examine
three complete MSS. of Benjamin's Travels, as well as large fragments
belonging to two other MSS., and these I have embodied in my present
collation. The following is a brief description of the MSS.:--

I. BM, a MS. in the British Museum (No. 27,089). It is bound up with
some of Maimonides' works, several Midrashic tracts, a commentary on
the Hagadah by Joseph Gikatilia, and an extract from Abarbanel's
commentary on Isaiah; it forms part of the Almanzi collection, which
curiously enough was purchased by the British Museum from Asher & Co.
in October, 1865, some twenty years after Asher's death.