R. David Kimhi (known as Radak from the acronym of R abbi D avid K imhi; 1160?–1235?), grammarian and exegete of Narbonne, Provence. The son of R. Joseph Kimhi and brother and pupil of R. R. Moses Kimhi, R. David was a teacher in his native town and was active in public causes. He is known to have participated in the judgment (between 1205 and 1218) of several contentious persons from Barcelona who dishonored the memory of Rashi. During the Maimonidean controversy of 1232, he undertook a journey to Toledo to gain the support of Judah ibn Alfakhar for the Maimonideans. He was prevented from reaching his destination because of illness but his strong defense of Maimonides and the latter's followers together with Ibn Alfakhar's critique of Kimhi have been preserved in the correspondence between them (in Kovez Teshuvot ha-Rambam, Leipzig, 1859, pt. 3). In Jewish circles, the phrase "If there is no flour [kemah, etymon of Kimhi], there is no Torah" (Avot 3:17) was applied to him.