His chief claim to fame, however, was for his commentary on the bible. Meira epsteins subsequent translation of ezras book of. Sela, abraham ibn ezra and the rise of medieval hebrew science. Originally written in hebrew by ibn ezra, the beginning of wisdom is one of the most important of the basic medieval texts of astrology. However, when he later moved to cordoba, he claimed it to be his place of birth. Abraham ibn ezra s astrological writings, volume 4 series. Ultimately, most scholars agree that his place of birth was tudela.
So if a reader were to open ibn ezras hebrew commentary, fail to understand the first words of the commentary and turn to shachters translation for help, she or he would expect to find their explanation on the first, not the second page of shachters translation. His explanations of scripture have been printed in all major editions of the hebrew bible, and influenced other luminaries, such as maimonides, rabbi david kimchi, nahmanides, ralbag, abrarvanel. Abraham ibn ezra was born in tudela, one of the oldest and most important jewish communities in the presentday spanish province of navarre. Nativities ibn ezras sefer hamoladot, and other books. The commentary of abraham ibn ezra on the pentateuch. Moses ibn ezra, hebrew poet and critic, one of the finest poets of the golden age of spanish jewry 9001200. Avraham ibn ezra10891164, the book of nativities and revolutions translated by meira epstein, with annotations by meira epstein and robert hand, arhat,apr. Links to other web sites with information on abraham ibn ezra. The first part of the book provides a comprehensive picture of ibn ezras scientific corpus. Epstein, and edited from the latin translation by robert hand. English critical edition of the book of nativities and the book of revolution, ed. Ibn ezra the astrologer and the transmission of science to the christian west ph.
The book of nativities and revolutions sefer hamoladot is the third in the series of english translations of avraham ibn ezra s astrological works. Streight, david trn, isbn 0791416267, isbn 9780791416266, brand new, free shipping in the us. Rabbi abraham ben meir ibn ezra was born and educated in the golden age of muslim. The main focus of this book is the study of abraham ibn ezras 10891167 scientific thought within the historical and cultural context of his times. The book of nativities and revolutions avraham ben meir ibn ezra, robert s hand, meira b epstein on. Abraham ibn ezra stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. A parallel hebrewenglish critical edition of the two versions of the text etudes sur le judaisme medieval by abraham ben meir ibn ezra 3 editions first published in 2009. In the course of his wanderings through western europe, abraham ibn ezra, the peripatetic spanishjewish scholar and poet, produced two commentaries to several biblical books, among them the book of esther.
Abraham ibn ezra 10891167, spanish rabbi, man of letters and writer. Tradition maintains that ibn ezra married judah halevis daughter after three of his children died and one son converted to islam, ibn ezra became a. The two commentaries of abraham ibn ezra on the book of. He argues that the word le hattot always means to pervert, and thus. The story of hayy ibn yaqzan is similar to the later story of mowgli in rudyard kiplings the jungle book in that a baby is abandoned in a deserted tropical island where he is taken care of and fed by a. Abraham ibn ezra on nativities and continuous horoscopy a parallel hebrewenglish critical edition of the book of nativities and the book of revolution. Judah ben joseph ibn ezra 12th century, spanish chamberlain of the kings court. Abraham ibn ezras astrological works in hebrew and latin. Ibn ezra was the name of a prominent jewish family from spain spanning many centuries. In his commentary to the passage, he addresses his readers as follows. Rabbi abraham ibn ezra, poet, philosopher, and mathematician, was one of the outstanding personalities produced by medieval jewry. Ibn tufayl is famous for hay ibn yaqzan alive son of awake, a philosophical romance and allegorical tale.
Abraham ibn ezras astrological works in hebrew and latin jstor. Ibn arabi, the book, and the law, paperback by chodkiewicz, michel. It is taken to mean the book of the upright and is the title of a work that is cited in the bible. Bibliotheca astrologica latina digital collections. These twin treatises represent the first hebrew work, unique in medieval jewish science, to discuss the theories and techniques of historical and meteorological. Craster, a summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the. The book of instruction in the elements of the art of astrology al biruni the judgments of nativities abu ali alkhayyat on reception mashaallah on the stellar rays alkindi the beginning of wisdom avraham ibnezra the book of nativities vol. These are from the book of nativities and revolutions from ibn ezra, translated from hebrew by meira b. This is one of the comments from ibn ezras beginning of wisdom that first endeared me to his writings. At one time, however, ezra and nehemiah followed 1 and 2 chronicles and were generally considered to be the work of one and the same author known as the chronicler.
Isaiah, minor prophets, psalms, job, pentateuch, daniel. The introduction to the science of the judgments of the stars sahl ibn bishr, afaessential dignities j. Consideration before judgment is a tittle given by rob hand i think, it is not a tittle given by ibn ezra, but fits the purpose. The beginning of wisdom is a one of the most important of the basic medieval texts of astrology. Ancient hindu astrology for the modern western astrologer james t. Sela, abraham ibn ezra and the rise of medieval hebrew science leiden. Title this original title for ibn ezras commentary on the torah is rarely used. Writer of penitential poems, however, was bestowed because of his penitential prayers. Abraham ibn ezra on nativities and continuous horoscopy. The book of nativities and revolutions by rabbi avraham ibn ezra translated from the hebrew original by meira b. Critical edition of the book of nativities and the book of revolution, ed. A most intriguing attempt to explain the text is provided by rabbi abraham ibn ezra. Ibn ezra the astrologer and the transmission of science to the christian west p. Description this book of prayer is called aljami liahkam issalah, because i recorded in it all the issues of prayer addressed by the shar texts, without including those subjects discussed by the jurists that relied upon analogy qiyas, discretion istihsan and the like.
Shlomo sela this volume offers the first critical edition, accompanied with english translation and commentary, of sefer hamoladot, which addresses the doctrine and the system of. The other two are the beginning of wisdom reshit hokhma, and the book of reasons sefer hateamim. Edition of the book of nativities and the book of revolution, ed. The book of nativities by avraham ben meir ibn ezra. Yet, ibn ezra makes a much more complex c alculation to get the almuten. The last four books of the hebrew canon are ezra, nehemiah, and 1 and 2 chronicles, in that order. Pdf gersonides astrology and abraham ibn ezra shlomo sela. Arabic science to the christian west doctoral dissertation, university of manchester. And in the eighth book, he speaks of the revolutions of the years of the world.
Guide for the performer of prayer by sheikh abu iyas. And in the sixth book, he speaks of the revolutions of nativities. He was born in granada about 1055 1060, and died after 18. The book of instruction in the elements of the art of astrology al biruni, astrology classics, 12. Abraham ben meir ibn ezra was considered a distinguished writer of the middle ages, examining poetry, linguistics, philosophy, and hebrew scripture. It serves as the backbone to an extensive textbook of astrology by ibn ezra, which also included the book of reasons, the book of nativities, and others. In his native land, he had already gained the reputation of a distinguished poet and thinker but apart from his poems, his works, which were all in the hebrew language. He was one of the first jewish poets to write secular verse. Born in 1089, ibn ezra was a friend of judah halevi. Latinized names of muslim scholars muslim heritage.
The anglican version of the book of the prophet isaiah amended according to the commentary of ibn ezra. He has recently published abraham ibn ezras introductions to astrology. The book of nativities and revolutions ibn ezra, avraham ben meir, hand, robert s, epstein, meira b on. A parallel hebrewenglish critical edition of the book of nativities and the book of revolution. And if you were capable of grasping the mystery that emanates from the word azazel, then you would know its secret and the secret of its name, for it has equivalents elsewhere in the bible. The persian astrologer al balkhi, jafar ibn muhammad albumasar 787886 ad had a profound effect on western astrology and the modernday student of the western predictive tradition will be well rewarded by close study of his works and their influence. Joseph ibn ezra 16th17th centuries, oriental rabbi and talmudist. Arabian astrology extract of a history of horoscopic astrology by james h. The present volume offers the first critical edition of the hebrew text of the two versions of ibn ezra s book of the world, accompanied by an english translation and a commentary. The book exodus with the commentary of abraham ibn ezra,naples 1488 at several of the abovenamed places, ibn ezra remained for some time and developed a rich literary activity. The beginning of wisdom by avraham ibn ezra, abraham ben. The great editions of the hebrew bible with rabbinical commentaries contained also commentaries of ibn ezras on the following books of the bible. At the time, the town was under the muslim rule of the emirs of zaragoza.