Abraham Ibn Ezra. The Book of Reasons: A Parallel Hebrew-English Critical Edition of the Two Versions of the Text

413 Pages·2007·4.66 MB·English

by  Shlomo Sela

Abraham Ibn Ezra
The Book of Reasons
Études sur
le Judaïsme Médiéval
Fondéespar
Georges Vajda
Dirigéespar
Paul B. Fenton
TOMEXXXV
Abraham Ibn Ezra
The Book of Reasons
A Parallel Hebrew-English Critical Edition
of the Two Versions of the Text
Edited,translated,andannotatedby
Shlomo Sela
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2007
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailableon
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ISSN: 0169-815X
ISBN:9789004157644
Copyright2007byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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IDCPublishers,MartinusNijhoffPublishersandVSP.
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To the beloved memory of my mother,
Esther Feigue Goldberg de Slucki

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ..................................................... ix
Abbreviations .......................................................... xi
Introduction............................................................ 1
InterpretiveOrganization .......................................... 4
WhatTextisT.e#amimII CommentingOn? ....................... 6
ThematicOrganization ............................................ 8
PlaceandDateofComposition.................................... 10
Motivation .......................................................... 13
IbnEzra’s Contribution ............................................ 15
TheScientificEditionoftheHebrewText........................ 18
TheManuscriptsofT.e#amimI...................................... 20
TheManuscriptsofT.e#amimII..................................... 23
EditorialandTranslationPrinciples ............................... 24
Sigla ................................................................. 26
PartOne:FirstVersionoftheBookofReasonsbyAbraham Ibn
Ezra.HebrewTextandEnglishTranslation ...................... 27
PartTwo:NotestotheFirstVersionoftheBookofReasons .......109
PartThree:SecondVersionoftheBookofReasonsbyAbraham
IbnEzra.HebrewTextandEnglishTranslation..................181
PartFour:NotestotheSecondVersionoftheBookofReasons....259
PartFive:Appendixes .................................................337
1. ReferencesinIbnEzra’s AstrologicalWorkto T.e#amimI or
T.e#amimII.........................................................339
2. QuotationsfromReshitH. okhmahI inT.e#amimI.................341
3. DigressionsinT.e#amimI .........................................345
4. QuotationsfromanUnderlyingTextinT.e#amimII ............347
5. AuthoritiesandSourcesmentionedinT.e#amimI and
T.e#amimII 353
6. DigressionsinT.e#amimII.........................................357
viii contents
7. AComparativeScrutinyofT.e#amimII andMishpeT.ei
ha-Mazzalot .......................................................359
8. Manuscripts ......................................................365
GlossaryofTechnicalTerms..........................................377
Bibliography ...........................................................369
Index ...................................................................391
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Lenn Schramm revised my translations and edited the English sections
of this book; he also made very helpful suggestions about the interpre-
tationoftheHebrewtexts.Severalcolleaguesprovidedusefulassistance
in various domains. Prof. Charles Burnett carefully read the entire text
of both versions of the Book of Reasons and offered valuable suggestions
on astrological, astronomical and linguistic topics. Prof. Gad Freuden-
thal read the introduction and provided advice about its organization
(as well as that of the entire whole book). Prof B.R. Goldstein and Dr.
Tony Levy read various sections of the texts and enlightened me on
various points of astronomy and mathematics. The Oxford Centre for
Jewish Studies awarded me the Skirwall Fellowship for the 2004/5 aca-
demic year, allowing me time to prepare most of my manuscript. Prof.
Moises Orfali, dean of the Faculty of Jewish Studies at Bar-Ilan Uni-
versity, and the Fondation Ihel (Bar-Ilan University) provided generous
grantsin2004–2006.Mywarmestthankstoallofthem.
Sh.S.