Commentators:R. Avraham ibn Ezra/0

From AlHaTorah.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Ibn Ezra – Intellectual Profile

This page is a stub.
Please contact us if you would like to assist in its development.
Ibn Ezra
Name
R. Avraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra
ר' אברהם בן מאיר אבן עזרא, ראב"ע
Dates1092 – 1167
LocationAndalusia / Italy / Provence / France / England
WorksCommentaries on Torah and part of Nakh, math, science, and grammar works.
Exegetical Characteristics
Influenced byR. Saadia Gaon, R. Yonah ibn Janach, R. Yehudah Hayuj
Impacted onMost Jewish Bible commentators. His though great impact on Chasidei Ashkenzaz

Background

Life

  • Name – Avraham ben Meir ibn Ezra1
  • Dates – 1092-11672
  • Location –  Andalusia, Italy, France, Provence, England.3
  • Education – Ibn Ezra was a polymath, engaging in many disciplines including Bible, Talmud,4 Midrash, grammar and philology, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, astrology,5 and poetry.6
  • Occupation – Poet, teacher,7 and Bible commentator
  • Family – Not much is known of Ibn Ezra's family. It is possible that he sired five children,8 but only one is known by name,  Yitzchak, who was a poet of note.9 It is possible that he predeceased his father.10 
  • Teachers – 
  • Contemporaries – R. Yehuda Ha-Levi,11 Rabbi Moshe ibn Ezra,12 Rabbi Joseph ibn Tzadik,13 Rashbam, R. Tam.14
  • Students – 
  • Time period – Ibn Ezra lived during the Almohad's invasion of Moslem Spain and their forced conversions of Jews to Islam on pain of death. This likely contributed to Ibn Ezra's leaving of Spain and his subsequent wanderings.15 He wrote an elegy, "אֲהָהּ יָרַד עֲלֵי סְפָרַד", lamenting the destruction of the Jewish communities in Spain in the aftermath of the invasion.16  In addition, the first (1095) and second crusades.(1150) took place during his lifetime.

Works Ibn Ezra was a prolific writer, leaving behind many works in a variety of fields from poetry to astronomy:17


  • Biblical commentaries – Ibn Ezra wrote a commentary on all five books of the Torah,18 Yeshayahu,19 Trei Asar, Tehillim,20 Iyyov, the five Megillot,21 and Daniel.22 The commentaries on Mishlei and Ezra-Nechemyah attributed to Ibn Ezra were likely authored by Moshe Kimchi.23  It is possible that he wrote on the other books as well, as he himself periodically refers his reader to such explanations,24 but these works have not survived.25
  • Grammar – Ibn Ezra wrote several grammatical works including: 26ספר מאזנים, ספר צחות27, שפת יתר,28 שפה ברורה29, and יסוד דקדוק30.  He also translated several works of R. Yehuda Ibn Chayyug into Hebrew.
  • Astronomy and math    Ibn Ezra wrote many astrological works including: Reshit Hokhmah,31 Safer Ha-Te’ammim,32 Keli Nechoshet,33 Ta’ame Luhot Al-Ku’arizmi, 34 Sefer Ha-Ibbur,  Response to Three Questions of Rabbi David Narboni, and Sefer Ha-Me’orot35
  • Rabbinics – No Talmudic novellae or Halakhic codes of Ibn Ezra are extant.  There is, though, one citation that might testify to his having written on the Talmud.  In his introduction to his commentary on Megillat Esther, R. Zecharyah b. Saruq writes, "ואנכי ראיתי חדושי הראב"ע מסכת קידושין והם בתכלית הדקות והאימות".
  • Philosophy / Jewish thought – Ibn Ezra's philosophical views can be found scattered throughout his Torah commentaries, but he also wrote several works which heavily focused on such issues. His work, יסוד מורא וסוד התורה, discusses the rationale behind Biblical commandments.36  His ערוגת המזימה פרדס החכמה deals with the existence of God, while ספר השם, as its name suggests, discusses the names of God. 

Torah Commentary

Characteristics

  • Verse by verse / Topical – Ibn Ezra's commentary is generally a local, verse by verse commentary, marked by brevity and an emphasis on grammar and linguistics. However, there are many exceptions where Ibn Ezra includes lengthy discussions of philosophical and other issues37 including God's name,38 the Priestly Garments, Ten Commandments,39 Golden Calf and Aharon's role,40 and Moses' request to see the face of God.41
  • Language – Ibn Ezra, somewhat unique among commentators of his era who came from Islamic lands, wrote his commentary in Hebrew rather than Arabic.42  Ibn Ezra's language is often cryptic and obscure,43 often making it difficult to understand and sparking many supercommentaries.
  • Peshat and Derash – Ibn Ezra distinguishes between the authority he grants the interpretations of the Sages in legal and narrative material, finding their words binding with regards to the former44 but not the latter.
    • Narrative material – According to Ibn ezra, Aggadic interpretations which are not in keeping with the literal meaning of the text do not have to be taken at face value.45
    • Legal material46
  • Grammar - Ibn Ezra believed that knowledge of grammar is crucial to understanding the Biblical text, writing in the introduction to his Torah commentary: "ובעבותות הדקדוק נקשר". Several examples of his grammatical insights follow:
    • Scripture uses abridged phrases and sentences. See I.E. on Gen. 2:9; Gen. 6:13.
    • Scripture often omits prepositions. The omitted preposition is to be supplied by the reader.  See I.E. on Ex. 20:11. 
    • Scripture at times employs an adjective but leaves out the noun which it qualifies. See I.E. on Ecc. 10:1.
    • At times Scripture omits the subject or object in a verse because it is implied by the verb used. See I.E. on Gen. 25:25; 48:1; 50:26.
    • The vav is not always to be translated as "and". At times it is not to be translated. See I.E. on Gen. 1:2.
    • When a verb in the singular governs a noun, the verb refers to each one of the plural. See I.E. on Gen. 49:22; Ecc.10:1.
    • Scripture employs superfluous letters. See I.E. 1:5.
    • Scripture at times employs the imperfect with the meaning of a perfect. See I.E. on Ex. 15:1.
    • Scripture at times employs the perfect with the meaning of an imperfect. See I.E. on Gen. 23::13.
    • The perfect is at times to be observed as a pluperfect. See I.E. on Gen. 2:8.
  • Astrology: 
    •  "One who knows the ways of the spheres knows the mind of the Most High. ."47
    • "It is because of the changes in the arrangement of the seven planets  that what comes into being today is made known by one day to the next day; this day to the next day, and one generation to the next generation. This goes on forever, for there is something new each day. (Ps. 19:3)."
    • "The writing of the heavens (the arrangement of the planets and stars) is read in all places. Intelligent people all over the world understand it." (Ps.19:5)
    • "The book of the living (Ps. 69:29) refers to the heavens. All the decrees that are destined to come are there written. They were there inscribed on the day that they were created." (Ibid.)
    • "It has been empirically established that each and every nation has a specific star and constellation." (Deut. 4:19).
    • "God raised Israel to a very high level in that God, and not any star, is Israel's guide. Israel is thus God's portion." 
      (Deut. 4:19).
  • Philospohy See Ibn Ezra's comment on Gen. 18:21 and Ps. 1:6.
  • Numerology - See Ibn Ezra on Ex. 3:15.

Methods


  • Ibn Ezra noted that  Hebrew and Arabic sister languages and  he  occasionally uses Arabic to explain Hebrew words.

Themes

  • Philosophy
    • God – God is incorporeal, God is the All. Purpose of man is to know God, obey His laws, and cling to God.
    • The Precepts:  According to Ibn Ezra’s calculations, there are only about sixty mitzvot in the Torah, though he believed that each one has infinite implications.48
    • "Every precept, be it minor or major, must be weighed in the scale of one's heart wherein the Eternal has implanted some of His wisdom. Thus if there appears something in the Torah that is intellectually impossible to accept or contrary to the evidence of our senses then we must search for a hidden meaning. This is so because intelligence is the basis of the Torah. The Torah was not given to ignoramuses.  Man's intelligence is the angel which mediates between him and his God. (Ibn Ezra Introduction to Commentary on the Torah).
    • Ibn Ezra distinguished among three types of mitzvot.
      • Rational laws. Ibn Ezra refers to these as pikkudim (deposits) because God deposited them in the mind, and they were known via human reasoning even before the Torah was given.49 These include civil laws and injunctions against incest, adultery and the like.50
      • Symbolic precepts. This category includes commandments that serve as reminders of the rational laws or of precepts that all Israelites, both men and women, are obligated to be conscious of at all times. The Sabbath, which recalls creation, is an example.51
      • Esoteric commandments.  This group inlcudes commandments that possess a purpose that only a few can fathom.  An individual is obligated to observe  these commandments even if he does not understand their purpose or function.52 
  • Defense of Rabbinic Judaism against attacks by Karaites and others.

Textual Issues

  • Manuscripts – 
  • Printings – 
  • Textual layers – 

Sources

Significant Influences

  • Earlier Sources
    • R. Saadiah Gaon (892-942 C.E.)
    • R. Moshe, Ha-Kohen ibn Giqatilah(11th century)
    • R. Solomon ibn Gabirol.(1020-1070 C.E.)
    • Grammarians - R. Judah ibn Chayyug ( c. 950-1000), R. Jonah ibn Janach (c. 920-c 970); R Menahchem ben Saruk (c. 910- c. 970 C.E.); Dunash ben Labrat (920-990 C.E.)
  • Teachers – 
  • Foils – Post Talmudic Midrashic commentaries on Scripture . He writes: [The midrashic method] " was adopted by the scholars in the land of the Greeks and Romans,They do not rely on grammar but rather on Midrashic exegesis... Since the the interpretations quoted in these works are already found in the books of the ancients, why do these later interpreters tire us by writing them again....Anyone with a little bit of intelligence and certainly one who has knowledge of the Torah can create his own Midrashim. The Midrashic interpretations are like clothes to the naked body. Concerning such interpretations our sages of blessed memory said, a verse never loses its literal meaning." (Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch; translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur Silver; N.Y. 1988. pp.11;13.).
  • Karaitic Commentaries.
  • Ibn Ezra concludes his introduction to his commentary on the Pentateuch as follows: "Heaven forbid that we should join the Sadducees who claim that the traditions of the Rabbinic sages contradict the literal meaning of Scripture and the rules of grammar. The fact of the natter is that our ancient sages are true and all their words are true. (Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentaeuch;Translated and Annotated by H. Norman Strickman & Arthur Silver; New York 1988, 17-19).
  • Christian Commentaries.
  • The third approach (approach to Biblical interpretation) is the way of darkness and gloom.... This is the approach of those who invent secret explanations for everything in Scripture (Christian Theologians).  They believe that the laws and statutes of the Torah are riddles. I will not expend much time answering them for, they are a people who do err in their heart (Ps. 95:10)....   we must interpret literally, take as it is written and believe  everything in the Torah which does not contradict reason.  We should not grope walls as the blind do...  Why should we turn what is evident into mysteries? 
  • Isaiah 7:14 :Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
  • "It is to me a matter of surprise that there are those who say the prophet here refers to their god. This can not be so, for  the sign was given to [King] Ahaz, and the man they consider god  was born many years afterwards. Furthermore  , the prophet says 'Yea, before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land [Syria and Ephraim, whose two kings thou hast a horror of], shall be forsaken.' Now Syria and Ephraim were wasted in the sixth year of King Hezekiah" thus the prophecy refers to the 8th cent. B.C.E. and not to the first century B.C.E.
  • And The Lord Appeared:  "Behold, a few say that God is three men. He is one and he is three and they are inseparable They forget that Scripture expressly states and the two angels came to Sodom at even ( Gen. 19:1)." The latter clearly shows that the three are separable and can not refer to God who is one.

Occasional Usage

Possible Relationship.


  • According to Ezra Fleischer, evidence from the Cairo Geneza reveals that Ibn Ezra's son Isaac, married Judah Ha-Levi's daughter.53 However, it should be noted that in all his references to Judah Ha-levi in his commentaries, Ibn Ezra never refers to Judah Ha-Levi as his father in law.

Impact

Later exegetes54 


  • Rabbi Yehudah He-Chasid55
  • Rabbi David Kimchi (1160-1235)
  • Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (1195-1270)
  • Rabbi Levi ben Gershon (1288-1344).
  • Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abravanel (1437-1508).
  • Maimonides - The many parallels between the teachings of Ibn Ezra and those of Maimonides (1138–1204) have led some to suggest that the works of Ibn Ezra influenced Maimonides.56 Ibn Ezra also impacted on the Chasidei Ashkenaz.57 

Supercommentaries

  • Filwarg, Yonah. Benei Reshef. Petrogrd , 19:00
  • Krinsky, Yehudah Leib. Mechokeke Yehudah, New York 1975.
  • Lipshitz, Avraham.Pirush R. Avraham ibn Ezra Al Hoshe'a., New York, 1988.
  • Netter, Shelomo Zalmen. Pirush al Ibn Ezra (in Horeb editions of Mikra'ot Gedolot. New York Berlin, 1928)
  • Meijler, Yitzchak. Ezrah Le-Havin, Saint Petersburg. 1902.
  • Shemual ibn Motot. Megillat Setarim in Margaliot Tuva.Jerusalem, 1973
  • <address>Simon, Uriel. Shenei Pirushei R. Avraham ibn Ezra Le-Terei Asor; Kerech Alef, Hoshe'a ,Yo'el, Amos. Israel, 1989.</address>
  • <address>Sheinfeld, Nechemiah. Da'at Ezra.  Mosad Ha-Rav Kook. Jerusalem, 2010.</address>
  • <address>Sherim, Yitzchak. Be'er Yitzchak. Israel, 5789.</address>
  • <address>Yosef Ben Eliezer Tov-Elem Ohel Yosef in Margaliot Tuva.Jerusalem, 1973.</address>