Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, poet, philosopher, and mathematician, was one of the outstanding personalities produced by medieval Jewry. His chief claim to fame, however, is his commentary on the Bible. The latter is printed in all major editions of the Hebrew Scriptures and influenced other luminaries such as Maimonides, Rabbi David Kimchi, Nahmanides, Ralbag, Abravanel, and all serious students of the Hebrew Bible, for whom his works are essential. Ibn Ezra's commentary on the first two Books of Psalms is now available in English for the first time, accompanied by a thorough annotation. Students of Scripture at all levels will find this a valuable tool for their studies of Scripture and Jewish thought.
Uriel Simon describes the fascinating controversy that raged from the tenth to the twelfth centuries regarding the theological status and literary genre of the Psalms. Saadiah Gaon, who initiated the controversy, claimed that the Psalter was a second Torah—the Lord's word to David—and by no means man's prayer to God. Salmon ben Yerucham and Yefet ben Ali insisted on the Karaite view that the Book of Psalms was the prophetic common prayerbook of Israel. Totally opposing both of these concepts, Rabbi Moses Ibn Giqatilah regarded the Psalms as non-prophetic prayers authored by different poets, beginning with David and ending with the captive Levites in the Babylonian exile. Finally, Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra reverted to the belief held by the Talmudic sages—that the Psalms were Israel's divinely inspired and most sacred poetry. The book also includes the full text of a previously unknown introduction to Ibn Ezra's lost commentary on the Psalms, which is much more elaborate and revealing than the introduction to his familiar classical commentary.
Ibn Ezra addresses the importance of the knowledge of grammar, stating that one cannot fully understand the text of the Torah without it. He also discusses the study of the Bible and the Talmud, arguing that one cannot properly comprehend the Talmud if one does not know the sciences, for there are many passages in the Pentateuch and the Talmud that are either incomprehensible or given to misinterpretation by one who has no prior knowledge of the sciences.
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir ibn Ezra was one of the outstanding personalities produced by medieval Andalusian Jewry. He was a noted poet, mathematician, astrologer, grammarian, and philosopher. However, above all Ibn Ezra was one of the greatest Bible commentators of all time. Ibn Ezra's commentary on Psalms is part of the important intellectual bequest that this great medieval scholar left behind. It, along with the other works produced by the great minds of Israel, is part of the great "inheritance of the congregation of Jacob." Rabbi Dr. H. Norman Strickman has already written the standard translation into English of Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, which has been widely accepted and praised. He now directs his attention to Ibn Ezra's commentary on Psalms and offers the public this first in a series of annotated translations.
From the Middle Ages until the present, the development of astrology among Jews was associated mainly with the name of Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167). His scientific corpus deals with mathematics, astronomy, scientific instruments and tools, and the Jewish calendar; but especially with astrology. This volume is the first product of a larger enterprise-a scientific edition of all twelve Ibn Ezra's astrological treatises-and offers a critical Hebrew text of the two versions of Ibn Ezra's "Sefer ha-Te'amim," the Book of Reasons, accompanied by an annotated translation and commentary. The two treatises presented here were designed by Ibn Ezra to offer "reasons," "explanations," or "meanings" of the raw astrological concepts formulated in the introduction to astrology that Ibn Ezra entitled "Reshit Hokhmah" (Beginning of Wisdom).
The biblical psalms are perhaps the most commented-upon texts in human history. They are at once deeply alluring and deeply troubling. In this addition to the acclaimed Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, a highly respected scholar offers a theological reading of Psalms 1-50, exploring the various voices in the poems to discern the conversation they engage about God, suffering, and hope as well as ways of community belonging. The commentary examines the context of the psalms as worship--tending to both their original setting and their subsequent Jewish and Christian appropriation--and explores the psychological dynamics facing the speaker. Foreword by William P. Brown.
2016 Word Guild Award - Academic category Honorable mention, Grace Irwin Prize Renowned scholar Craig Bartholomew, coauthor of the bestselling textbook The Drama of Scripture, writes in his main area of expertise--hermeneutics--to help seminarians pursue a lifetime of biblical interpretation. Integrating the latest research in theology, philosophy, and biblical studies, this substantive hermeneutics textbook is robustly theological in its approach, takes philosophical hermeneutics seriously, keeps the focus throughout on the actual process of interpreting Scripture, and argues that biblical interpretation should be centered in the context and service of the church--an approach that helps us hear God's address today.
24 scholars – Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic – from North America, Israel, and various European countries, contribute to this rich volume on medieval interpretation and exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (5th through 12th centuries). Geographically, they cover most of the world as it was known in these times: from Syria to Spain, from Rome to the Rhine and the Seine. The volume also contains supplements to the previous volume, on Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon. The indexes (names, topics, references to biblical sources and a broad body of literature beyond) are the key to the wealth of information provided. Undoubtedly, this volume will meet the high expectations set by the reviewers of the first volume (I/1) of the series: "Definitive reference work" (Religious Studies Review) "Mine d'information d'une grande richesse" (Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses) "Monumental ouvrage" (Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique) "A veritable treasury" (Catholic Biblical Quarterly) "The foremost account of Jewish and Christian biblical interpretation" (Expository Times) "Onmisbaar handboek voor jeder een die zich serieus met bijbelstudie bezighoudt" (Stem van het boek) "Respekt gebietende Summe wissenschaftsgeschichtlicher Forschung" (Zeitschrift für Altes Testament) Selected chapters 23. The Problem of Periodization of Middle Ages 25. Jewish Bible Interpretation in Early Post-Talmudic Times 26. Gregory the Great 28. Seventh through Ninth Century 1. Isidore of Seville 3. Exegesis in the time of Charlemagne 4. From Angelomus of Luxeuil to Remigius of Auxerre 31. The Flourishing Era of Jewish Exegesis in Spain 1. The Linguistic School: Judah Hayyuj, Jonah ibn Janah, Moses ibn Chiquitilla and Judah ibn Bal'am 2. The Aesthetic Exegesis of Moses ibn Ezra 32. The School of Literal Jewish Exegesis in Northern France 4. Menahem ben Helbo5. Solomon Yishaqi / Rashi (1040–1105) 8. Samuel ben Meir / Rashbam (1080–1160) 33. Jewish Exegesis in Spain and Provence and in the East 2. Abraham ibn Ezra4. Moses ben Nahman / Nahmanides (Ramban) 5. Abraham Maimonides and the Yemenite School 34. The School of St. Victor in Paris 35. Christian Interpretation of the Old Testament 1. Bernard of Clairvaux on the Song of Songs 2. Gilbert of Poitiers and Peter Lombard 6. Albert, Thomas, Bonaventure 36. Development of Biblical Interpretation in the Syrian Churches 38. Literal and Spiritual Scriptural Interpretation: Aspects of Correspondence and Tension between Christian and Jewish Exegesis
