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Abraham ibn Ezra
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Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (Hebrew: ר׳ אַבְרָהָם בֶּן מֵאִיר אִבְּן עֶזְרָא, romanized: ʾAḇrāhām ben Mēʾir ʾiḇən ʾEzrāʾ, often abbreviated as ראב״ע; Arabic: إبراهيم المجيد ابن عزرا Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167) was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela, Taifa of Zaragoza (now Navarre).
Abraham Ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Navarre. At the time, the town was under the rule of the emirs of the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza. However, when he later moved to Córdoba, he claimed it was his birthplace. Ultimately, most scholars agree that his place of birth was Tudela.
From outside sources, little is known of ibn Ezra's family; however, he wrote of a marriage to a wife who produced five children. While it is believed four died early, the last-born, Isaac, became an influential poet and a later convert to Islam in 1140. His son's conversion was deeply troubling for ibn Ezra, leading him to pen many poems reacting to the event for years afterward.
Ibn Ezra was a close friend of Judah Halevi, who was approximately 14 years older. When ibn Ezra moved to Córdoba as a young man, Halevi followed him. This trend continued when the two began their lives as wanderers in 1137. Halevi died in 1141, but Ibn Ezra continued travelling for three decades, reaching as far as Baghdad. During his travels, he composed secular poetry of the lands he traveled through and rationalist Torah commentaries (for which he would be best remembered).
He appears to have been unrelated to the contemporary scholar Moses ibn Ezra.
In Spain, Ibn Ezra had already gained the reputation of a distinguished poet and thinker. However, apart from his poems, the vast majority of his work was composed after 1140. Written in Hebrew, as opposed to earlier thinkers' use of Judeo-Arabic, these works covering Hebrew grammar, Biblical exegesis, and scientific theory were tinged with the work of Arab scholars he had studied in Spain.
Beginning many of his writings in Italy, Ibn Ezra also worked extensively to translate the works of grammarian and biblical exegetist Judah ben David Hayyuj from their original Judeo-Arabic to Hebrew. Published as early as 1140, these translations became some of the first expositions of Hebrew grammar to be written in Hebrew.
While publishing translations, Ibn Ezra also began to publish biblical commentaries. Using many of the techniques outlined by Hayyuj, Ibn Ezra would publish his first biblical commentary on Ecclesiastes in 1140. He would continue to publish such commentaries over mainly works from Ketuvim and Nevi'im throughout his journey. He managed to publish a short commentary over the entire Pentateuch while living in Lucca in 1145. This brief commentary would be amended into more extended portions beginning in 1155 with the publication of his expanded commentary on Genesis.
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Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (Hebrew: ר׳ אַבְרָהָם בֶּן מֵאִיר אִבְּן עֶזְרָא, romanized: ʾAḇrāhām ben Mēʾir ʾiḇən ʾEzrāʾ, often abbreviated as ראב״ע; Arabic: إبراهيم المجيد ابن عزرا Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167) was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela, Taifa of Zaragoza (now Navarre).
Abraham Ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Navarre. At the time, the town was under the rule of the emirs of the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza. However, when he later moved to Córdoba, he claimed it was his birthplace. Ultimately, most scholars agree that his place of birth was Tudela.
From outside sources, little is known of ibn Ezra's family; however, he wrote of a marriage to a wife who produced five children. While it is believed four died early, the last-born, Isaac, became an influential poet and a later convert to Islam in 1140. His son's conversion was deeply troubling for ibn Ezra, leading him to pen many poems reacting to the event for years afterward.
Ibn Ezra was a close friend of Judah Halevi, who was approximately 14 years older. When ibn Ezra moved to Córdoba as a young man, Halevi followed him. This trend continued when the two began their lives as wanderers in 1137. Halevi died in 1141, but Ibn Ezra continued travelling for three decades, reaching as far as Baghdad. During his travels, he composed secular poetry of the lands he traveled through and rationalist Torah commentaries (for which he would be best remembered).
He appears to have been unrelated to the contemporary scholar Moses ibn Ezra.
In Spain, Ibn Ezra had already gained the reputation of a distinguished poet and thinker. However, apart from his poems, the vast majority of his work was composed after 1140. Written in Hebrew, as opposed to earlier thinkers' use of Judeo-Arabic, these works covering Hebrew grammar, Biblical exegesis, and scientific theory were tinged with the work of Arab scholars he had studied in Spain.
Beginning many of his writings in Italy, Ibn Ezra also worked extensively to translate the works of grammarian and biblical exegetist Judah ben David Hayyuj from their original Judeo-Arabic to Hebrew. Published as early as 1140, these translations became some of the first expositions of Hebrew grammar to be written in Hebrew.
While publishing translations, Ibn Ezra also began to publish biblical commentaries. Using many of the techniques outlined by Hayyuj, Ibn Ezra would publish his first biblical commentary on Ecclesiastes in 1140. He would continue to publish such commentaries over mainly works from Ketuvim and Nevi'im throughout his journey. He managed to publish a short commentary over the entire Pentateuch while living in Lucca in 1145. This brief commentary would be amended into more extended portions beginning in 1155 with the publication of his expanded commentary on Genesis.
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