Abraham Ben Meir ibn Ezra , born towards 1090 with Tudèle, in Navarre, deceased towards 1165 with Calahorra, was Rabbin, Poète, grammairien, Traducteur, commentator, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He was one of the most eminent Jewish scholars of the Spanish Golden age, and one of the sources of inspiration of Baruch Spinoza.

Its life is badly known, if not by the relations which it maintained with Rabbenou Tam and Juda Halevi (of which some think that he was the father-in-law of Ibn Ezra). It meets Juda Halevi with Grenade, then voyage with him through Moslem Spain and North Africa starting from 1109.

After the death of Juda to the Cairo, he undertakes his peregrinations in the neighborhoods of 1140. In the greatest destitution, it goes to Rome, Lucques, Mantoue and Vérone. He writes poems, comments on the Prophets and of the works of grammar. Energy from one Jewish community to another, it goes in Provence then towards the north of the France, where it produces a series of comments on the Pentateuque, of the treaties of Astrologie, the comments on the Livre of Daniel, on the Psaumes the minor and Prophets. In 1158, it goes to London and Oxford, then perhaps with Narbonne in 1161. Perhaps it disappears mysteriously towards 1160 and dies in Israel in 1164.

It is told that during its voyages, it was captured by pirates who led it to good port after it had beaten the captain with the charades. It is in any case certain that it composed the majority of its works during these voyages, and that he revived the interest for the studies everywhere where he passed.

Religious philosophy

• only the lower world was created, the higher world and the angels being coéternels with God
• God did everything and Is all, but does not have a form nor matter
• the human heart comes from a spiritual substance, the Heart of the world, and can, if it of it is able, become immortal while being reinstated in this universal Heart
• God knows only the species, not the individuals
• the divine providence, which it also is addressed only to the species, is médiée by the celestial bodies, but the individuals having developed their heart and their intellect can envisage the influences harmful caused by the celestial spheres, and consequently to avoid them.

Spinoza made known it like one of its models, and it makes indeed the first watch of criticism with respect to the biblical texts, estimating, on strictly textual basis, that the Torah could not be written by Moïse only.

He is not however the free thinker whom one wanted to imagine and, although passing very close to itself the charge of Hérésie on several occasions, rose against those which seemed to him to attack the bases of the tradition and the rites (like the interpretation of the Rashbam on Shabbat)

Its works

Biblical comments

Its work more known and to which it owes its reputation is without question its comment biblical, which generated an abundant literature of surcommentaires following the example comment of Rachi, without however equalizing it.

The comment exists in handwritten and printed version. The comment on the Exodus is included there, although it was a work in oneself, completed in Provence in 1153.

The complete comment, called Sefer ha-yashar , was finished by Ibn Ezra little before its death. It started one second version, which it could not complete.

Mikraot Gdolot also include the comments of Ibn Ezra on Isaïe, the minor Prophets, the Psalms, Job, Esther, Ruth and Daniel. It is the first to have discovered two authors different in the Livre from Isaïe.

The comments on the Proverbs and the books of Ezra and Néhémie which are allotted to him are actually feather of Moïse Kimhi.

Another comment on the Proverbs which was allotted to him by Driver in 1881 and Horowitz in 1884 is not more of him, reason for which one names it " pseudo-Ibn Ezra".

He also wrote on the Song of Songs and other biblical books, as he mentions it itself, but this work did not reach us.

See also: biblical Comment (Judaism)

Hebraic grammar

1. “Moznayim” (1140), explanation on the terms used in Hebraic grammar, plagiarized soon by Judah Hadassi in its “Eshkol ha-kofer” (1148), without reference to ibn Ezra;

2. Trduction of works of Hebrew Ḥayyuj (ED. Onken, 1844);
3. “Sefer ha-yesod,” or “Yesod diḳduḳ”, exists only in handwritten form;
4. “ẓaḥot” (1145), on the correction, also containing an overflight of metric in Hebrew post-biblical. Considered to be its best work of grammar; 1st ED. 1546;
5. “Safah berurah”, 1st ED. 1830;
6. a short grammatical talk, at the beginning of its unfinished comment on the book of the Genesis.

See also: Hebraic Grammar

“Minor” work of grammar and interpretation

1. “Sefat yeter”, defense of Saadia Gaon against the arguments of its pupil Dunash Ben Labrat, that ibn Ezra discovered and brought back from Egypt. Publications: Bislichs 1838, Lippmann 1843;

2. “Sefer ha-shem,” ED. Lippmann, 1834;
3. “Yesod mispar”, small monograph on the figures, ED. Pinsker (1863), contained in the last part of its book on the systems of Hebrew and Babylonian punctuation,
4. “Iggeret Shabbat”, composed in the neighborhoods of 1158, ED. Luzzatto, in Kerem Ḥemed IV, pp. 158 sq.
5. “Yesod will mora we-sod ha-Torah” (1158), on the division of the biblical commands and their gasoline; 1st ED. 1529.

Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology

1. “Sefer ha-eḥad,”, characteristics of the figures from 1 to 9;

2. “Sefer ha-mispar” or “Yesod mispar”, work of arithmetic; Astronomical
3. “Luḥot”, calendars;
4. “Sefer ha 'ibbur”, on the calendar, ED. Halberstam, 1874;
5. “Keli ha-neḥoshet”, reflections on the astrolabe, ED. Edelmann, 1845;
6. “Shalosh she' elot”, answer to three questions of David Narboni about the chronology;
7. Translation of work of Mashallah (an astrologer): She' elot and Ḳadrut (Steinschneider, Hebr. Uebers., pp. 600-603).

The lunar crater " Abenezra " is named in its homage.

The Poet

The style of ibn Ezra is in itself poetic. The author of the comment expresses himself in a Hebraic language idiomatic, because he thinks Hebrew .

Nevertheless, there exists an anthology of authentic poems (dîwân) of Ibn Ezra, of religious or satirical inspiration.

Its poetry is bitter but rather ironic. Thus, to justify its indigence, he says that if he sold candles, the sun, to only annoy it, would be shining the night, and perhaps that in the same way, the day when one will not die any more will come when he tries to sell shrouds.