Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona and the Sabians
In his Commentary on the Talmudic Aggadot, Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona (d.c.1235), one of the first Kabbalists, claims that certain views of 'philosophers' and views of Kabbalists are identical, with the only differences between them being ones of nomenclature. These philosophic views, howe...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2019]
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| In: |
Journal of Jewish studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 70, Issue: 2, Pages: 276-297 |
| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism HB Old Testament KAC Church history 500-1500; Middle Ages KBH Iberian Peninsula |
| Further subjects: | B
Harranians
B Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204 B Judaism B SOLOMON, Ezra B Bible. Pentateuch |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In his Commentary on the Talmudic Aggadot, Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona (d.c.1235), one of the first Kabbalists, claims that certain views of 'philosophers' and views of Kabbalists are identical, with the only differences between them being ones of nomenclature. These philosophic views, however, turn out to be views of the Sabians, a group that Maimonides erroneously believed was dominant during biblical times. Ezra was well aware of the Sabian origin of these views for he took his account of them almost verbatim from Maimonides' description of Sabian belief and practice in The Guide of the Perplexed. Maimonides viewed Sabian belief as idolatrous and antithetical to Judaism and claimed that the Torah was determined to combat Sabianism. In arguing, therefore, for the identity of Sabian and Kabbalistic beliefs, Ezra intends to polemicize against Maimonides by rehabilitating sources that the latter rejected. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-6689 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Jewish studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18647/3418/JJS-2019 |