Creator Bio
Abraham Ibn Ezra
1092–1167
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was a remarkably productive itinerant intellectual who contributed to an astonishing array of fields, including biblical exegesis, science, mathematics, grammar, astronomy, astrology, piyyut (liturgical poetry), and philosophy. Born in Toledo, in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), in the first part of his life Ibn Ezra moved in elite circles, for the most part writing poetry, and enjoyed a close relationship with the poet and theologian Judah ha-Levi. Around the age of fifty, Ibn Ezra fled Almohad persecutions in his homeland and traveled to Italy, northern France, and England. Most of his scientific writings date to this period, including numerous works on astrology, number theory, and grammar. His biblical commentaries, which were concerned with the straightforward meaning of scripture but also incorporated philosophical and scientific insights, were enormously popular. In later centuries, they attracted many supercommentaries , namely, commentaries on his commentary
Content by Abraham Ibn Ezra
Primary Source
I'll sing a song of a battle array
I’ll sing a song of a battle array, crowned long ago, from ancient times.It was arranged by men of wisdom and understanding; they established it on eight rows.And each and every row is engraved, upon…
Primary Source
At my birth the spheres
At my birth the spheres and planets strayed in their orbits;Were I a merchant of candles the sun would not set until I died!In vain I strive for success, for my stars have played false with me;Were I…
Primary Source
Did the heavens submit?
Did the heavens submit to an earthling,
Or did the soil-bound reach the heights?
A mortal drew near the angels and was
Privy to their council and they were unaware;
It was the esteemed Samuel, scion…
Primary Source
Though you are far away
Though you are far away, O crown of wisdom, your friendship is very sweet,and the sickness I feel at your parting is stronger than any other sickness.Your sun shines over all; to me it comes, then…
Primary Source
O father of the son
O father of the son, come here to mourn,for God has distanced from youyour son, your only-begotten, whom you love—Isaac (Genesis 22:2).I am the man who has seen disaster, and his joy has gone into…
Primary Source
Alas, evil has befallen Sefarad
Alas, evil has befallen Sefarad from heaven.My eye, my eye pours down tears of water. (Lamentations 1:16)My eye cries like an ostrich for the city of Lucena.The Jewish diaspora lived there all on its…
Primary Source
Ḥay ben Mekits
Listen, O wise men, to my wordsThose versed in knowledge pay heed. [ . . . ]I have abandoned my houseWalked away from my possessions.I left my homeMy birthplace, my people. [ . . . ]I arose to travelI…
Primary Source
Book of Scales
These are the names of the elders of the holy tongue:
R. Se‘adya of Pithom, the incomparable gaon, the first of speakers everywhere, the compiler of Sefer ha-egron and of The Book of Clarification of…
Primary Source
Account of Scientific Transmission
Abraham Ibn Ezra describes the transfer of Indian astronomy to the Islamic world. Ibn Ezra’s own scientific works played a critical role in the transfer of Arabic knowledge to Latin Europe.
Primary Source
Primary Source
Book of the One
Sefer ha-eḥad, Chapter 1
In the Name of the singular One, let Abraham begin his work.The [number] one counts [i.e., divides] itself, and no other number counts it, though it counts every other number. It is the root…
Primary Source
Beginning of Wisdom
Reshit ḥokhmah, Introduction, Chapter 4 (selections)
In the name of God, who gives power to the faint, and to him that has no might He increases strength, I begin to write the Book of the Beginning of Wisdom.
Primary Source
The Book of Nativities
Sefer ha-moladot, Chapter 1 (selections)
In the name of God, who knows the future, I begin to write the Book of Nativities
Abraham the Spaniard said: Anyone who is versed in the science of the judgments of the zodiacal signs but…
Primary Source
Book of the [Divine] Name
Sefer ha-shem, Chapters 1, 3, 4 (selections)
In the name of the One who is the basis of all ones,
read the secrets based in the secret of the Name
By Abraham son of Meir, in the town
of Béziers, composed for two pious men,
Abraham son of Ḥayim…
Primary Source
Book of the Luminaries
Sefer ha-me’orot, Chapters 1-3, 5-6 (selections)
The living God, be a help in troubleto Ibn Ezra, master of sciences and poems,to put an end, by means of the Book of the Luminaries,to the onset of diseases and their consequences.
Primary Source
Primary Source
Listen, please, to the words of the doctor
Listen, please, to the words of the doctor,
O wise nation, both the healthy and the sick,
for he presents a cure for every disease,
from month to month how to watch over
the body and mouth of each…
Primary Source
Foundation of Reverence and Secret of Torah: Introduction and Chapter One
Yesod mora ve-sod Torah, Introduction, Chapter 1
One who is without beginning—all is full of His majesty—
Indeed, He is too exalted for man to declare—
Yet the heart of the savant knows his Creator through His works.
For whoever denies Him truly…
Primary Source
Foundation of Reverence and Secret of Torah: On the Commandments
Yesod mora ve-sod Torah, Chapters 5, 7-8 (selections)
The commandments of principles that are independent of time or place or other circumstance are those planted in the heart. They are…
Primary Source
The Book of Number
Sefer ha-mispar, Chapter 6
There are three types of ratios:
1. Ratios that follow an arithmetical order, e.g., 1, 2, 3 (as a ratio cannot be established by fewer than three numbers); or 2, 4, 6; or 3, 6, 9…
Primary Source
Fundamentals of Grammar
Yesod dikduk, Introduction
At the beginning of every thought of the heart and at the first expression of every lip, I will ascribe power to Him who teaches man knowledge (Psalms 94:10) to think thoughts, to Him who creates the…
Primary Source
Book of Clear Speech
Sefer safah berurah
And so, I will first inquire into which language is the first of all languages. Many have said that Aramaic is the earliest language, and that all people have the capacity to speak it without a…
Primary Source
Commentary: On the Song of Songs
Commentary on Song of Songs 1:2, 2:3-9, 2:11-12,, 5:2, 7:9-8:3
This book surpasses all the songs that Solomon composed, and far be it, far be it that it should be understood as an erotic poem, but it is to be taken allegorically. [ . . . ]…
Primary Source
Book of the Upright
Sefer ha-yashar, Introduction (selections)
In the name of the Great and Awesome God
I shall begin expounding the meaning of the Torah.
I beseech Thee, Oh God of my father, Abraham,
Deal mercifully with Thy servant, Abraham.
And let it come to…
Primary Source
Commentary: On Exodus 3:15
Commentary on Exodus 3:15
Know that there are three worlds. One of them is the lower [world] and it has many levels, although three include [all of] them. One is that of the metals, of which there are seven, corresponding to…
Primary Source
Letter on the Sabbath
It was mid Friday night, the fourteenth day of the month of Tevet, in the year 4919 [1159—Ed.], I, Abraham the Spaniard, known as “Ibn Ezra,” was in one of the cities of the island that is called…
Primary Source
Commentary: On Ecclesiastes
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:1
Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:1)
Therefore let…
Primary Source
Happy is the man
Happy is the man who fearsthe voice calling out, while he still breathes:“What is a man worth?He’ll go and not return, when he returns to the ground.”His spirit is lofty in him,his heart is proud…
Primary Source
If I keep the Sabbath, God will keep me
If I keep the Sabbath, God will keep me. It is sign forever between the Lord and me.No transactions and no traveling,no discussing worldly needs,business or government.But I study Torah, for it…
Primary Source
My soul is thirsting for the living God
My soul is thirsting for the living God.My heart, my flesh sing to the living God.God, Who is One, created me,And said, “As I live,No man shall gaze upon MeAnd remain alive.”He made all things with…
Primary Source
The stars above and the mortals below
The stars above and the mortals belowAll come from one Father whose name is a blessing forever.“God awesome in splendor; all greatness is His due!”An army proclaims it making haste on its rounds.They…
Primary Source
The unique soul’s praise
The unique soul’s praise befits the only One;My soul is spent with longing for her Rock.That acts depend upon her powerIs proof of her existence. Immortal,Permanent, she is not an accident.The body’s…
Primary Source
Sefer goralot
These illustrated pages are from a manuscript copy of Sefer goralot (Book of Lots), a treatise on geomancy, which was a method of divination popular in the medieval world. The text was attributed…
Related Guide
Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move
1500–1750
Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange.
Related Guide
Early Modern Religious Practices
1500–1750
Early modern Jews both preserved tradition and innovated. Documents and legal texts reveal rich details about synagogue life, marriage, family relations, and death rituals.
Related Guide
Challenges to the Jewish Community in the Early Medieval World
7th to 12th Century
As a minority population, Jews in both Christian and Islamic lands faced periods of persecution.