Benjamin al-Nahāwandī

9th CenturyBenjamin ben Moses al-Nahāwandī was an early Karaite. He was apparently of Persian origin, as his name indicates he came from Nahāwand, in Persia, but he may also have lived in Iraq. Later Karaites considered him—alongside ‘Anan ben David—to have been a founder of Karaism. Two of his known works, the Book of Commandments (Sefer mitsvot) and the Book of Rules (Sefer dinim), written in Hebrew, may have formed part of a larger code of Karaite law, now lost. He wrote some biblical commentaries as well, also in Hebrew. Seemingly to circumvent charges of anthropomorphism against the Bible, Benjamin adopted the view that God created an angel who in turn created the world. This view echoes certain gnostic ideas and may even reflect the position of some ancient Jews in Qumran. He also seems to have argued for the use of independent judgment (as opposed to relying on orally transmitted traditions) when evaluating legal questions, and he rejected numerous legal conclusions found in rabbinic literature.