The Book of Ḥakhmoni: On the Human Body

Shabbetai Donnolo

Mid-10th Century

He [God—Ed.] made for him [man—Ed.] the orifices of the eyes and their eyelids, so that he may look through them and see when they are open, and see nothing when they are shut. Moreover, when he wants to fall asleep and slumber, he shuts his eyelids, for he is unable to fall asleep and slumber so long as he is looking and seeing with his eyes. The…

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In The Book of Ḥakhmoni (Sefer ḥakhmoni), written in Hebrew, Donnolo considers Genesis 1:26, the verse in which God says: “Let us make man in Our image.” Part of Donnolo’s discussion includes this elaboration of God’s creation of man, in which each part of the human body was created for a specific purpose, testifying to God’s wisdom. It bears some similarity to Joseph Ibn Zabara’s “Seats of the Soul.”

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Creator Bio

Shabbetai Donnolo

913–ca. 982

Shabbetai ben Abraham Donnolo was a physician from Oria, in Apulia, a region of southern Italy. He is primarily known for The Book of Ḥakhmoni (Sefer ḥakhmoni), a Hebrew work of biblical exegesis, medicine, philosophy, and astrology, written in the form of a commentary on the Book of Creation (Sefer yetsirah). In the autobiographical section, Donnolo recounts that at the age of twelve he was kidnapped and eventually ransomed by his family. Donnolo knew rabbinic literature, geonic writings, and Greek and Latin medical works. The Book of Great Value (Sefer ha-yakar), also by him, is a work of pharmacology.

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