How orderly, precious, and desired are these words!

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne

Late 12th Century

How orderly, precious, and desired are these words!
  I will give praise to the God of praises,
 Who wears a brazier of firebrands like a cloak.
My praise is to God, my Crag and my Rock;
  my song to the Rock of my salvation, my Light.
He has acted wondrously, working wonders, wonderful,
  to strengthen the vessel full and overflowing.
For wisdom is given to the wise of heart,
  and knowledge to those who understand.
I, Abram, son of Isaac was called—
  He favored me with a daughter, Yiska Sarah.
I was privileged to be the master’s father-in-law,
  and he is a teacher: a plow handle and a goad.
I am like Hobab ben Reuel [Jethro],
  and he too is like Shemaiah ben Netanel [Moses],
Who searches in books and understands.
  He is great among the seekers,
explaining well the ordered mishnayot,
  such as [Tractate] Kinim and the beginning of prohibitions.
He delves into the deepest depths,
  drawing out golden ornaments and corals.
(And he searches out hidden secrets,
  hidden knowledge and mysteries are revealed to him—
I will give thanks with a harp and a chorus,
  to the God who created the heavens and the low places!)
Translated by Abigail Denemark Ossip.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Engage with this Source

This Hebrew poem, composed, unusually, in rhymed couplets, was written as an introduction to a commentary on the talmudic tractate Kinim by the poet’s son-in-law Abraham ben David of Posquières. The poet praises the commentator, noting the family connection between them, and gives thanks to God. The tractate itself discusses offerings of birds brought in the Temple.

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Related Guide

Early Medieval Poetry

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne

ca. 1110–1179

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne sat at the head of both the talmudic academy and the court in Narbonne, where he taught figures who would come to lead the next generation of Provençal talmudists. Abraham ben David of Posquières (ca. 1125–ca. 1198) was his son-in-law and among his most important students. Abraham ben Isaac wrote a legal code called the Book of the Cluster (Sefer ha-eshkol) and composed talmudic commentaries, the majority of which survive only in quotations by later scholars. He served as one of the primary vehicles for the transmission of the Spanish halakhic tradition into Provence, and his generation inaugurated talmudic learning in that region.

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