Preface to Baḥya Ibn Paqūda’s Duties of the Heart (II)

As he explains here, Ibn Tibbon produced a Hebrew translation of books 2 through 10 of Baḥya Ibn Paqūda’s The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart at the request of his friend Abraham ben David of Posquières (1125–1198), who apparently deemed Joseph Kimḥi’s translation of those books to be unsatisfactory. Kimḥi (1105–1170) was a biblical commentator born in Spain who settled later in Provence. Although apologetic for taking up this task, Judah nevertheless acceded to Abraham’s repeated appeals and asks future copyists to ensure that his version of this work not be confused with that of Kimḥi. Judah also offers a brief philosophical reflection, citing a saying that was widely ascribed to Aristotle in Arabic medieval literature: “the beginning of deed is the end of thought” (alternatively translated as “the first in thought is the last in action”). Meshullam ben Jacob (d. 1170), also mentioned here, was a Franco-German talmudist who lived in Lunel.