Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on

Among the most prolific of the geonim, Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on wrote dozens of treatises covering legal, talmudic, and exegetical topics. Samuel’s family had held leadership positions in the Pumbedita academy, located in Baghdad, throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries, but in 998, he came to serve as the head of the Sura academy, also in Baghdad. Samuel had a deep knowledge of Arabic literature, theology, and jurisprudence, among other fields, and in this sense, he was the intellectual heir to Se‘adya Ga’on (882–942). Samuel maintained close relationships with several diaspora communities, at least partly for fundraising purposes. His competition with Sherira Ga’on (ca. 906–1006) seems to have been put to rest when his daughter married Sherira’s son Hayya (939–1038), who headed the Pumbedita academy alongside and after his father. Samuel’s son Israel (d. 1033) later led the Sura academy.