Beginning of Wisdom

Beginning of Wisdom (Reshit ḥokhmah), written in Béziers, southern France, is Ibn Ezra’s longest and most popular astrological work. It is an introductory guidebook to astrology and describes the basics of the zodiac, the astrological houses, the interactions of the seven planets known at the time and their influences, and how a variety of technical astronomical phenomena shape what happens to humans. The title of the work comes from Psalms 111:10, “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.” Fear of heaven, or piety, Ibn Ezra writes, helps protect people from cosmological influences. Here he goes on to describe the various parts of the world ruled by the planets; these excerpts describe the dominion of Saturn and Venus.