Maimonides (1138-1204) wrote his philosophical work Guide of the Perplexed in 1190 to disseminate truths as he saw them to fellow Jews who lacked his knowledge. He was particularly interested in demonstrating that the biblical and rabbinical writings are consistent with the rationalistic philosophy of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.). M. Friedlander, in his [...]
Ibn Ezra’s “Secret of the Twelve”[1] The Torah’s final chapter presents a serious theological dilemma. The following is a brief history of how some scholars handled this dilemma. Questions Did Moses write the entire Torah? Do traditional Jewish commentators differ on the subject? Who wrote the story of the death of [...]
Ibn Ezra’s “Secret of the Twelve” Did Moses write the entire Torah? Do traditional Jewish commentators differ on the subject? Who wrote the story of the death of Moses? The twelve verses of Deuteronomy chapter 34 tell the story of the death of Moses. The introductory four verses narrate how God told [...]
Ibn Ezra on Esther 4-6 Esther’s chapters 4-6 describe the Judean[1] exiles’ reactions to Haman’s decree that allowed Persian citizens to murder every Judean on 13 Adar.[2] According to Jewish tradition, which is not stated in the book of Esther, the decree was promulgated in mid-Nisan, some ten months before the [...]
By Israel Drazin Biblical prophecy does not predict what will be The view of traditional thinkers Most people read the Bible literally without much thought. When the Bible has a prophet say that something will occur, they understand this as a vision from God of what will occur. However, the [...]
