Abraham ibn Ezra
Description
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela, Taifa of Zaragoza. Ibn Ezra is especially well-known to readers outside of the Jewish tradition as a major source of inspiration for Spinoza's early modern source-criticism on the authorship of the Law of Moses, appearing in theTheologico-Political Treatise.
Facts
| Born | c. 1089 - 1092, Tudela, Taifa of Zaragoza |
| Died | c. 1164 - 1167 |
| Known for | writing commentaries, grammarian |
| Children | Isaac ibn Ezra |
Life & work in brief
Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.
| Work / contribution | Significance |
|---|---|
| Biography | Abraham Ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Navarre. |
| Works | In Spain, Ibn Ezra had already gained the reputation of a distinguished poet and thinker. |
| Influence on biblical criticism and philosophy of religion | In his commentary, Ibn Ezra adhered to the literal sense of the texts, avoiding Rabbinic allegory and Kabbalistic interpretation. |
| Bibliography | Ibn Ezra composed his first book on astrology in Italy, before his move to France: |
| Legacy | The crater Abenezra on the Moon was named in honor of Ibn Ezra. |
| Burial | According to Jewish tradition, Abraham ibn Ezra was buried in Cabul in the Lower Galilee alongside Judah Halevi. |
Contribution to the celestial-alphabet tradition
Andalusi-Jewish biblical exegete who integrated astrology, stellar order and Hebrew letters. His Sefer ha-Shem treats the divine names and the letter–number structure this project computes — a Jewish parallel to the Arabic stellar-letter tradition, on Iberian soil.
Lineage — influence tree
Where Abraham ibn Ezra sits in the magi lineage: who shaped this figure, and who this figure shaped in turn. Mage names link to their own ficha.