Abraham de Balmes ben Meir (born at
Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
, in the
kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
; died at
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, 1523) was an Italian Jewish physician and translator of the early 16th century.
A short time before his death he was physician in ordinary to the cardinal
Dominico Grimani at
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
. See Steinschneider, "Hebr. Bibl." xxi. 7 and 67; "Hebr. Uebers." p. 62; Perles, "Beiträge," pp. 193, 197, etc.
Through his Latin translations of many Hebrew works on philosophy and astronomy he attained a great reputation in the Christian world. He dedicated to Cardinal Grimani two of these translations: (1) of an astronomical work in Arabic by
Ibn al-Heitham (died 1038), which had been translated into Hebrew by
Jacob ben Machir
Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon ( he, יעקב בן מכיר ׳ן תיבון), of the Ibn Tibbon family, also known as Prophatius, was a Jewish astronomer; born, probably at Marseilles, about 1236; died at Montpellier about 1304. He was a grandson of ...
, in 1372, under the title "Liber de Mundo"; (2) of the "Farewell Letter" of the Arabic philosopher
Ibn Bajjah
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyà ibn aṣ-Ṣā’igh at-Tūjībī ibn Bājja ( ar, أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى بن الصائغ التجيبي بن باجة), best known by his Latinised name Avempace (; – 1138), was an A ...
(Avempace), which he translated from the Hebrew under the title "Epistolæ Expeditionis" (MS. Vat. No. 3897. The dedication is published in "Revue des Études Juives," v. 145). In Padua Abraham delivered philosophical addresses to Christian audiences.
He also compiled a book on Hebrew grammar, in which he attempted to treat philosophically the construction of the Hebrew language and to refute the opinions of the eminent grammarian
David Kimhi ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise
David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commen ...
. In this work Abraham was the first to treat the syntax (which he called in Hebrew ''harkabah'') as a special part of the grammar. The book was published, with a Latin translation and a supplementary treatise on the Hebrew accents, under the title "Miḳneh Abram," by Maestro (Calo)
Ḳalonymos ben David, a well-known translator.
Grätz ("Gesch. der Juden," ix. 215) suggests, without evidence, that the printer
Daniel Bomberg
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
(who is supposed to have learned Hebrew from Balmes) translated this grammar.
At his death, honors were paid to his memory by his Christian pupils.
References
*
Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
, Cat. Bodl. col. 667;
*idem, Hebr. Uebers. §§ 206, 348, 581;
*idem, Bibliographisches Handbuch, No. 164, Leipsic, 1859;
*T. Willesz's dissertation, Budapest, 1895
Further Bibliography
Saverio Campanini, ', in «Annali di Ca’ Foscari» XXXVI, 3, Serie orientale 28 (1997), pp. 5–49.
References
Source(jewishencyclopedia.com)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmes, Abraham De
16th-century Italian physicians
16th-century Jewish physicians
16th-century Italian Jews
Hebrew–Latin translators
Medieval Hebraists
Grammarians of Hebrew
Grammarians from Italy
Year of birth unknown
1523 deaths
People from Lecce