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Judah ben Saul
ibn Tibbon Ibn Tibbon (), is a family of Jewish rabbis and translators that lived principally in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Prominent family members Prominent members of the family include: * Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120–after 1190), ...
(1120 – after 1190) was a translator and physician. Born in
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, he left
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in 1150, probably on account of
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
by the
Almohades The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fo ...
, and went to Lunel in southern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
mentions him as a physician there in 1160. He died around 1190, in Marseille, France. Judah lived on terms of intimacy with
Meshullam ben Jacob ''Rabbeinu'' Meshullam son of Jacob (or ''Meshullam HaKohen ben Ya'akov'') also known as ''Rabbeinu Meshullam hagodol'' (Rabbi Meshullem the great) was a Franco-Jewish Talmudist of the twelfth century CE.Heinrich Graetz History of the Jews - Page ...
and with Meshullam's two sons, Asher and Aaron, whom in his will he recommends as friends to his only son,
Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
. He was also a close friend of
Abraham ben David of Posquières Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and ''M ...
and of Zerahiah ha-Levi, the latter of whom he freely recognized as a greater scholar than himself, and whose son he also wished to have as a friend for his own son. He had two daughters whose marriage caused him much anxiety.


Translations

Judah's works include the translation into Hebrew of the following: *
Bahya ibn Paquda Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...
's ''
Chovot ha-Levavot ''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed ...
''. The Arabic title of this work was "Al-Hidayah ila Fara'id al-Qulub." In English, 'The Duties of the Heart'. :He was induced to undertake this work by Meshullam ben Jacob and his son Asher, at whose desire he translated the first treatise, in 1161. After its completion
Joseph Kimhi Joseph Qimḥi or Kimchi (1105–1170) ( he, יוסף קמחי) was a medieval Jewish rabbi and biblical commentator. He was the father of Moses and David Kimhi, and the teacher of Rabbi Menachem Ben Simeon and poet Joseph Zabara. Grammarian, ...
translated the other nine treatises and afterward the first one also. At the wish of Abraham ben David of Posquières, Judah continued his translation of the work. Judah's translation is the only one that has held its place. *
Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
's ''Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh'' (printed together with the first-mentioned translation at Constantinople in 1550). *
Judah ha-Levi Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...
's ''Kitab al-Ḥujjah'', under the title ''Sefer ha-Kuzari'' (1167). In this instance as well, Judah's translation drove that of his rival,
Judah ibn Cardinal Judah ben Isaac Cardinal (or ''Cardineal'') was a translator who lived at the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth, probably in Southern France. At the request of Joseph ben Baruch, who, according to Leopold Zunz, travele ...
, out of the field, so that only a small portion of the latter's work has been preserved. *Two works by
Ibn Janah Jonah ibn Janah or ibn Janach, born Abu al-Walīd Marwān ibn Janāḥ ( ar, أبو الوليد مروان بن جناح, or Marwan ibn Ganaḥ Hebrew: ), (), was a Jewish rabbi, physician and Hebrew grammarian active in Al-Andalus, or Islamic ...
: :*His grammar, ''Kitab al-Luma' '', under the title ''Sefer ha-Rikmah'' (1171; edited by B. Goldberg, with notes by R. Kirchheim, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, 1856). The translator's preface is interesting for the history of literature, and it gives Judah's opinions on the art of Hebrew translation. :*''Kitab al-Uṣul'', under the title ''Sefer ha-Shorashim'' (edited by Bacher, Berlin, 1896). Isaac al-Barceloni and Isaac ha-Levi had already translated this dictionary as far as the letter ''
lamed Lamedh or Lamed is the twelfth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew Lāmed , Aramaic Lāmadh , Syriac Lāmaḏ ܠ, Arabic , and Phoenician Lāmed . Its sound value is . The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Lambda (Λ), Latin ...
'', and Judah finished it in 1171. *
Saadia Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
's ''Kitab al-Amanat wal-I'tiḳadat'', under the title '' Sefer ha-Emunot weha-De'ot'' (1186; first ed. Constantinople, 1562).


Testament

Judah's
ethical will An ethical will (Hebrew: ) is a document that passes ethical values from one generation to the next. Rabbis and Jewish laypeople have continued to write ethical wills during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (Riemer) In recent years, the prac ...
, with its homely style and frankness, is one of the most interesting in this class of literature. It gives insight into the soul of the man and his relation to his son, also a scholar and translator,
Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
. Against the latter his chief complaint is that he never initiated his father into his literary or business affairs, never asked for his advice, and, in fact, hid everything from him. He recommends Samuel to practise writing in Arabic, since Jews like
Samuel ha-Nagid Samuel ibn Naghrillah (, ''Sh'muel HaLevi ben Yosef HaNagid''; ''ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq ʾIsmāʿīl bin an-Naghrīlah''), also known as Samuel HaNagid (, ''Shmuel HaNagid'', lit. ''Samuel the Prince'') and Isma’il ibn Naghrilla (born 993; died 1056 ...
, for example, attained rank and position solely through being able to write in that language. He exhorts him to morality and to the study of the Torah as well as of the profane sciences, including medicine. He is to read grammatical works on Sabbaths and festivals, and is not to neglect the reading of "Mishle" and of "Ben Mishle." In regard to his medical practise he gives his son sage advice. He further advises his son to observe rigorously the laws of diet, lest he, like others, become ill frequently in consequence of intemperate and unwholesome eating, which would not fail to engender mistrust in him as a physician on the part of the general public. Interesting are Judah's references to his library as his "best treasure", his "best companion", and to his book-shelves as "the most beautiful pleasure-gardens." He adds:
I have collected a large library for thy sake so that thou needest never borrow a book of any one. As thou thyself seest, most students run hither and thither searching for books without being able to find them. . . . Look over thy Hebrew books every month, thy Arabic ones every two months, thy bound books every three months. Keep thy library in order, so that thou wilt not need to search for a book. Prepare a list of the books on each shelf, and place each book on its proper shelf. Take care also of the loose, separate leaves in thy books, because they contain exceedingly important things which I myself have collected and written down. Lose no writing and no letter which I leave thee. . . . Cover thy book-shelves with beautiful curtains, protect them from water from the roof, from mice, and from all harm, because they are thy best treasure.
His fine linguistic sense and his conception of the art of translating are shown by his counsels on this subject.


See also

*
Ibn Tibbon Ibn Tibbon (), is a family of Jewish rabbis and translators that lived principally in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Prominent family members Prominent members of the family include: * Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120–after 1190), ...
a family list. *
Hachmei Provence Hachmei Provence () refers to the rabbis of Provence, now known as Occitania, France that was a great Torah center in the times of the Tosafists. The phrase literally means ''the wise ones of Provence''; hakham "wise one, sage" is a Sephardic and ...


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Tibbon, Judah ben Saul Arabic–Hebrew translators 12th-century Jews of Al-Andalus Provençal Jews 1120 births 1190s deaths Year of death unknown People from Granada Jewish refugees