Samuel Ibn Tibbon's Commentary on Ecclesiastes: The Book of the Soul of Man (review)

Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 366 Reviews Avot R. Nat. In comparison, the transliterated Bavli manuscripts of the Sol and Evelyn Henkind Talmud Text Databank (of the Saul Lieberman Institute of Talmudic Research at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America), as well as the online facsimiles of Mishna and Bavli manuscripts at the Online Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts (a joint effort of the Jewish National and University Library, the David and Fela Shapell Family Digitization Project, and the Hebrew University Department of Talmud), while, and precisely because , far from complete, have set new publishing standards for rabbinic manuscripts. Notwithstanding this, the new synopsis stands as a worthy successor to Schechter’s edition and, along with Kister’s Studies, allows for unmitigated access to all known witnesses of the text. In effect, it may be a form so suitable for Avot R. Nat. that one can hope it will invite a new spurt of research on the text, redaction, context, and meaning of this beautifully odd rabbinic composition. Holger Zellentin The Graduate Theological Union Berkeley, CA 94709 hzellentin@gtu.edu SAMUEL IBN TIBBON’S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES: THE BOOK OF THE SOUL OF MAN. By James T. Robinson. Texts and Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Judaism 20. Pp. x + 660. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Cloth, $206.99. Robinson’s introduction, translation, and commentary for Samuel Ibn Tibbon’s commentary on Ecclesiastes are based on his 2002 Harvard Ph.D. dissertation directed by Bernard Septimus. This is the first English translation of Ibn Tibbon’s work. Unfortunately, a critical edition of the Hebrew text of Ibn Tibbon’s commentary does not appear here; the shear size of the work precludes publication in a single volume. The author is preparing a critical edition of the commentary to be published as Sefer Nefesh ha-Adam: Samuel Ibn Tibbon’s Commentary on Ecclesiastes (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, forthcoming). Samuel Ibn Tibbon (ca. 1165–1232) was the second generation of the Ibn Tibbon dynasty, which was known for numerous translations of works in philosophy, the sciences, Jewish thought, and other fields. Samuel himself was born in Lunel in southern France, and was educated by his father, Judah Ibn Tibbon, in classical Jewish literature (Hebrew language, Bible, Rabbinic literature), Arabic philosophy and medicine, and the literary arts of calligraphy , poetry, and epistolary. His best known works of translation include Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 367 Reviews Maimonides’ Commentary on Mishnah Avot, Maimonides’ Treatise on Resurrection , Maimonides’ The Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides’ Letter on Translation, Aristotle’s Meteorology, Averroes’s and Abdallh’s Three Treatises on Conjunction, and Maimonides’ Letter to Yemen. Judah Ibn Tibbon (ca. 1120–1190), a refugee from Islamic Spain, translated a library of works from Judeo-Arabic into Hebrew, including works by Saadia Gaon, Jonah Ibn Janah, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Bahya Ibn Paquda, and Judah HaLevi. Jacob Anatoli (1194–1256), Samuel’s student and son-in-law, translated Ptolemy, Averroes’ abridgement of Ptolemy, al-Farghn, and Averroes’ middle commentaries on Aristotle’s Organon. Samuel’s son, Moses (fl. 1244–1283), translated works by Euclid, Geminus, Theodosius, Themistius Hunayn b. Ishq, Averroes, Maimonides, and others. Jacob ben Makhtir (ca. 1236–1306), the last major figure of the family, translated works by Euclid, Menelaus, Authocycus, Theodosius, Averroes, and others. In addition to translation work, the Ibn Tibbon family was also known for its original work in biblical exegesis, rabbinic exegesis, and philosophy, which laid the foundations for the Maimonidean movement in Jewish philosophy and exegesis in Provence, Italy, Byzantium, and Spain from the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries when Jewish philosophy began to turn to Christian-Latin sources for inspiration rather than Greco-Arabic and Arabic sources. Samuel Ibn Tibbon’s original works included his Letter on Providence, The Commentary of Ecclesiastes, Ma’amar Yiqqawu ha-Mayim (Treatise on Gen 1:9: Let the Waters be Gathered), The Reason for the Table and the Shewbread, a planned Commentary on the Internal Meanings of Proverbs, and a planned work, Ha-Ner ha-Hofes (The Lamp that Reveals, see Prov 20:27). The latter two works were likely never completed, although preliminary elements of each appear in Ibn Tibbon’s commentary on...