A Newly Identified Essay on Anniversary Horoscopy Embedded in Abraham Bar Ḥiyya’s Astronomical Tables: Hebrew Edition, Translation and Commentary

This paper reports the identification of a hitherto unnoticed astrological essay. This essay, entitled Seder tiqqun ha-tequfot min ha-luḥot ha-ʾeleh (Method for determining the revolutions from these tables; hereafter STT), reviews miscellaneous doctrines related to anniversary horoscopy and gives instructions about the use of tables that facilitate their implementation. STT was found in two distinct codicological environments, both of them somewhat related to the astronomical and astrological work of Abraham Bar Ḥiyya (ca. 1065–ca. 1136): (i) STT is embedded in seven manuscript copies of Bar Ḥiyya’s astronomical tables, the so-called luḥot ha-hanaśiʾ; (ii) STT is also independently preserved in the single manuscript copy of a thirteenth-century astronomical astrological encyclopedia that includes fragments and entire works by Abraham Bar Ḥiyya and Abraham Ibn Ezra (ca. 1089–ca. 1161), in a section exclusively devoted to works on anniversary horoscopy by the former. This paper studies STT’s contents and sources, deals with the question of STT’s authorship, argues that STT is an independent essay by Abraham Bar Ḥiyya, and offers a critical edition of the Hebrew text, accompanied by an English translation and a commentary.