The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (review)

The publication of a comprehensive biography of Maimonides by a scholar of Herbert Davidson's caliber is surely a significant literary event. Given the tremendous range of disciplines in which Maimonides wrote—Halakhist, philosopher, and physician—the writing of his biography is a task that requires multi-disciplinary skills. In view of its extensive scope, this brief review cannot possibly do justice to the book and deal exhaustively with its many aspects. We must therefore be content with a survey of the chapters of the book and its main innovations, with a few further brief comments.

The first chapter is a detailed account of Maimonides' life. Davidson has examined the sources for his life story and contends with the positions of various scholars in regard to disputed points. Thus, for example, he concludes that there is no real basis for the theory that Maimonides converted to Islam, as believed today by some important authorities; similarly, there is no evidence that his family suffered Almohad persecution (p. 29). Davidson also touches on another scholarly bone of contention when he asserts that "nothing whatsoever known of Maimonides' activities supports the hypothesis that he served as head of the Jews in Egypt" (p. 62). Chapter 2 is concerned with Maimonides' education. Davidson discusses the different disciplines in which he was instructed and offers the intriguing and challenging argument that, contrary to Maimonides' own recommendations as to the most desirable course of studies, he himself devoted most of his efforts and time to the study of rabbinics and medicine rather than philosophy.

Subsequent chapters present detailed analyses of Maimonides' works, subject by subject, in the approximate chronological order of their composition. Three chapters are devoted to the rabbinic works: Maimonides' commentaries on the Mishnah and the Talmud, Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Mishneh Torah, the reception of Mishneh Torah, and the other Halakhic writings, including his responsa. Two further chapters deal with Maimonides' philosophical works. In that context Davidson argues that the Treatise on Logic( Millot ha-Higgayon) was probably not written by Maimonides; this conjecture will undoubtedly spark scholarly debate. He goes on to present a sharp critique of the well-known views of Leo Strauss, who saw the need to decipher the supposed esoteric dimension of The Guide for the Perplexed, and of Shlomo Pines' view of Maimonides as an agnostic: "Strauss further gives us to understand that [Maimonides] . . . not only saw himself as non-Jewish. He did not believe that God exists. . . . Both theses—that Maimonides was an atheist and that he was an agnostic—transform the Guide for the Perplexedinto one of the most grotesque books ever written" (pp. 401–402).

The next chapter is devoted to Maimonides' medical works. Among other things, Davidson is dubious as to the authenticity of the Epistle on the Length of Life. In Chapter 9, "Miscellaneous Writings," Davidson expresses similar doubts as to the Epistle on Religious Persecutionand the Epistle in Opposition to Astrology. In the last, concluding chapter, he sums up this account of Maimonides, highlighting his complex character: philosopher and rabbi, a man inclined to severity who nevertheless softened his attitudes in time, conscious of his stature but accessible to the public. Whatever his "official" position, he was "head of the Jews not only in Egypt but throughout the medieval Jewish world."

Speaking in terms of analogy, one might say that even while Davidson's book does not provide an explicit characterization of Maimonides, he is nevertheless defined in terms of attributes of action and privative attributes—attributes of action that describe Maimonides' literary achievements, privative attributes that deny the Maimonidean authorship of certain writings hitherto attributed to the great sage of Fustat, and others that reject attempts to define him as a radical personality.

In this context, some of Davidson's contentions merit attention. I shall treat them as they appear in the book.

1. 1. Analyzing Maimonides' familiarity with the thought of the Kalamschool, he writes: "The words 'I have heard' . . . sound as...