Deconstructing the Bible

Abraham ibn Ezra's Introduction to the Torah

By Irene Lancaster

Price: $180.00

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About the Book

Deconstructing the Bible represents the first attempt by a single author to place the great Spanish Jewish Hebrew bible exegete, philosopher, poet, astronomer, astrologer and scientist Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164) in his complete contextual environment. It charts his unusual travels and discusses changes and contradictions in his hermeneutic approach, analysing his vision of the future for the Jewish people in the Christian north of Europe rather than in Muslim Spain. It also examines his influence on subsequent Jewish thought, as well as his place in the wider hermeneutic debate. The book contains a new translation of ibn Ezra's Introduction to the Torah, written in Lucca, northern Italy, together with a full commentary. It will be of interest to a wide variety of scholars, ranging from philosophers and theologians to linguists and students of hermeneutics.

Reviews

'A most welcome study of a remarkable man who modern scholars have not taken time to recognize sufficiently.' - The Jerusalem Post

'This is an excellent book ... for serious readers looking for a thorough treatment of Ibn Ezra and his influences, this work is ideal.' - Jewish Chronicle

Table of Contents

1. The Biography of Abraham Ibn Ezra 2. A History of the Scholarly Work on Ibn Ezra 3. Classical and Medieval Jewish Approaches to Text 4. Early Christian Hermeneutics 5. Muslim Hermeneutics 6. The Karaites 7. The Ge'onim 8. Introduction to the Torah: Translation and Commentary 9. Ibn Ezra's Philosophical Grammar