Background
Abraham ibn Daud was born about 1110 at Cordoba, Spain.
( An epitaph to the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry Hundreds ...)
An epitaph to the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry Hundreds of years before the Inquisition, the Almohade invasion of Spain wiped out many of the Spanish Jewish communities in Muslim Andalusia ending the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry. Thousands of Jews fled north to Christian Spain, where they had to live among Karaite Jews very different from themselves. Philosopher Abraham ibn Daud responded to this upheaval by writing The Book of Tradition, known as Sefer ha-Qabbalah. This epic on Jewish history from ancient times to the 12th century eulogized Spanish Jewry and reminded readers of a once-thriving culture. No one before had ever attempted to write such a broad history of Jewish civilization. The Book of Tradition is unique and one of the first examples of Jewish historiography. In JPSs edition of this classic work, first published in 1967, renowned scholar Gerson D. Cohen presents his translation of ibn Dauds entire text, as well as commentary and an extensive introduction that masterfully provides context for the reader.
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Abraham ibn Daud was born about 1110 at Cordoba, Spain.
Abraham ibn Daud himself asserts that he has received his education from his maternal uncle, an uncle who is known to have been active, as both a teacher and a communal leader in Cordoba, where he died in 1126. It is apparent from his works that Ibn Daud studied traditional Jewish teachings and classical Greek philosophy and science as translated into Arabic by Muslim scholars.
Ibn Daud's two major works are Sefer ha-Qabbalah and Ha-Emunah ha-Ramah. Both books were written around the same time (c. 1160). They are closely related in the sense that they endeavor to defend rabbinic Judaism, the former with the help of history and the latter with the help of philosophy.
In Sefer ha-Qabbalah, which has become a classic in Hebrew literature, Abraham ibn Daud provides a survey of Jewish and general history and attempts to demonstrate the continuity of rabbinic Judaism.
Later his philosophical book was written in Arabic and entitled al-‘Aqîdah al-rafî‘ah. Towards the end of the fourteenth century, the work was translated into Hebrew twice: the first time under the title Ha-Emunah ha-Ramah by Solomon ben Lavi, possibly at the instigation of the philosopher Hasdai Crescas, and a second time under the title Ha-Emunah Nissa’ah by Samuel ibn Motot. This second translation is based on the first, but is less accurate. Of this version only one copy is extant, whereas of Ha-Emunah ha-Ramah 16 manuscripts are known (some of them are not complete).
His work, Emmunah Ramah, is a philosophical treatise based on Aristotelian principles. In this work he explores central problems connected with God, the soul, prophecy and creation, and free will.
Ibn Daud has written a book on astronomy, the contents of which are unknown. The same applies to an anti-Karaite polemical work, which he mentions himself.
Ibn Daud is believed to have died a martyr's death about 1180.
( An epitaph to the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry Hundreds ...)