Background
He married Sara Abigail da Silva, daughter of Semuel da Silva, in 1628.
He married Sara Abigail da Silva, daughter of Semuel da Silva, in 1628.
Around this time, Musaphia graduated from the Padua medical school, which was regarded as the best of its kind at the time.
Musaphia was probably born in Spain. In 1646, while living in Glückstadt, Holstein, Musaphia was appointed royal physician to the Danish court by Christian IV. Around 1648, probably in connection with the death of Christian IV, Musaphia went to Amsterdam and joined the college of rabbis. In 1655, he published an extended version of Nathan ben Jehiels Talmudic dictionary Aruk (ca 1100), titled Musaf he-"Aruk, detailing many Jewish customs.
The preface states that he had been collecting this information since a young boy.
Musaphia was also working on a revised version of the Talmud, which was nevertheless never published, and the manuscripts have since been lost.