Do We Agree Moses Did Not Write The Torah? – Abraham ibn Ezra d. January 1164 and Astrology
Ibn Ezra occupies a unique role among medieval commentators in that, on the one hand, his commentary has historically been cited by mainstream Orthodoxy, but on the other hand, his reluctance to reconcile problematic Biblical passages put him in opposition to his contemporaries and provided early support for the type of textual criticism that is now accepted by Reform and Conservative Judaism. In his commentary, Ibn Ezra adheres to the literal sense of the texts, avoiding Rabbinic allegories and Cabbalistic interpretations, though he remains faithful to the Jewish traditions. This does not prevent him from exercising an independent criticism that exhibits a marked tendency toward rationalism. He judged other biblical commentary against standards of accuracy, grammatical precision and reliability.
Baruch Spinoza, in concluding that Moses did not author the Torah, and that the Torah and other protocanonical books were written or redacted by somebody else, supposedly the prophet Ezra and others, centuries later, found precedent for these “heretical” views in Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Deuteronomy. Specifically, in discussing Deuteronomy 1:1 “These are the words which Moshe addressed to all Israel beyond the Jordan River”)  Ibn Ezra was troubled by the anomalous nature of referring to Moses as being “beyond [i.e., on the other side] of the Jordan”, as though the writer was oriented in the land of Cana’an (west of the Jordan River), although Moses and the Children of Israel had not yet crossed the Jordan at that point in the Biblical narrative. Relating this inconsistency to others in the Torah, Ibn Ezra famously stated, “If you can grasp the mystery behind the following problematic passages: 1) The final twelve verses of this book [i.e., Deuteronomy 34:1–12, describing the death of Moses] 2) ‘Moses wrote [this song on the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel]’ Deuteronomy 31:22 3) ‘At that time, the Canaanites dwelt in the land’ [Genesis 12:6] 4) ‘… In the mountain of God, He will appear’ [Genesis 22:14] 5) ‘behold, his [Og king of Bashan] bed is a bed of iron [is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon?]’ you will understand the truth.”
Spinoza concluded that Ibn Ezra’s hints about “the truth”, and other such hints scattered through Ibn Ezra’s commentary in reference to seemingly anachronistic verses, as “a clear indication that it was not Moses who wrote the Pentateuch but someone else who lived long after him, and that it was a different book that Moses wrote”. Spinoza and later scholars were thus able to expand on several of Ibn Ezra’s hints and provide much stronger evidence for Non-Mosaic authorship. = = =
Ibn Ezra’s works contain numerous contributions to the philosophy of religion, for example, “Yesod Mora†(“Foundation of Awe”), on the division and the reasons for the Biblical commandments. In his philosophical thought neo-platonic ideas prevail. He also wrote various works on mathematical and astronomical subjects, among which there were three treatises on numbers which helped to bring the Indian symbols and ideas of decimal fractions to the attention of some of the learned people in Europe. Astrology also had a place in his view of the world. Some of his astrological works are: Mishpetai ha-Mazzelot (“Judgments of the Zodiacal Signs”), on the general principles of astrology
Reshit Hokhma (“The Beginning of Wisdom”), an introduction to astrology, perhaps a revision of his earlier book (tr. 1998, M. Epstein)
Sefer ha-Te’amim (“Book of Reasons”), an overview of Arabic astrology, giving explanations for the material in the previous book. (tr. 1994, M. Epstein)
Sefer ha-Moladot (“Book of Nativities”), on astrology based on the time and place of birth
Sefer ha-Me’orot (“Book of Luminaries” or “Book of Lights”), on medical astrology
Sefer ha-She’elot (“Book of Interrogations”), on questions about particular events
Sefer ha-Mivharim (“Book of Elections”, also known as “Critical Days”), on optimum days for particular activities
Sefer ha-Olam (“Book of the World”), on the fates of countries and wars, and other larger-scale issues
(Source: my take on a Wikipedia article)
Steefen
Steefen said
Do We Agree Moses Did Not Write The Torah? – Abraham ibn Ezra d. January 1164 and AstrologyIbn Ezra occupies a unique role among medieval commentators in that, on the one hand, his commentary has historically been cited by mainstream Orthodoxy, but on the other hand, his reluctance to reconcile problematic Biblical passages put him in opposition to his contemporaries and provided early support for the type of textual criticism that is now accepted by Reform and Conservative Judaism. In his commentary, Ibn Ezra adheres to the literal sense of the texts, avoiding Rabbinic allegories and Cabbalistic interpretations, though he remains faithful to the Jewish traditions. This does not prevent him from exercising an independent criticism that exhibits a marked tendency toward rationalism. He judged other biblical commentary against standards of accuracy, grammatical precision and reliability.
Baruch Spinoza, in concluding that Moses did not author the Torah, and that the Torah and other protocanonical books were written or redacted by somebody else, supposedly the prophet Ezra and others, centuries later, found precedent for these “heretical” views in Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Deuteronomy. Specifically, in discussing Deuteronomy 1:1 “These are the words which Moshe addressed to all Israel beyond the Jordan River”)  Ibn Ezra was troubled by the anomalous nature of referring to Moses as being “beyond [i.e., on the other side] of the Jordan”, as though the writer was oriented in the land of Cana’an (west of the Jordan River), although Moses and the Children of Israel had not yet crossed the Jordan at that point in the Biblical narrative. Relating this inconsistency to others in the Torah, Ibn Ezra famously stated, “If you can grasp the mystery behind the following problematic passages: 1) The final twelve verses of this book [i.e., Deuteronomy 34:1–12, describing the death of Moses] 2) ‘Moses wrote [this song on the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel]’ Deuteronomy 31:22 3) ‘At that time, the Canaanites dwelt in the land’ [Genesis 12:6] 4) ‘… In the mountain of God, He will appear’ [Genesis 22:14] 5) ‘behold, his [Og king of Bashan] bed is a bed of iron [is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon?]’ you will understand the truth.”
Spinoza concluded that Ibn Ezra’s hints about “the truth”, and other such hints scattered through Ibn Ezra’s commentary in reference to seemingly anachronistic verses, as “a clear indication that it was not Moses who wrote the Pentateuch but someone else who lived long after him, and that it was a different book that Moses wrote”. Spinoza and later scholars were thus able to expand on several of Ibn Ezra’s hints and provide much stronger evidence for Non-Mosaic authorship. = = =
Ibn Ezra’s works contain numerous contributions to the philosophy of religion, for example, “Yesod Mora†(“Foundation of Awe”), on the division and the reasons for the Biblical commandments. In his philosophical thought neo-platonic ideas prevail. He also wrote various works on mathematical and astronomical subjects, among which there were three treatises on numbers which helped to bring the Indian symbols and ideas of decimal fractions to the attention of some of the learned people in Europe. Astrology also had a place in his view of the world. Some of his astrological works are: Mishpetai ha-Mazzelot (“Judgments of the Zodiacal Signs”), on the general principles of astrology
Reshit Hokhma (“The Beginning of Wisdom”), an introduction to astrology, perhaps a revision of his earlier book (tr. 1998, M. Epstein)
Sefer ha-Te’amim (“Book of Reasons”), an overview of Arabic astrology, giving explanations for the material in the previous book. (tr. 1994, M. Epstein)
Sefer ha-Moladot (“Book of Nativities”), on astrology based on the time and place of birth
Sefer ha-Me’orot (“Book of Luminaries” or “Book of Lights”), on medical astrology
Sefer ha-She’elot (“Book of Interrogations”), on questions about particular events
Sefer ha-Mivharim (“Book of Elections”, also known as “Critical Days”), on optimum days for particular activities
Sefer ha-Olam (“Book of the World”), on the fates of countries and wars, and other larger-scale issues
(Source: my take on a Wikipedia article)
Steefen
Agreed, Moses did not write the Torah circa 1446-1406 BC (1 Kings 6:1), or circa 1260 BC. It was probably written in the Exile, circa 562-560 BC, to explain WHY the nation (Israel and Judah) was in Exile.
Moses is a fictional character…
Well we can’t simply assume this. It is possible he was based on some dimly remembered historical figure like David. David was perhaps a tribal chieftain whose reign was remembered fondly and whose career was subsequently mythologized and idealized. No one thinks the events in the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh are historical but many reputable scholars of the Ancient Near East do think he was a historical king whose reign, like David’s, was remembered and idealized.
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