Ibn Shaprut
Encyclopedia
Shem-Tob ben Isaac Shaprut of Tudela (שם טוב אבן שפרוט) (born at Tudela
in the middle of the 14th century) was a Spanish Jewish
philosopher, physician, and polemicist. He is often confused with the physician Shem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tortosa
, who lived earlier. He may also be confused with another Ibn Shaprut, Hasdai Ibn Shaprut
, who corresponded with the king of the Khazars
in the 900's.
and redemption, with Cardinal Pedro de Luna, afterward Antipope Benedict XIII
. This disputation took place in Pamplona
, December 26, 1375, in the presence of bishops and learned theologians (see his "Eben Boḥan"; an extract, entitled "Wikkuaḥ" in manuscript, is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, No. 831).
A devastating war which raged in Navarre
between the Castilians and the English obliged Ibn Shaprut, with many others, to leave the country. He settled at Tarazona
, in Aragon, where he practised his profession of physician among both Jews and Christians. As a Talmud
ic scholar he carried on a correspondence with Sheshet.
he completed his "Eben Boḥan" (May, 1380 or 1385), a polemical work against baptized Jews. As a model and guide for this work, which consists of fourteen chapters, or "gates," and is written in the form of a dialogue, he took the polemical "Milḥamot Adonai" of Jacob ben Reuben
, falsely attributed to David Ḳimḥi
. Ibn Shaprut's work, however, is not a partial reproduction of the "Milḥamot," as has been incorrectly stated ("Oẓar Neḥmad," ii. 32); it is rather an extension or continuation of it, since it goes into details which are either not mentioned, or are mentioned only briefly, in the other. In the fifteenth chapter, which Ibn Shaprut added later, he criticizes a work written by Alfonso do Valladolid against Jacob ben Reuben. The thirteenth chapter contains a very interesting fragment by a 14th-century Schopenhauer, who wrote under the pseudonym "Lamas" ("Samael"). The "Eben Boḥan" has been preserved in several manuscripts.
As part of The Touchstone in order to assist the Jews in defense against conversion and polemical writings, Ibn Shaprut edited or translated portions of the Four Gospels
into Hebrew, accompanying them with pointed observations; answers to the latter, written by a neophyte named Jona, also exist in manuscript.
's canon entitled "En Kol," on music for which he probably made use of the Hebrew translation of Sulaiman ibn Yaish and that of Allorqui, which later he criticizes severely.
's commentary on the Pentateuch (see M. Friedländer in the "Publications of the Society of Hebrew Literature," series ii., vol. iv., p. 221, where " Shem-Ṭob ben Joseph Shaprut of Toledo" should read "Shem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tudela").
(Sabbionetta, 1554)
is not a separate translation, and almost certainly not actually by Ibn Shaprut himself, but a complete commentary, in Hebrew, on the gospel of Matthew
found in The Touchstone (Eben Bohan). On the basis that is probably constitutes an earlier independent text it has been excised and edited as a separate edition by George Howard (2nd Ed. 1995), Hebrew Gospel of Matthew
In 1879 the German orientalist Adolf Herbst published two other Jewish Hebrew translations of Matthew, also used by Italian and Spanish Jews to combat attempts to conversion, as Des Schemtob ben Schaphrut hebraeische Übersetzung des Evangeliums Matthaei nach den Drucken des S. Münster und J. du Tillet-Mercier neu herausgegeben.(Göttingen, 1879). However these two manuscripts have no direct connection to Ibn Shaprut. They are a Spanish manuscript published and heavily edited by the cartographer Sebastian Münster
(and now lost) and a related (surviving) Italian Jewish manuscript purchased by Bishop Jean du Tillet
and published by the Hebraist Jean Mercier
(1555).
Richard Gottheil Meyer Kayserling
Tudela, Navarre
Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second city of the autonomous community of Navarre. Its population is around 35,000. Tudela is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electrified railways serve the city and two freeways join close to it...
in the middle of the 14th century) was a Spanish Jewish
History of the Jews in Spain
Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
philosopher, physician, and polemicist. He is often confused with the physician Shem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tortosa
Shem-Tob ben Isaac of Tortosa
Shem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tortosa was a Provençal rabbi and physician.-Life:He engaged in commerce, and travelled. Once at Acre, he was reminded by its rabbi of his insufficient knowledge of the Jewish religion; and he left the city , resolving to abandon commerce and to devote himself exclusively to...
, who lived earlier. He may also be confused with another Ibn Shaprut, Hasdai Ibn Shaprut
Hasdai ibn Shaprut
Hasdai ibn Shaprut born about 915 at Jaén; died about 975 at Córdoba in Spain, was a Jewish scholar, physician, diplomat, and patron of science....
, who corresponded with the king of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
in the 900's.
Life
While still a young man he was compelled to debate in public, on original sinOriginal sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
and redemption, with Cardinal Pedro de Luna, afterward Antipope Benedict XIII
Antipope Benedict XIII
Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor , known as in Spanish, was an Aragonese nobleman, who is officially considered by the Catholic Church to be an antipope....
. This disputation took place in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, December 26, 1375, in the presence of bishops and learned theologians (see his "Eben Boḥan"; an extract, entitled "Wikkuaḥ" in manuscript, is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, No. 831).
A devastating war which raged in Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
between the Castilians and the English obliged Ibn Shaprut, with many others, to leave the country. He settled at Tarazona
Tarazona
Tarazona is a municipality in the Spanish province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona and the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca.- History :...
, in Aragon, where he practised his profession of physician among both Jews and Christians. As a Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic scholar he carried on a correspondence with Sheshet.
The Touchstone
At TarazonaTarazona
Tarazona is a municipality in the Spanish province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona and the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca.- History :...
he completed his "Eben Boḥan" (May, 1380 or 1385), a polemical work against baptized Jews. As a model and guide for this work, which consists of fourteen chapters, or "gates," and is written in the form of a dialogue, he took the polemical "Milḥamot Adonai" of Jacob ben Reuben
Jacob ben Reuben
Jacob ben Reuben may refer to:*Jacob ben Reuben ; eleventh-century Karaite scholar, probably from Constantinople*Jacob ben Reuben ; author of a polemical work against Christianity...
, falsely attributed to David Ḳimḥi
David Kimhi
David Kimhi , also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK , was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian. Born in Narbonne, Provence, he was the son of Rabbi Joseph Kimhi and the brother of Rabbi Moses Kimhi, both biblical commentators and grammarians...
. Ibn Shaprut's work, however, is not a partial reproduction of the "Milḥamot," as has been incorrectly stated ("Oẓar Neḥmad," ii. 32); it is rather an extension or continuation of it, since it goes into details which are either not mentioned, or are mentioned only briefly, in the other. In the fifteenth chapter, which Ibn Shaprut added later, he criticizes a work written by Alfonso do Valladolid against Jacob ben Reuben. The thirteenth chapter contains a very interesting fragment by a 14th-century Schopenhauer, who wrote under the pseudonym "Lamas" ("Samael"). The "Eben Boḥan" has been preserved in several manuscripts.
As part of The Touchstone in order to assist the Jews in defense against conversion and polemical writings, Ibn Shaprut edited or translated portions of the Four Gospels
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
into Hebrew, accompanying them with pointed observations; answers to the latter, written by a neophyte named Jona, also exist in manuscript.
En Kol
Ibn Shaprut wrote a commentary to the first book of AvicennaAvicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
's canon entitled "En Kol," on music for which he probably made use of the Hebrew translation of Sulaiman ibn Yaish and that of Allorqui, which later he criticizes severely.
The Exposer of Mysteries
He also wrote a super commentary, entitled "Ẓafnat Pa'aneaḥ," to Ibn EzraIbn Ezra
Ibn Ezra was a prominent Jewish family from Spain spanning many centuries.The name ibn Ezra may refer to:* Abraham ibn Ezra , a Rabbi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries...
's commentary on the Pentateuch (see M. Friedländer in the "Publications of the Society of Hebrew Literature," series ii., vol. iv., p. 221, where " Shem-Ṭob ben Joseph Shaprut of Toledo" should read "Shem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tudela").
The Orchard of Pomegranates
One work of Ibn Shaprut has been printed: "Pardes Rimmonim," ( פרדס רימונים ) The Orchard of Pomegranates explanations of difficult Talmudic aggadotAggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
(Sabbionetta, 1554)
"Shem Tob's Hebrew Gospel of Matthew"
Shem-Tob's Hebrew Gospel of MatthewHebrew Gospel of Matthew
The Rabbinical translations of Matthew are rabbinical versions of the Gospel of Matthew that are written in Hebrew; Shem-Tob's Matthew, the Du Tillet Matthew, and the Münster Matthew, and which were used in polemical debate with Christians....
is not a separate translation, and almost certainly not actually by Ibn Shaprut himself, but a complete commentary, in Hebrew, on the gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
found in The Touchstone (Eben Bohan). On the basis that is probably constitutes an earlier independent text it has been excised and edited as a separate edition by George Howard (2nd Ed. 1995), Hebrew Gospel of Matthew
In 1879 the German orientalist Adolf Herbst published two other Jewish Hebrew translations of Matthew, also used by Italian and Spanish Jews to combat attempts to conversion, as Des Schemtob ben Schaphrut hebraeische Übersetzung des Evangeliums Matthaei nach den Drucken des S. Münster und J. du Tillet-Mercier neu herausgegeben.(Göttingen, 1879). However these two manuscripts have no direct connection to Ibn Shaprut. They are a Spanish manuscript published and heavily edited by the cartographer Sebastian Münster
Sebastian Münster
Sebastian Münster , was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and a Hebrew scholar.- Life :Münster was born at Ingelheim near Mainz, the son of Andreas Munster. He completed his studies at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen in 1518. His graduate adviser was Johannes Stöffler.He was appointed to...
(and now lost) and a related (surviving) Italian Jewish manuscript purchased by Bishop Jean du Tillet
Jean du Tillet
Jean du Tillet , son of a mayor and captain of Angoulême under Francis I of France, was appointed bishop of St. Brieuc in 1553, in which capacity he took part in the Council of Trent where he encouraged Gentian Hervet to undertake a Latin translation of Photius' Syntagma together with Balsamon's...
and published by the Hebraist Jean Mercier
Jean Mercier (Hebraist)
Jean Mercier, Latin Joannes Mercerus was a French Hebraist.He was a pupil of the less known François Vatable, and succeeded Vatable as professor of Hebrew at the Collège Royal. His students included Philippe du Plessis-Mornay, and Pierre Martinius who became professor at La Rochelle...
(1555).
External links
Richard Gottheil Meyer Kayserling
Meyer Kayserling
Meyer Kayserling was a German rabbi and historian.-Life:He was educated at Halberstadt, Nikolsburg , Prague, Würzburg, and Berlin. He devoted himself to history and philosophy...