Avicenna in medieval Hebrew translation
Book Description
This scholarly exploration unveils a fascinating chapter in the transmission of ancient wisdom across cultures and languages. Gabriella Berzin examines how the profound philosophical insights of the eleventh-century Persian polymath Avicenna found new life through medieval Hebrew translation, bridging Islamic and Jewish intellectual traditions.
At the heart of this study lies the work of Ṭodros Ṭodrosi, a fourteenth-century translator who rendered Avicenna's "Book of Salvation" into Hebrew, making its psychological and metaphysical teachings accessible to Jewish scholars and seekers. Berzin presents the first critical edition of this translation, carefully reconstructed from manuscript sources and compared with the original Arabic text.
The book focuses particularly on Avicenna's treatise on psychology within his broader work on physics, offering readers insight into medieval understandings of the human psyche and its relationship to the divine. Through meticulous analysis of translation techniques and terminology, Berzin reveals how philosophical concepts traveled between traditions, adapting to new linguistic and cultural contexts while preserving their essential wisdom.
For those interested in the historical development of spiritual and psychological thought, this work illuminates how transformative ideas crossed boundaries of language, religion, and time. The study demonstrates how medieval translators served as bridges between civilizations, ensuring that profound insights about human nature and spiritual development could reach new audiences seeking understanding.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~6 hours)
📄 Length: 223 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Judaism
- ✓ Explore History
- ✓ Explore Übersetzung
- ✓ Understand psychological principles
- ✓ Explore Translating
- ✓ Explore Hebräisch
- ✓ Explore Translations into Hebrew
- ✓ Explore Medieval History
