Nethanel ben Isaiah

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Nethanel ben Isaiah (fl. 14th century) was a

homiletic commentary on the Torah entitled Nur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm, translated into Hebrew as Sefer Me'or ha-Afelah (Hebrew
: ספר מאור האפלה).

His work

The first notice of this work was given by Jacob Saphir,[1] who saw a manuscript of it at Hirbah, a small town in Yemen, in 1863. But the beginning of the manuscript was missing, and Saphir's statement that the author's name was Isaiah and that the title was Al-Nur wal-Zulm depends only upon hearsay. Two other manuscripts, one in Berlin[2] and one in the Bodleian Library,[3] bear the author's name, Nethanel ben Isaiah, and the full title of the work, Nur al-Zulm wa-Mashbah al-Hikm wa-Ikhraj al-Ma'ani fi al-Wujud Ba'd al'Adm. Alexander Kohut published a monograph on this work, giving some extracts, under the title "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom" (New York, 1894). This title is given by Kohut as the translation of the Arabic title, though "Light out of Darkness" would be a more fitting translation, since Nethanel's introduction shows that his object was to comment on the obscure passages so as to make sure that their meanings should not escape the student.

Nethanel began his work on the 15th of

philological notes, and polemical flings at both Christianity and Islam: for instance, in his commentary on Genesis 17:20 he designates Muhammad
the "madman" ("meshugga").

Nethanel calls the five books of the

candlestick, etc. He inserted in his work three Hebrew poems, two of which were published by Kohut in his above-mentioned "Light of Shade and Lamp of Wisdom." Nethanel is often quoted under the designation of "ibn Yesha'yah" by Mansur al-Dhamari and by Daud al-Lawani in his philosophical commentary on the Pentateuch entitled al-Wajiz al-Mujna.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Eben Sappir," i. 67a, Lyck, 1866.
  2. ^ Steinschneider, "Verzeichnis," p. 62.
  3. ^ Neubauer, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS." No. 2463.
  4. ^ "Polemische und Apologetische Litteratur," p. 364.
  5. ^ Neubauer, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS." No. 2493.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Nethaneel ben Isaiah". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. It cites:

  • Neubauer, in
    Jewish Quarterly Review
     vii. 350;
  • Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. xiii. 59;
  • idem, Die Arabische Literatur der Juden, § 188.
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