"In the astonishing commentaries of the Christian masters on this book"

Alternative Title

Rabbi Joseph Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov reading St. Thomas Aquinas

Creator

Chaim M. Neria

Files

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

Analyzes a unique, unpublished medieval manuscript of Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics in Hebrew translation, with a commentary by Rabbi Joseph b. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov. While this Hebrew translation and commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics circulated widely among medieval Jewish philosophers in the 15th and 16th centuries, up until now no systematic analyses have been made of this important commentary or of the general history of the reception of Nicomachean ethics in medieval Jewish philosophy. The uniqueness of this specific commentary is also related to its author's extensive use of Scholastic material, most notably the Sententia libri Ethicorum, the Latin commentary on Aristotle's Ethics by St. Thomas Aquinas. Even more surprising, especially in the eyes of the modern reader, is that Joseph b. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov uses at the same time, and side by side with St. Thomas' Sententia, Averroës' Middle commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics. The paper clarifies two crucial aspects of medieval Jewish philosophy, namely the influence of Greek and Arabic texts, and its debt to Scholastic literature.

Keywords

Sacred books, History and criticism

Extent

00:20:56 minutes

Language

English

Media Type

Symposia (conferences); Video recordings

Format

Digital Only

Identifier

S65-00007

Recommended Citation

Neria, Chaim M., ""In the astonishing commentaries of the Christian masters on this book"" (2008). Sacred Leaves Graduate Symposium Collection. 7.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/sacred_leaves_symposium/7