Indiana University Press

Saadia's Introduction to Daniel: Prophetic Calculation of the End of Days vs.
Astrological and
Magical Speculation
Author(s): Haggai Ben-Shammai
Source: Aleph, No. 4 (2004), pp. 11-87
Published by: Indiana University Press
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Haggai Ben-Shammai
Saadia's Introductionto Daniel:

PropheticCalculationof theEnd of
Days vs. Astrologicaland Magical
Speculation
It has beenmorethantwentyyearssinceRabbiJosephQãfihpublished
a considerableportionof Saadia Gaon's commentary on the book of
Daniel.1This publicationwas a mostimportantevent,because in the
MiddleAgesDaniel was one ofthemostwidelyreadand studiedbooks
of theHebrew Bible,in bothEast and West.Thereare severalreasons
for this popularity,mostlyof a generalnature,associatedwith the
* This article,based on a presentationdeliveredat the Eighth Conferenceof the Society

forJudaeo-Arabic Studies,held in Jerusalemin 1997, is a revisedversion of an article
published in Hebrew in Sefunot23 (2003), pp. 13-59 (= Proceedings of the Confer-
ence). I wish to thankmy friendand colleague Prof.Bruno Chiesa of the Universityof
Turinforhis generoushelp and usefulsuggestions.I read Saadia's textwithstudentsat
the Hebrew Universityin 2000 and profitedgreatlyfromtheirinsights.They are: Yoel
Bin-Nun, Sagit Butbul, Zeev Elkin, Inbal Levy, Ayala Meir, Ephraim Porat, and Zvi
Stampfer.Special thanksare due to Prof. S. C. Reif, directorof the Geniza Research
Unit at the Cambridge UniversityLibrary,and the staffof the photographydepart-
ment of the Library for their effortsto produce a high-qualityphotograph and a
digitizedimage of the Cambridge fragment,which was of greatuse in decipheringit. I
am also indebted to my friendand colleague Dr. David Sklare,of the Center for the
Study of Judaeo-Arabic Culture and Literatureat the Ben-Zvi Institute,who helped
© Aleph 4 (2004) pp. 11-87 11

subjectmatterof thebook, thehardshipsof exile,and thelongingsfor
Redemption.Otherreasons,specificto Saadia's timeand place,will be
discussedbelow.In thosecircumstances, it is not surprising thatSaadia
decidedto writea commentary on thebook,as he did forotherbiblical
books thatattractedthe interestof the communityas a whole or of
individualmembers.It had long been known that Saadia wrote a
commentary on Daniel;2hencethepublicationofthesefragments was a
laudableundertaking and an important contribution to therestoration
and studyof Saadia's œuvre?
In any commentary by Saadia, the introduction occupies an im-
portantplace. It is wherehe laysthefoundations of thesubjectthathe
considersto be thefocusofthebook in question.In theintroduction he
also formulateshis conclusions,derivedfromthe book, regarding
questionsthatwere of topicalsignificance in his own timeand place.
Unfortunately, thelong remnants of thecommentary thatRabbi Qãfih
published from an Oxford manuscript include only a few disconnected
fragments of the introduction,from which it is almost impossibleto
elicitany systematic theory.4 Y.
Later, Ratzabypublishedan additional
fragment of the introduction.5The latterincludessome detailsabout
the calculationof the End of Days as well as a clear statementof
Saadia's divisionof Daniel intochapters.Nevertheless, thesefragments
still fail to produce a systematictheoryof the type one expectsin
Saadia's introductions.
Severalyearsago, in Cambridge,I came acrossa Geniza fragment
thatwas quite difficult to decipherand read. Ultimately, its titlein-
dicatedthatit is partof theaforementioned introduction (Fragmentp,
see below). Later,my friendBruno Chiesa drew my attentionto an
articlethat he had writtenabout the manuscriptsof Saadia's com-
mentaryon Daniel,6in whichhe surveyednumerousfragments of the
commentary, preservedin variouslibraries.At the end of the article,7he
mentioneda fragment of the commentary, preservedin the Antonin
Collectionat theRussianNationalLibrary(Fragment0, see below). In
12

Haggai Ben-Shammai
me by locating a fragmentof Saadia's commentaryon Daniel in the FirkovitchCol-

lection and producing a photocopy of it. In addition I am much obliged to Prof.
Bernard R. Goldstein and to the anonymous revieweron behalfof Aleph, as well as
Dr. Gad Freudenthal,for theirremarksand erudite suggestions,which contributed
considerablyto the improvementof this article.I am also much indebted to David
Luvish, who translatedthe Hebrew version into English. As a rule, translationsof
biblicalquotationsare givenhereaccordingto Tanakh: A New Translationof theHoly
ScripturesAccordingto the TraditionalHebrew Text (Philadelphia, New York, and
Jerusalem:The JewishPublication Society,1985), slightlymodifiedwhere necessary.
1 Saadia Gaon, Daniel with the Translationand Commentaryof Saadia hen Josephal-
Fayyumïy[Arabic] editedwith Hebrew translationby JosephQãfih (Jerusalem,1981).
Referencesbelow to page and line numbersin the commentaryfollow that edition.
2 Die arabische LiteraturderJuden (Frankfurta. Main, 1902), p. 59;
M. Steinschneider,
H. Malter,Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works(Philadelphia, 1921), pp. 325-326.
3 Sufficeit to mentionhere E. Schlossberg,"Concepts and Methods in the Commen-
taries on Daniel by R. Saadia Gaon and Karaite Authors/' Ph.D. Thesis, Bar-Ilan
University,1988 (Hebrew).
4
Saadia, Daniel, pp. 13-15; see below on MS K.
5 See below on MS 1p.
6 B. Chiesa, "Appunti per la Recensio del Commento a Daniele di Saadia Gaon," Annali
di Ca' Fosean 22(3) (1983): 91-99. This articlewas supposed to be thefinalword on the
manuscripts,but I am not sure that it really was. A doctoral thesis by A. Cameron,
"Saadia Gaon's Arabic Version of the Book of Daniel" (Universityof Utrecht,1988),
mentions(p. 3) at least one fragment,namely RNL, Yevr.-Arab.1:4007, that Chiesa
does not mention.I do not know what kind ofphotocopy was availableto Cameron. In
any case, he feltfreeto ignoreit,on the groundsthatit was mostlyillegible.Checking
the microfilmnow available at the Instituteof Microfilmsof Hebrew Manuscripts,at
the National and UniversityLibraryin Jerusalem,I foundthatthe manuscript,written
in differenthands,contains16 leaves,constitutingtwo consecutivefragments(fols. 1-7,
8-16), and includeslargesectionsof Saadia's translationand commentaryon Daniel 2-
4. Most of theMS is quite legible,withthe exceptionof damaged parts.While Cameron
he did not realize its importance.
did mentionthe Antonin fragment,
13

the course of his detaileddescriptionof the fragment, Chiesa also
quotedthebeginning of thecommentary, which,he remarked, was also
mentionedin a listof books publishedby J. Mann.8
Examinationof the Cambridgeand St. Petersburg fragments made
it clearthattheycontainmostof themissingpartsof theintroduction.
Combinedwiththetwo earlierpublishedfragments, we now havemost
of the introduction and thus a clear idea of its contents.Somewhat
anticipating, I would like to statebrieflyat the outsetthatthe in-
troductionreveals a new and hithertounknown facet of Saadia's
thought.In additionto certaindetailsof the calculationof the End of
Days and thestructure of thebook of Daniel, foundin thepreviously
knownfragments, the almost-fullversionof the introduction presents
Saadia's theoryabout a subjectthathe does not discusssystematically
anywhereelse in his writings:the relationship betweenvarioustech-
niques for foretellingthe future,mainly astrology,and biblical
prophecy.In thispaper I shalldescribeand interpret the introduction
and offera full versionof the Judaeo-Arabictextwith an English
translation. This shouldmakeit possibleto clarifySaadia's attitudeto
astrology,based no longeron conjecturesand allusionsbut on un-
equivocaltextualevidence:Thoroughlyfamiliarwithastrology, Saadia
rejected it and absolutelydenied its legitimacyand scientific
validity.
Contents of the Introduction

In keepingwithSaadia'susualmannerin theintroductions9 to hisBible
commentaries, theintroduction consistsof threeparts.
FirstcomestheArabictitleoftheBiblicalbook; thisaimsto convey
thegistof its contentsin a fewwords.The titlemaybe understoodas
partof thetranslationof thebook, forjustas thewholetranslation
is a
commentary, theArabictitleis an interpretation
oftheHebrewnameof
thebook, whichin manycases says nothingof its content.
14

Haggai Ben-Shammai
The second part is a very shortintroductory paragraph(a few

lines), mainlypraises of God in flowerylanguage,in a style quite
similarto similarpassages in Islamic literature.10 A close readingof
theseextravagant however,
praisesreveals, that theyare verycarefully
in
worded; positive,laconic, and categoricallanguage,devoid of ex-
planations, theyalludeto themainideasofthebook ofDaniel. Thereis
clearly no room in thispartof the commentary forpolemicsagainst
deviantviews;thatwill findits properplace in themainpart.
Last comesthelongintroduction proper,whichpointsout themain
ideas of thebook and discussesand explainsthem,bothin themselves
and in relationto different or contraryviews.Also consideredin this
part are specificexegeticalproblemsand thestructure of thebook.
The Arabic Title

Accordingto the openingphrasesof the introduction,the titleof the
book is "The Book of Kingdomsand Visions [concerning] whatwill
Come to Pass after1386 Years."11
This is perhapsthelongesttitlethatSaadia evergave to a book of
7
Chiesa, "Appunti," pp. 97-98.
8
J. Mann, Textsand Studies I (Cincinnati,1932), p. 645, accordingto Geniza fragment
T-S Misc. 36.149, 11. 27-29. On Mann's erroneous interpretationsee Chiesa,
"Appunti,**p. 98. Indeed, Mann's index lists the work as tafsïr(= translation/com-
mentaryof/on)Daniel.
9 H. Ben-Shammai,"Saadia's Introductionto Isaiah as an Introductionto the Books of
the Prophets," Tarbiz 60 (1991): 371-404 (Heb.), on p. 372.
10 It is generallyagreed that such paragraphsare imitationsof Islamic models (see re-
centlyJ. Blau, "The Statusof the Classical Arabic Layer of Medieval Judaeo-Arabic,"
Tecudah 14 [1998]: 47-56 [Heb.]). However, it is no less importantto identifythe
unique subject of everysuch introductoryparagraph.
11
U, lb2; referencesto the original indicate the page numbers of the manuscriptas
markedin the edition.
15

theBible.Thatitis thetitleis indisputable, to as such
sinceitis referred
at the end of the introduction.12 It comprisestwo parts.The first
the
presents general idea of the book of Daniel- the kingdomsof the
past,present,and future up to the age of Redemption, and thevisions,
or predictions, of eventsthatwill take place then(see below). Saadia
considerstheorderofthekingdomsto be one of themaintopicsofthe
book.13The second partof the titleoffersthe resultof Saadia's own
calculationof theEnd of Days, as inferred fromthebook of Daniel.14
The kingdomswill be followedby the eschatological eventsdescribed
in thevisionsor predictions(malãhim);thatwill takeplace after"1386
years."This figureseemsto have been so important forSaadia thathe
includedit in thebook's title.
The termmalãhim(sing,malhama) is a typicallyMuslimterm,15
perhapsof Hebrew or Aramaicorigin.It refersprimarily to wars or
othercalamitouseventsthatwill takeplace beforetheEnd of Days or
theDay ofJudgment and essentially heraldit-a kindof parallelto the
"birthpangs of the Messiah" in the talmudic and midrashictradition.
Goldziheralreadynotedthisconnotationof theterm,quotinga saying
attributedto Muhammadibn al-Hanafiyya16 concerningthe deathof
Husayn, which he refersto as a malhama that happenedto him-thatis,
a severeordealheralding theRedemption.17 In time,themeaningofthe
termexpandedto cover primarilynot the eventsthemselvesbut the
predictionof theiroccurrence, or eventheliterary genrein whichthey
are describedor recorded(see below).
The relevantinformation in M. Ullmann'sWörterbuch essentially
reflectsthisdevelopment.18 The firstmeaningslistedforthe termare
"fiercestruggle,bloody battle,carnage,massacre,battlefield." These
resemblethemeaningof thecognatetermin biblicalHebrew.Ullmann
thencitesfurther meaningsfromthe Adab> historical,etc.,literature,
mainly for the plural:"prediction, eschatological prophecy,apocalypse,
visionof thefuture."19 The latterreferto semanticfieldsquitedistinct
from those of the term in biblical Hebrew, relatingprimarilyto
16

Haggai Ben-Shammai
"historical"predictions: visions,magicaldivination,
eschatological and
astrology.The genreof Muslim literature thatgoes by this name is
concernedexclusivelywith such subjectsand relies on a varietyof
sources(see below).It developedto a significant degreefromtheend of
theUmayyadperiod(mid-eighth and
century) after, concurrently with
frequentpoliticalupheavalsin the Muslim world. It was associated
largelywiththenameof Daniel.
It is no accidentthatSaadia used a termso pregnantwithmeaning.
Significantly, the word malähimis used again at the end of the in-
troduction, in Saadia's summaryofthebook's majorconcerns.20 It may
also be foundin othersof his works.For example,in his introduction
12
Saadia, Daniel, p. 31. Qãfih translatedcunwãn as "the beginningof the book," since
the titlewas not at his disposal and he presumablydid not think that such a long,
detailed sentencecould be the titleof the book.
13
Ibid., pp. 190-191; see Schlossberg,"Concepts and Methods," pp. 147-151.
14
approach of the Karaites;see ibid.,
The titleis a responseto the alternativeinterpretive
pp. 147-195.
15 See T. Fahd, "Malhama," Encyclopaedia of IsUm, 2nd edition (hereafterEl2), vol. 6
(Leiden: Brill, 1991): 247; "Djafr," El2, vol. 2 (1965): 375-377 (much of "Jafr"liter-
ature is concerned with matãhim, apocalypses). The author discusses primarilyas-
trological calculations or visions of the End of Days (in Islam: the advent of the
mahdi), entirelyignoringthe importanceof the termin the hadith literature.
16 cAll's son
by a woman of the Hanïfa tribe,that is, Husayn's half-brother.He was
venerated by certain groups in the early Shf a. See F. Buhl, "Muhammad ibn al-
Hanafiyya,"El2, vol. 7 (1993): 402-403.
17 I. Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien II (Halle, 1890), p. 73 (= Mohammedan
Studies,trans.S. M. Stern,vol. 2 [Oxford, 1971], p. 77).
18 M. Ullmann, Wörterbuchder klassischenarabischenSprache II (Wiesbaden, 1970), p.
370.
19
Ibid., p. 371; see also "Malãhim," EI2 6:216.
20
1p, verso, line 5.
17

to Psalms21he uses it in thesenseof "historicalwars/'albeitwarsthat
were supposedto heralda kind of ideal peace, afterDavid had com-
pletedtheconquestof theLand of Israel.A similarassociationemerges
in his commentary on Psalms60:3,22in relationto David's wars with
his foesoutsideIsrael,afterhe had consolidatedhis kingdom.We find
the termagain,in a different and perhapseschatologicalcontext-per-
taining at any rate to a predictionof thefuture-inSaadia's translation
of Isaiah 3:25: "Your men shallfallby the sword,yourfighting man-
hood in battle"-"By the fall of theirmen by the sword,and their
heroesin themalãhim."23
An interesting insightinto the transformationin Saadia's under-
standing of the meaning of Hebrew milhamah from "war" to
"eschatological event" to
(or perhaps "politicalchanges/upheavals") is
in
found his commentaryon Daniel. Commentingon chapter10,
specificallyon v. 13, he discusses,amongotherthings,the role of the
angels referred to in thatverse:
The combat(muhãraba)betweentheangelsis nota contestfor

control,so thatone partygainsvictoryovertheother.Rather,
one of themremovestheotherby God's command,so thatthe
displacednationis leftwithoutan angelto supportit,itsaffairs
finishedand its government abolished.This is called "war"
(Heb. milhamah)only in a figurative manner,as a borrowing
fromthe actionsof kingsand rulers.Know thatsimilarthings
have been said of God's actions,some of themin Egypt,as
"The Lord willbattleforyou" (Ex. 14:14);and inJoshua'stime,
"For the Lord foughtforIsrael" (Josh.10:14).Nehemiahsaid,
"Our God will fightforus" (Neh. 4:14); and Zechariahsaid,
"ThentheLord willcomeforthand makewaron thosenations
as He is wontto makewaron a day ofbattle"(Zech.14:3).God
said about thetimeof our expulsionfromtheLand [of Israel],
"and I Myselfwill battleagainstyou with an outstretched
18

Haggai Ben-Shammai
mightyarm,withangerand rage and greatwrath"(Jer.21:5).

Justas these wars that are ascribedto the Creator do not
constitutefightor combat,but the essenceof theirmeaningis
ratherdiscarding anotherfirmly,
one people and establishing so
too thosewars (Heb. milhamot)thatare ascribedto theangels
are merelydiscardingone nationand establishinganotherone
firmly,as we have made plain.24
Quite typically,Saadia hereextendsthe literalmeaningof the biblical

Hebrewmilhamah,in orderto bringit as close as possibleto itsArabic
cognateas used in hisday.At anyrate,itis clearfromall theseexamples
thatSaadia's use of the termis quite deliberateand calculated.Below,
whenI discussthehistorical backgroundoftheintroduction, I shalltry
to determine his exactintention in so doing.
The Short Introduction

Saadia enunciatestwo principlesin thisbrief,floweryintroduction.25
The firstis theexistenceof esotericknowledge,concealedfromhuman
eyes,whichonlyGod possesses:knowledgeof whatwill happenor of
whatwill be beforeit actuallyhappensor is. The second principleis
21 Saadia Gaon, Psalms with the translationand commentaryof Saadia hen Josephal-
Fayyñmí,editedwith Hebrew translationby JosephQãfih (Jerusalem,1966), p. 26:33.
Ibid., p. 13U:4 (m me commentary;.
23 κηη. The Hebrew singular
Saadia on Isa., p. 10: nniónVK"»ajnnrai Tn tyoîo jrrumj/p1»
form(battle)is translatedinto Arabicas a plural,to emphasizethatthe textis concerned
witha seriesof events,spreadover a whole period,not witha single,isolatedevent.The
pluralis the usual formin thisspecificconnotationof the word in Arabic.The second-
personsingularfeminine suffixes intothethird-
("your men") are turnedin thetranslation
personpluralfeminine("theirmen").
24
Saadia, Daniel, p. 187.
25
Ü, lb4-6.
19

thatGod mayrevealsomeofthathiddenknowledgeto His favorites or
His followersifsuch revelationis likelyto be of use or benefit(salãh)
to them.Saadiauses theArabicwordawliyãD(pluralofwall) forGod's
favoritesor followers-a termthatin his parlanceis a synonymfor
"prophets."The interchangeable use of the termswatï and nabt in
Saadia's works is so common as to need no demonstration here.26
WithoutSaadia's havingto go into detail,the readeradept at deci-
pheringthe secrets of his style will understandthat the hidden
knowledge(thatis, knowledgeof the future),God's exclusivepos-
sessionofthatknowledge,and prophecyas theexclusivechannelforits
revelationto humanity arethemainsubjectsto be discussedin thislong
introduction and thattheyare the focus of the book of Daniel. The
experienced readerwill also presumablybe able to guessthatthebook
of Daniel is the sole propheticrevelationof thatknowledgeto the
Jewishnation-or,moreprecisely,to thatpartof thenationforwhich
theknowledgeis of use.
The Long Introduction

As is Saadia's custom,thisintroduction presentsan extended,system-
atic expositionof the briefallusionsin the shortintroduction. This is
wherehe setsout his definitions and expoundshis lengthyarguments
againstothertheories,which,he claims,are refutedby the prophetic
messageof Daniel. The maintargetsof thesearguments are astrological
predictions (malãhim).
Let us firstsummarizethecontentof thelong introduction.
Knowledgeof the future(al-kãDinãt;lit. "thingsthatcome into
being"-the participleis used here as a presenttenseimplyingan in-
evitableimminent event)is concealedfromhumanbeings,thatis, from
their knowledge and their ability to acquire knowledge.Human
knowledgeis based primarilyon sense perceptionin the past or the
present.27Since the futureis not accessibleto the senses,it cannotbe
categorizedas humanknowledge.Many humansendeavorto discover
20

Haggai Β en-Shammai
the future;when theirefforts are in vain,theywax apologeticrather

thanadmitthatthisrealmof knowledgeis beyondtheirapprehension.
The various human methodsfor predictingthe futuremay be
rankedhierarchically. The mostinferior is observation ofearthlythings,
such as the liver(hepatoscopy),the shoulderblade, eggs,lettersran-
domlyinscribedin the sand,variousrandomsightsand sounds,and
differentkindsof oracles(see below regarding hsmrgDt). Saadia sees no
in
point disputing such at
techniques any length. The same holds true
forthenextlevel:predicting thefuturefromthe speed of theplanets'
motions,theshapeof thehalo aroundthemoon or of therainbow,and
so on. Saadia's principalargument is withtheastrologers, who arewell
acquainted with the course of the stars and theirinfluence on natural
on
phenomena earth, such as heat or cold, dampness dryness,and
or
draw conclusionsfromthisknowledgeconcerningthe fateof human
beings.It is these "conclusions"(judgments,sentences,ahkãm) that
constituteSaadia's mainbone of contention withtheastrologers, forhe
does not deny what he considersto be the real scientificaspect of
astronomy, namely,knowledgeof thestars'coursesand theirinfluence
on nature(mainlymeteorology and all itsrelatedbodiesofknowledge).
On thecontrary, a familiaritywithastronomy itselfis conduciveto true
26 At any rate,examples may be found in the introductionitself:U, lb25 (referringto the

messiahof the House of David, who will surelybe a prophet);2a28 (referring to David
himselfas the author of Psalms; David's statusas a prophet is an importanttopic in
Saadia's introductionto Psalms; see H. Ben-Shammai,"On a Polemical Element in R.
Saadya's Theory of Prophecy," Shlomo Pines Jubilee Volume (Jerusalem,1988), pp.
127-146 (Heb.).
27 This is a familiarprinciplein Saadia's thought,repeatedfrequentlyin his works. See,
e.g., Saadia Gaon, (al-Mukhtãr fi H-) Amami wa-Dl-ictiqãdãt,edited with Hebrew
translationby Joseph Qãfih (Jerusalem,1970) pp. 77:29 ff.,112:9-20 (= Saadia Gaon,
The Book of Beliefsand Opinions, translatedfrom the Arabic and the Hebrew by
Samuel Rosenblatt [New Haven, 1948] pp. 89, 132).
21

piety(tt,2a:26-28). What Saadia rejectsis astrologers'predictionsof
humanfateand behavior.Elsewherehe complainsthatpeople ignore
the correctscientific aspectof astronomybecause the astrologersen-
tice-or "force"-themto concentrate on theirpredictions, whichare
but
nothing "things that theyhave createdand they have no evidence
thereof."28 In this contextSaadia revealshis acquaintance with the
varioustechniques.He has clearlyread at leastintroductory textsor
generalsurveys, such as Abu Macshar's Introduction(see below). He is
familiarwiththetermsdefiningthedifferent of
techniques prediction:
mawãhd, ikhtiyãrãt, masãDil(nativities,elections,questions).29The
astrologersforetellthe futurenot only of individuals,but also of na-
tionsand kingdoms:hereis thelinkwiththebook of Daniel.
In thelattercontext,astrologers base theirpredictions primarilyon
the cycle of conjunctionsof the orbs of Saturnand Jupiterand on a
completetheory,cited by Saadia in theirname,of the fixedrelation
betweenthelengthoftheconjunctioncyclesand predictions to
relating
individualkings,entiredynasties,or the fateof nations.He is con-
cernedessentiallywith "historicalastrology,"thatis, the attemptto
reproducethe fixedrelationshipbetweenthe cycles of the celestial
bodies' movements in thepast and politicaleventsof thepast,and on
thatbasis to predicta similarrelationin thefutureand itsimplications
forfuturepoliticalevents(mainlythe successionof rulers,dynasties,
and world powers). More specifically, the theoryof astrologicalhis-
tory30is based on cycles of recurrences of theseconjunctionsevery
twentyyears.During eleven such conjunctions,theyreoccurin the
same triplicity. These conjunctionsdeterminethe fate of individual
politicalleaders.The cycleis completedevery240 years(accordingto
Saadia,238 or 258 years),withthe twelfthrecurrence, when the con-
junction shiftsto another At
triplicity. thatpoint thefateofdynastiesor
ruling nations (i.e.,empires),or rather theirchange,is determined. The
sum of foursuch cycles-about 960 years(accordingto Saadia,944 or
964 years)-makesthe "largestcycle,"duringwhichthe conjunctions
22

Haggai Ben-Shammai
pass throughall fourtriplicities.The completionof thiscyclesignifies

the
or determines coming of a "new prophet"-i.e., a new religionor
revealedlaw. The "largestcycle"maybe associatedwiththenotionof
the millennium. In short,thistheorycould ostensiblyserveas a basis
forpredicting "futurehistory,"which,in Jewishterms,could include
thecomingof theMessiahand theultimateRedemption.
Accordingto Saadia,though,thesetheories,despitetheirscientific
trappings,have no moreauthority thanhepatoscopyor the like,since
all thesetechniquesessentiallybase theirsupposedvalidityand justi-
ficationon empiricalratherthanrationalproofs.Only God knowsthe
future,just as He is alone in His abilityto createex nihilo.The link
betweenthetwo topicsfollowsfromIsaiah 44:24-26:
28 Saadia Gaon, Job with the Translationand Commentaryof Saadia ben Joseph al-
Fayyumïy[Arabic Text] edited with Hebrew translationby Joseph Qãfih (Jerusalem,
1973), pp. 194:29 ff.(in the contextof his summaryof chapters38-39; for an English
translationsee L. E. Goodman, The Book of Theodicy:Translationand Commentary
on the Book ofJob by Saadiah benJosephal-Fayyumi[New Haven, 1988],p. 394). On
this statement,in the more general context of the negative attitudeof most Jewish
thinkersin the Middle Ages towards astrology,see Ron Barkai, "L'astrologie juive
médiévale;aspects théoriqueset pratiques,"Moyen Age 93 (1987): 323-348, on p. 327.
The Karaite commentatorYefet b. cEli, who lived one generationlater than Saadia
Gaon and Qirqisanï, consideredeven astronomyto be a techniqueof divination;see G.
Vajda, Deux commentairesKaraites sur l'Ecclésiaste(Leiden, 1971), p. 131 η. 2. As in
many other cases, Saadia thus occupies an intermediateposition, between those who
utterlyreject any science, "true" or otherwise,and the convinced advocates of the
secular sciences.
29 For the meaning of these terms see below, in the notes to the translationof the
Introduction.
30 For the followingexplanationsee B. R. Goldstein and D. Pingree,"Levi ben Gerson's
Prognosticationfor the Conjunction of 1345," Transactionsof the American Philo-
sophicalSociety80(6) (1990), esp. p. 1.
23

Thus said the Lord, your Redeemer,Who formedyou in the
womb: It is I, the Lord, who made everything,Who alone
stretchedout the heavensand unaided31spreadout the earth;
Who annulsthe omensof divinersand makesfoolsof the au-
gurs; Who turns sages back and makes nonsense of their
knowledge;but confirmsthe word of His servantand fulfills
the adviceof His angels.
The connectionis obvious:knowledgeof thefutureis likenedto cre-

ation.Both abilitiesare unique to the Creator,Who acts accordingto
His angels'advice;all thepredictionsof thedivinersand augurscome
to naught.The fatesof individuals,nations,and kingdomsare in God's
hands, not determined by the starsor, a fortiori^by sorcerers.God,
explainsSaadia, revealssome of thisknowledge to make us fullyaware
of His powerand His abilities,to giveus theabilityto facethenations
and demonstrate thatour knowledgeis superiorto theirs;and to assure
us that,just as past propheciesof our ascendancyand restoredhonor
cametrue,so will similarpropheciesin thefuture.This knowledgecan
help us endureour presenthardships.Therefollowsa listof a whole
seriesof futureeventsrevealedto us throughpropheticrevelationsin
the past,beginningwiththe "Covenantbetweenthe pieces" [Genesis
15]. At thispoint,Saadia beginsthecalculation, whichwilloccupyhim
in muchof thecommentary, of thetimethatmustelapsefromDaniel's
visionuntiltheRedemptionis complete.The narrative in Daniel is nota
detailedaccountof futureevents,but only a forecast(namüdhaj),or
perhapsrathera model,32of this kind of event.When similarpre-
dictionscametruein thepast,theybuttressed our faithand confidence
thatas-yetunfulfilled prophecies will stillcome to pass.
In sum,Saadia erectsan interesting of the "sciences"
classification
thatlinksastrologywitha varietyof magicaltechniques;the criterion
underlyingthe classification is not the sophistication of a particular
technique(or branchof science)but itspurpose.Sinceprophecyis the
24

Haggai Ben-Shammai
onlyway to arriveat knowledgeof thingsthatare normallyconcealed

fromhumanbeings-althoughtheythemselvesare not concealed-it
followsthatany othermethod,howeverclever,thatattemptsto un-
coverthishiddenknowledgeis doomedto failure.Prophecyis theonly
way to attaincorrectknowledgeof thingsthatare not accessibleto the
senses.Astrologyseemsto be scientific,becauseit is allegedlybased on
observationsof measurablenaturalphenomenaor events(hence on
thingsaccessibleto thesenses).But onlythenumbersthattheprophet
receivedfromGod throughthe angelGabriel-who occupiesa central
place in thebook of Daniel- will enableone to apprehendtheEnd of
Days, providedthosenumbersare properlyinterpreted.
The introductionendswitha listofthegeneraland detailedlessons
to be learnedfromthe book, forwhichSaadia uses thetermmanãfic,
"benefits."There are ten of these,providingSaadia withthe basis for
his divisionof thebook intotenparts.33
31 See belowin thenotesto the

U,3a6.
translation,
32 For the ofpasteventsas a modeloffuture
ofbiblicalnarratives
perception events,see
H. Ben-Shammai, "Prognostic Midrashin theWorks of Se'adyaGaon as Exemplified
to the Commentary
in his Introduction on the Song of David (2 Sam. 22)," in E.
Fleischer et al., eds., Me'ah She'arim: Studies in Medieval Jewish Spiritual Life in
MemoryofIsadoreTwersky (Jerusalem,2001),pp. 1-19 (Heb.). It maybe suggested
thatthewordnamüdhajis reallynamudhãr/namudhãr, termofPersian
an astrological
for
origin, a of a
technique calculatingbirth-horoscope when the doesnotknow
client
theexacttimeanddateof his This
birth. would seem to be an termforan
appropriate
'approximate technique'forworkingout a horoscopefor historicalevents,as in
Daniel. On the namudhar, see al-Bïrunï,al-Tafhìm li-awãDil unì? at al-tanjìm-The
Book ofInstructionin the ElementsoftheArt ofAstrology,facsimilereproductionwith
Englishtranslationby R. R. Wright(London,1934),pp. 328-329,#525.
33 Thereis a similarlistof "benefits" to his com-
at the end of Saadia's introduction
mentary on Isaiah.See Ben-Shammai, "Introduction."
25

Background of Saadia's View of the Relationshipbetween
Astrologyand Prophecy
As alreadynoted,the maintopic of Saadia's introduction to Daniel is

therelationship betweenastrologyand prophecy.His practicein all the
introductions to his biblicalcommentaries was to pointout the main
ideas of the book, discussingand explainingthemboth in themselves
and in relationto other,possiblyconflicting, ideas. These discussions
generally relate to important issues thatwere of interestto Jewishin-
tellectualsof thetime,and especiallyto controversial questions.Saadia
consideredit necessaryto presentan authoritative Rabbaniteposition
on such issues,in languageand termscomprehensible to anyonewell
versedin the surrounding Arabic culture.Such discussionsintroduce
manyof his commentaries. His mainsubjectin theopeningsectionsof
hiscommentary on theTorah,forexample,is theauthority of talmudic
tradition(contrathe Karaiteposition).34 At thebeginningof his com-
mentaryon Psalmshe deals withtherole of thepsalmsin theTemple
ritualand thesynagogueliturgy(here,too,in oppositionto theKaraite
position).35His commentary on Jobis introducedby an expositionof
the problem of theodicy(a centralissue in theologicaldebates in
Saadia's time).36And hiscommentary to Isaiahbeginswitha discussion
of the educationaland politicalrole of the prophet(againstthe back-
groundof earlystagesin the developmentof Islamicpoliticalphilos-
ophy).37
The introduction to Daniel presentsSaadia's mostconcentrated and
focused argumentagainstastrology,thoughhis standpointon that
question is clearly expressedelsewhereas well. An explicitcon-
demnationof astrologymay be foundin his commentary on Daniel
11:35,wherehe shows thattheastrologicalexplanationof thepoverty
ofscholarsmaybe refuted on thebasisofhistorical experience.38Saadia
explicitlydeploresany kind of divination,adducingrationaland ha-
lakhicreasonsforhis objections,in two fragments of his commentary
26

to Isaiah.One relatesto 2:6,wherethedifferent formsof divinationare

as
categorized equivalent to the most serious formsof heresyand
idolatry.39The otherfragment comesfromthecommentary on chapter
49, where,in additionto his rationalargument, he refersbrieflyto the
majortechniquesof divinationand themainbiblicalgroundsfortheir
prohibition:Deut. 18:10and Ezek. 21:26.Saadia explicitlyforbidsuse of
thesetechniques,thoughhe permitstheirtheoretical study(al-wuquf
calayba faqat).40 Biblical argumentsagainst divination, relatingto
biblicalproponentsof such techniques-falseprophets,the astrologers
ofEgyptand Babylon-arecitedin hiscommentary on Proverbs27:1.41
I have alreadymentionedSaadia's explicitreference to astrologyin his
commentary on Job.42
In the introduction to Daniel, however,he proceedsdifferently.
Nowherein thistextdoes he explicitlymentionthe halakhicprohib-
itionof astrology,but onlytheprophets'scornforit and denialof its
34 Saadia Gaon, Saadia's CommentaryGenesis, ed. with introduction,[Hebrew] trans-

lation,and notes by M. Zucker (New York, 1984), esp. pp. 13-17 (Hebrew translation:
pp. 181-184).
35 See Uriel Simon, Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms, trans. Lenn J. Schramm
(Albany, 1991), esp. chaps. 1-2.
36 See Goodman, Theodicy, pp. 28-92. Goodman, however, digresses considerably,
discussingtopics thatare hardlyrelevant.
37 " "
See Ben-Shammai, Introduction, pp. 372-379.
38
Saadia, Daniel, p. 205.
Saadia Gaon, Saadia's Translationand Commentaryon Isaiah, ed. with [Hebrew]
translationby Y. Ratzaby (Qiryat Ono, 1993) p. 161; Hebrew translation,p. 258.
40
Ibid., p. 218; Hebrew translation:p. 329.
41 Saadia Gaon, Proverbswiththe Translationand Commentaryof Saadia ben Josephal-
Fayyümiyed. with Hebrew translationby Joseph Qãfih (Jerusalem,1976) p. 218 (and
see below, nn. 68 and 276).
42 See above, n. 28.
27

validity.This contrastswithMaimonides'approachin his anti-astro-
logical epistle,wherehe delineatesthe halakhicpositionat the very
beginning, referring the readerto the relevantsectionin his Mishneh
Torah, before proceedingto a discussionof astrology per se.43
The mainpointoftheintroduction seemsto be a rationalrefutation
of themagicalsubstitutes forprophecyand a rejectionof thescientific
pretensions of methods for foretellingthe futurein general,and cal-
culating the End of in
Days particular, based on observationofthestars
or othertechniquesof divinationor sorcery.Saadia is willingto admit
that thereare different levels of magicaltechniques;he even ranks
different types of "scientific"astrologyaccordingto theproportionof
"nonsense"in thebeliefsof theiradherents.44 But some techniquesare
superior to others in
only respect of their not their
sophistication,
ethicallevel. Prophecyitselfteachesus that magicaltechniquesare
unfounded.Here Saadia incorporatesa commentary on the long pas-
sage in Isaiah 44 in which theprophet ridicules magicaltechniquesand
stressesthe exclusivenatureof prophecy.45 Accordingto the Jewish
faith,as expressedby theprophets,malãhim,predictionsof theevents
at theEnd of Days, are specialpropheciesdevotedto such matters;of
these,Daniel's prophecyis particularly important.46
The polemicalnatureof Saadia's writinghereis unmistakable. As a
of for the
point departure understanding argument, may we assume that
it was directedagainstJewishproponentsof astrology,especiallyas
theyrelatedto thebook of Daniel and thepredictionof a timetable for
theultimateRedemption(as Abrahambar Hiyya did later;see below).
Thus we mustconsiderthe followingquestions:What is knownof a
Jewishmalãhimliterature and of Jewishadvocatesof astrologyin or
just before Saadia's time? What is the connectionbetweensuch con-
or
cerns, contemporary astrologyin general,and thebook of Daniel or
thefigureof Daniel?
Saadia's Karaite contemporary, Abú Yüsuf Yacqüb al-Qirqisânï,
devoteda wholechapterofhisgreathalakhicwork,inthesectiondealing
28

Haggai B e η - S h a mma i
with idolatry,to astronomyand astrology,47 followinga chapteron

Some
sorcery.48 of thetechniques mentioned by Qirqisânïare also dis-
cussedby Saadia and can also be foundin theliterature
on divination.49
43 A. Marx, The Correspondencebetween the Rabbis of SouthernFrance and Maimo-

nides about Astrology(New York, 1926), p. 43; Maimonides, Epistles,éd. Y. Shailat
(Maaleh Adumim, 1988), 2:478 (English translationin R Lerner,"Maimonides: Letter
on Astrology",in R. Lerner and M. Mahdi [eds.], Medieval Political Philosophy:A
Sourcebook, [Glencoe 1963], p. 228 [repr.in I. Twersky(ed.), A Maimonides Reader
(New York, 1972) 464], and see the commentsof R. Lerner,"Maimonides' Letteron
Astrology",Historyof Religions,8 [1968]; 144); Maimonides returnsto his Halakhic
justificationfor rejectingastrologyon p. 49 (Marx), p. 487 (Shailat). See also: Y. Tzvi
Langermann, "Maimonides' Repudiation of Astrology," Maimonidean Studies 2
(1991): 123-158; S. Sela, "The Fuzzy Border Between Astronomyand Astrology as
Reflectedin the Thought and Work of Three Twelfth-Century JewishIntellectuals,"
Aleph 1 (2001): 59-100.
44
L>,2b5 ff.
45
ü, 3M-22.
46 As faras Saadia is concerned,Daniel is unquestionablya prophet,forall books of the
Bible are prophetic;see Ben-Shammai,"Polemical Element," esp. pp. 127-131. For a
special discussion of Daniel's status as prophet in Saadia's teachings, against the
background of talmudic-midrashictradition,see Schlossberg,"Concepts and Meth-
ods," pp. 196-215.
Yacqüb al-Qirqisânï, Kitãb al-Anwãr wal-Maraqib: Code of Karaite Law, ed. L.
Nemoy, vols. 1-5 (New York, 1939-1945), chap. 11, pp. 590-593. This chapterwas
surveyedin a briefdiscussion of the attitudeof the Mutakallimun to astrologyby G.
Vajda, "Une réfutationinédite du déterminismeastral,"Mélanges d'UniversitéSaint
Joseph 50 (1984): 721-729. The Karaites may have been interestedin astronomyfor
calendrical calculations based on observation,but that was no reason for them to
believe in astrology,activelyor otherwise;see B.R. Goldstein, "Astronomy and the
JewishCommunityin Early Islam," Aleph 1 (2001): 17-57, on 34-36. This is precisely
Qirqisânï's distinctionbetween the two fields.
29

Since Qirqisanï'swork is concernedwith halakhah,he combineshis
accountof thehalakhicprohibitions withhis own polemicagainstthe
scientificvalueofastrology. Like Saadia in hiscommentary on Isaiah49
(see above),Qirqisanï writes that thereis nothingwrong withstudying
astrologicaldivination;whatis forbiddenis usingit. But why,he asks,
shouldone wasteone's timeon such nonsense,insteadof devotingall
effortsto studyingtheTorah?WhileQirqisanï'sterminology is some-
whatdifferent fromSaadia's,thesimilarthrustandcontentofhiswriting
is obvious.Even werethereno evidenceotherthantheseparallels,they
clearlyattestto theirauthors'polemicalpositionand objectionto what
was presumably a fairlycommonphenomenonamongJews.In factwe
possess more direct evidenceof Jewishastronomers and astrologers-
predating Saadia (thatis,from the of
earlystages Judaeo- Arabicculture),
contemporary withhim,and afterhis time.
Beforereviewingsome of the evidence,I would like to pointout
that this professionwas not unique to Jews. On the contrary, the
numberof people engagedin astrologywas verylargeand Jewsac-
countedfor at most a small part.50Astrologyenjoyed considerable
prestige;it was supportedby rulersfortheirown needs,widelybe-
lievedto be a legitimate science,and developedon the basis of trans-
lationsfromclassicalliterature in parallelto thedevelopment of general
scienceand philosophy.Al-Kindï,the so-called "philosopherof the
Arabs"(mid-ninth century), who was proficient in almosteverybranch
of science,wrotemanyastrological treatises,as indicatedby theknown
titles.51Severalastrologicalworks were attributedto Ptolemy,52 in-
cluding two entitled malhama; one of these was said to have been
transmitted in Daniel's name.53The EpistlesoftheBrethren ofSincerity,
one of the mosttypicalrepresentatives of Neoplatonistthought(in a
syncretistic sense,withlinksto Ismacïlïthought)in Saadia'sera,assigna
prominentplace to astrology,54 althoughits authors,too, conducta
debateaboutitsreligiousvalidityand tryto limititsstudyto prophets
and saints.55
30

In the middleof the ninthcentury,astrologywas a majorphilo-

sophicalissue in Baghdad.Whilesome contemporaryphilosophersset
48 Not sorceryin the sense of causing changes or miracles,but as a technique for pre-
diction of the future;Qirqisanï, Anwar, pp. 587-589: ft H-faDlwa-durübihu
49 As follows fromT. Fahd, La divinationarabe (Leiden, 1966; repr.Paris, 1989). Since
its publication,however,importantsources and studies relevantto our subject have
been published; some of themwill be mentionedbelow.
50 Cf. the impressiveextentof the section devoted to the subject in F. Sezgin, Geschichte
(Wiesbaden, 1967-1984), vol. 7. See also: M. Ulimann, Die
des arabischenSchrifttums
Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam (Wiesbaden, 1970), pp. 271-358; the
survey in Κ. Yamamoto and C. Burnett, eds. and trans.Abu Macsar on Historical
Astrology (Leiden, 2000), 1: 573-609; T. Fahd, "Ahkãm al-Nudjüm," EI2, vol. 8
(1995): 105-108.
51
Sezgin, Geschichte7: 130-134; one of al-Kindfs astrologicalworks was published in
Yamamoto and Burnett,Abu Macsar, 1:527-543.
52
Sezgin, Geschichte7: 49-41, definestheirsubject as "astrologicalgeography."Ptolemy
was a major authorityfor astrologersas well as astronomers.His authenticwork, the
Tetrabiblos,is an extensivetreatiseon astrology.
53
Ibid., p. 46.
54 The last epistle in RasãDil Ikhwãn al-SafãD (Beirut, 1983), 4:283-463, is devoted to
magic in generalbut treatsmainlyastrology;see I. R. Netton, Muslim Neoplatonists
(London, 1982), pp. 50-52. RasãHl Ikhwãn al-Safã*(I, Epistle 3, pp. 114-157) contains
many sectionson astrologicaltopics. Note especiallythe last chapter "The astrologer
does not claim, by announcingfutureevents,to know what is concealed" (pp. 153-
157). The polemic aim of this chapter becomes clear in the concluding paragraph,
wherethe authorsmentionthat"the jurisprudents,the scholarsof tradition,the pious,
and the ascetics have prohibitedthe study of the science of the stars." They argue,
however,thatthisprohibitionis due to the factthat"the science of the starsis part of
the science of philosophy." The concludingchapteris thus aimed againstthinkerslike
Saadia and ignoresthe factthata majorityof the philosophers(falãsifa)had also been
opposed to astrology.
31

greatstoreby it,others(such as al-Fãrãbí)wereundecidedwhetherit
shouldbe entirely rejectedor creditedwithat leastsomescientific value.
It should be notedthatmostscientistsand thinkerssincethe timeof
Ptolemyhad agreed,thoughwithvaryingdegreesof emphasis,thatthe
validityof astrologywas inferior
scientific to thatof astronomy.56 The
rationaltheologians-the Muctazilites-decriedastrology,but not as-
tronomy.57 In whatfollows,I would liketo showthattheJewswereno
strangers thissubject;theywerefullyinvolvedin thevariouscurrents
to
withintheirculturalenvironment and evenleftan imprint on them.
One ofthefirstastronomers and astrologers to writein Arabic,and
one of the mostimportant, was an Iraqi-bornJewnamedMãshã:)allãh
(d. ca. 8IO).58 He was probablywell versed in ancientastrological
sourcesin Persianand Syriac,and perhapsalso in translations fromthe
Greek.He is said to have placed his knowledgeat the serviceof the
government, amongotherthingshelpingthe second cAbbasidcaliph,
al-Mansür,decideupon themostauspiciousdateforfoundingthecity
ofBaghdad(in 762).59Two ofhisworksconcernus directly: Kitahfi l-
qiranatwa-°l-adyanwa-l-milal(Book of conjunctions [of the stars],60
religions,and faiths);and al-Mawãtid(Nativities).The firstbook has
survivedin an abbreviatedversionby Ibn Hibinta;a manuscript was
recently published with an English translation and commentary.61isIt
to
directlyrelevant our subject,as it linksthemovements and location
oftheplanetsand theconstellations withreligionsand religiousgroups,
as representativesofpoliticalentities,and also treatsof thelifespanand
politicalpower of thoseentities.
It is a perfectexampleof whatSaadia
callsan "astrological *
history (see above).This was a highlyrespectable
branchof astrology, to whichthe mostimportant astrologersdevoted
substantialattentionin theirworks. Saadia could well have been
thinkingof works like those of Masha3allah-if not indeed of this
particularone.
The second book is an expositionof one of the most popular
branchesof astrology62- predictionsof the futurebased on the posi-
32

55 Ikhwãn
al-Safã' 4:369.
56 See G. andAstrology
inMedievalArabicThought,"inR. Rashed
Saliba,"Astronomy
and J. Biard, eds., Les doctrinesde la Science de l'antiquité à Vage classique (Leuven,
1999),pp. 131-164,withan emphasison al-Fãrãbí,Ibn Sïnâ,and others.This agree-
mentincludedevenpracticing astrologers like Abu Macsharand al-Bïrunï;on the
latter,see S. Pines,"The SemanticDistinctionbetweenthe TermsAstronomy and
Astrology according to Al-Biruni,"
Isis55 (1964):343-349[=S. Pines,StudiesinArabic
Versionsof Greek Textsand in Mediaeval Science (Jerusalemand Leiden, 1986), pp.
387-393].
57 Humanismin theRenaissance
J.L. Kraemer, ofIslam(Leiden,1986),pp. 150-162.See
also above,n. 47. For theexceptional case of al-Ghazâlïsee Saliba,"Astronomyand
Astrology,"pp. 150, 154-156.For an important contributionto thegeneralandJewish
background of Saadia'sintroduction to Daniel,see Goldstein,"Astronomy and the
JewishCommunity."
58 7: 102-108;Ullmann,
§18; Sezgin,Geschichte
Die arabischeLiteratur,
Steinschneider,
pp. 303-306; J. Samsó, "Mãshã^ Allah," EI2,
Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften,
6:710-712. For a briefaccountwithan extensivebibliography see M. Gil, In the
Kingdomof Ishmael(Tel Aviv,1997), 1:294-295;Goldstein,"Astronomy and the
JewishCommunity," p. 24.
See also H. Ben-Shammai, in EarlyMedievalJewishBibleExegesis,"in L.
"Jerusalem
I. Levine, ed., Jerusalem:Its Sanctityand Centralityto Judaism, Christianity,and
Islam (New York,1999),pp. 451-452.ThereI suggested thatwhenSaadiachoseto
translate
"Jerusalem" as Dar al-salãmhe was reacting
to al-Mansür'smessianicpre-
ofBaghdador,at least,in al-Mansur's
in theestablishment
tensionsas reflected choice
of thenameDãr al-salãmforhisnewcity.
For thistermsee belowin thetranslation.
61 E. S. Kennedy and D. Pingree, eds., The Astrological History of MashaJallah
(Cambridge,MA, 1971). Fragmentsor reworkedversionsof otherworksare in-
cludedin thateditionas appendixes,includingKitãb al-mawaìid.A fragment
of
anotherworkby MãshãDallãhwas publishedin Yamamotoand Burnett,Abu Macsar,
1: 545-553.
62 See 2b6ff.
ü,
33

tionsof the heavenlybodies at thetimeof a person'sbirth.Such pre-
dictionswere concernedprimarilywith individuals'fatesand plans.
MãshãDallãhhimselfis an intriguing phenomenon,as he atteststo the
degree to which Jews were integrated into the surroundingcultureat
the very earlieststage of Islamic rule. We do not possess clear-cut
evidenceof otherJewishastrologerscontemporary withhim,but the
long listof thoseactivea short timelater is indicationthathe
sufficient
was no exception.Whilehiscontribution to astrologydoes notseemto
have any distinctlyJewishcharacteristics, the factthathe and his col-
leagueswere involvedin thisarea musthave influencedor leftsome
imprinton theJewishcommunity.
Sahl ibn Bishrwas an Iraqi Jewwho lived in the firsthalfof the
ninthcentury.63 The titlesof his worksall relateto astrologyand dif-
ferentpredictivetechniques,mostof whichSaadia mentionsin his in-
troduction:MasaDil al-ahkam (The questionsof judgments)?*al-
Mawãtid (Nativities),al-lkhtiyarat(Elections),al-Awqat (Times),al-
MasaDilwa-H-ahkam(Questionsand judgments).65
AnotherJewishastronomer-astrologer was Ibn Saymüya,who
probablylivedin the ninthcentury.66 The namesof two of his works
are known.One is al-Madkhalilã cilmal-nujUm(Introduction to the
scienceof the stars),whichpresumablycombinedastronomyand as-
trology.The otheris al-Amtar(Rain), whose subjectwas apparently
astrologicalpredictionof rain in the contextof what is known as
"astro-meteorology" (see below).
A particularlyinteresting figureis the astrologerAbü DaDúd,who
was also probablyJewish.67 As reportedby thehistorianof scienceIbn
al-Qiftï,he was activein Baghdad,wherehe was killedin theyear300
AH (912/3CE). He was proficient in cilmal-hadathan68 wa-H-akhbar
al-kaDinat(the science of futurehappeningsand events).His pre-
dictionswerequoted and people expectedthemto be fulfilled.69 Hâjjï
Khalïfa,the famousTurkishbibliographer, mentionsa certainAbu
Da3üd who wrotea book entitledKitah al-malãhim.70 Steinschneider
34

Haggai Ben-Shammai
suggestsidentifyingthe astrologermentionedby Ibn al-Qiftïwiththe

authorof thatbook,71thus creatingan explicitconnectionbetween
astrologyand the malãhimliterature througha Jewishintermediary.
Steinschneiders is
proposal quite attractiveand ingenious;moreover, a
of
study general historiesof Arabic reveals
literature thatsuch titles
are
associatedwithour presentarea of interest,
specifically almostnever
with some othertopic. Nevertheless, conjectures,howeverplausible,
cannotreplaceproperbibliographical or textualproof;in theabsenceof
63 Die arabische Literatur,§19; Sezgin, Geschichte7: 125-128; Ulimann,

Steinschneider,
Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften, pp. 309-312. For a brief account with an
extensivebibliographysee Gil, Kingdom, 1:311-312; Goldstein, "Astronomyand the
JewishCommunity/'p. 26.
64 For all these terms,see below in the translation.
65
Perhaps the same as the firstwork in this list.
66 Die arabischeLiteratur,§63. Sezgin, Geschichte7: 172, classifieshim as
Steinschneider,
an astronomer,based on the firstwork listedhere;but on p. 326 he calls him an "astro-
meteorologist,"on the basis of his second work. See also Gil, Kingdom, 1:328.
67
Steinschneider,Die arabische Literatur,§27; Sezgin, Geschichte7:330, also p. 18,
concerningthe astronomer"Daûd al-yahudï,"mentionedin a ninth-century work as
an importantastrologer.
68 For this termin the sense of "futureevents,visions of the future,apocalypses" (i.e.,
synonymous with malhamalmalähim) see R. Dozy, Supplémentaux dictionnaires
arabes (Leiden, 1881), 1:258b. Dozy notes thatde Sacy, the firstscholar to point out
this meaning,read the termas hidthan.Dozy himselfheld thatthe correctreadingis
hadathan. In addition to the sources cited by Dozy, one might cite also Saadia,
Proverbs,p. 218:27 (in the commentary).
6*
Jamalal-Dïn b. al-Qiftì,Tartkhal-hukamã0, ed. J. Lippert (Leipzig, 1903), p. 407.
70
Hajjï KhalïfaKãtib Chelebï, Khashfal-zunün can asam'i H-kutubwa-H-funïm,éd. G.
Flüge) (London, 1850), 5: 157, no. 10521.
71 Die arabische Literatur,§27; see also Gil, Kingdom, 1: 341-342 (where
Steinschneider,
thereis a referenceto Sezgin, Geschichte5:337-338; 6: 170-171).
35

such proof,we mustleave the questionin abeyance.72Steinschneider
soughtto linkthewhole affairwithan astronomer namedDa3üd who
was activeat the timeof Buwayhidrule in Iraq; thatis, afterSaadia's
time.73This DaDüd died, as Ibn al-Qiftïreports,in the year430 AH
(1038/9 CE). He was an expert(muqaddam) in the science of the
meaningsof theplanets,in thesolutionof (astrological?) tables,in the
coursesof theplanetsand theirjudgments(abkam;maybe renderedas
"decrees"[of the stars]),and in predictionsof the future(hadathãn).
However,Ibn Qiftï does not say thathe was Jewish.Steinschneider
associateshimwithJudeo-Arabic on the basis of a reference
literature
to "David the Jew" in a manuscriptsource.74Since a personof this
namewas indeedreferred to as a ninth-centuryastrologer,75perhapshe
was the authormentionedin the manuscript, in whichcase the elev-
enth-century astrologerDaDüd would be of no interest here.It is clear
thatmuch materialremainsto be studiedand manyquestionsto be
researchedin this area, but the existingproveninformation provides
sufficientevidenceof Jewishinterestin astrologyduringthe Geonic
periodand of theprominenceofJewishastrologers in generalsociety.
A list of books fromthe thirteenth century(?) discoveredin the
Geniza includesthetitleKitabal-malahimJ** This maybe a reference to
Saadia Gaon's commentary on Daniel, however,so it cannotbe con-
sideredfurtherevidenceof Jewishworks of this type.There is also
evidence from the Cairo Geniza of astrologicalmaterials,mainly
horoscopesor predictions.Severalsuch Geniza documentshave been
publishedand interpreted.77 Othershavenotyetbeenfullydiscussed.78
These, along with various documentsin daily or literarylanguage,
testifyto a widespreadacquaintancewith,relianceon, and appreciation
of astrologicalpredictionsand practices,79evenamongmembersof the
rabbinicestablishment.80 However,the Geniza materialsand termi-
nology refermostlyto Muslimdates and conceptsand do not have
specifically Jewishassociations.81 Sometimesthey even reflectsome
skepticism towardsastrology.82
36

Haggai Ben-Shammai
72 Nowhere does Hâj jï Khalïfa statethatthisDa3 üd was Jewish.Sufficeitto note herethat

a celebratedcompilerof hadith,Abü DaJud al-Sijistânï(d. 889), called thesectionof his
book (Sunan) dealingwitheschatologicalvisions and relatedmattersKitab al-malahim
(see above, n. 15). Other compilersof canonical hadith did not choose thattitle.
Steinschneider, Die arabische Literatur,§64.
74 to his own articlein Zeitschrift
MS Leiden 1108 (III, f. 117:5), referring der deutschen
morgenländischenGesellschaft24 (1870): 386.
75
Above, n. 67.
76
CambridgeUniversityLibrary,T-S 16.19,publishedby S. Assaf,"AncientBook Lists"
(Hebrew), KiryathSefer18 (1941-42): 277-280 (to be published again by the Ben-Zvi
Institute,Jerusalem,in N. Alloni, The JewishLibrary in the Middle Ages [Hebrew],
list 8:100). The book is listedthereon p. 278, 51. Assaf,ibid., n. 34, translatesthe title
into Hebrew as "Book of Wars at the End of Days," referringto Mann, Textsand
Studies,1: 645:28. As remarkedabove, however (n. 8), the work in the list thatMann
published is differentand is indubitablythe commentaryon Daniel by Saadia Gaon.
77 See the followingarticlesby B. R. Goldstein and D. Pingree: "Horoscopes fromthe
Cairo Geniza," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 36 (1977): 113-144; "More Horo-
scopes fromthe Cairo Geniza," Proceedingsof theAmericanPhilosophicalSociety,125
(1981): 155-189; "Astrological Almanacs from the Cairo Geniza," Journal of Near
EasternStudies38 (1979): 153-175, 231-256; "Additional AstrologicalAlmanacs from
the Cairo Geniza," Journalof the American Oriental Society103 (1983):673-690. On
these documents see furtherS. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish
Communitiesof the Arab Worldas Portrayedin the Documents of the Cairo Geniza
(Berkeley:Universityof CaliforniaPress, 1967-1993), 5:625, n. 28.
78 See ibid., 292, about a booklet of horoscopes writtenby the "experiencedand highly
esteemedcourt clerk Hillel b. Eli"; see also the precedingnote.
79 See ibid., pp. 329-332, and the publicationsquoted in n. 77.
80 See ibid., pp. 420-421, on the prestigeof astrology and astrologersin the "Geniza
society." Goitein's statement(ibid., p. 422), "Only Maimonides condemned this sci-
ence as a fake," may be qualifiedin line with the presentdiscussion.
81 An instructiveexceptionis quoted in ibid., p. 421.
82 As in the case of Hillel b. Eli, see n. 78.
37

Mentionshould also be made of the manycontemporary works
linkedwithDaniel, as a characteror ostensibleauthor.83 These works,
whichconstitutea majorcategoryin the malãhimliterature, are con-
cernedprimarilywith the relationshipbetweenmeteorological(and
astronomical) phenomenaand predictionsof the future.The relation-
shipis quiteclear:The End ofDays willbe heraldedby unusualnatural
events,mostlyof a meteorologicalnature,such as torrentialrains,
variations in theregularseasons,and eclipses.Sezginlistsall suchbooks
in the sectionon "Astro-meteorology." Severalbear titleslike Malha-
matDãniyãl84or justMalhamaP Manypersonsinvolvedin astrology
contributedworks linkedwith Daniel, some exclusivelyso. Among
themwerethephilosopherAl-Kindï(see above)86and,of course,Abu
Macshar,perhapsthemostfamousastrologerof his time(d. 886).87
A few terminological remarksare in order.I have alreadymen-
tionedSaadia's thoroughacquaintancewith the relevantprofessional
terminology. He used it freelyevenwhereno polemicalmotiveswere
involvedand it proved necessary,as in his commentaryon Sefer
Yesirah,whichincludesa horoscopicdiagramof the positionsof the
planetsand the constellations (describinga horoscopefor a specific
date),withall therelevanttechnicalterminology.88 Saadia'sworksoften
an
provide early and reliable
source for the use of important termsand
concepts in the sciencesand in religiousthought,therebymakingan
important contributionto thehistoryofArabicculturein general.Two
good examplesofthiscan be foundin theintroduction beingpublished
here.
One ofthetermsthatSaadiauses to denotetechniquesofdivination
is hsmrgDt.89 Some Arabic dictionarieslist the root SMRJ with the
meaning"loose stitches, improperly sewnclothes."90 This evolvedinto
themeaningof a mixtureof truthand falsehood,or falseand senseless
words.91Fahd,in thechapteron Persiandivination in hisLa divination
arabe92 mentionsthe Persiantermhasmirœ, which,he says,refersto
divinationbased on variousoracles,such as randomlyleafingthrough
38

Haggai Ben-Shammai
83
Sezgin(Geschichte 7:312-317) devotesfivepages to Daniel literature. See also G.
Vajda,"Dãniyãl,"EI2 2: 112-113.
84 7:312-317,Nos. 5 and 15.A newpopularShiciteeditionofa book
Sezgin,Geschichte
of thistypewas publishedin a facsimile editionand translated intoEnglishby A.
Fodor, "Malhamat in
Danial," Gy. Káldy-Nagy,ed., The Muslim East: Studiesin
Honour of JuliusGermanus(Budapest,1974), pp. 85-159. For some important
commentson thiswork and the genreas a whole,see G. Vajda, "Quelques ob-
servationssurla MalhamatDãniyãl,"Arabica23 (1976):84-87.
85
Sezgin, Geschichte 7:312-317,No. 6.
86
Ibid.,7:326-327.
87
J. M. Millas,"Abu Macshar,"El2, vol. 1 (1960),pp. 139-140;Sezgin,Geschichte
7: 139-151;ibid.,pp. 328-329forhis astro-meteorological works,including, as ex-
pected,Kitab al-malahim. On meteorological divination, see also Fahd, La divination
arabe,pp. 407-417.
88 SaadiaGaon,SeferYesira[Kitlbal-mab&d?]withtheTranslation and Commentary of
Saadia benJosephal-Fayyumi, [Arabic Text] ed. with Hebrew translation byJoseph
Qãfih (Jerusalem, 1972),pp. 86-87; for an Englishtranslation of the passagesee
Goldstein,"Astronomy and theJewishCommunity," pp. 50-54. Saadia's close fa-
miliaritywiththe relevanttechniquesand his abilityto composea passagethatis
astrologically sounddo notnecessarily meanthathe was favorably inclinedtowards
astrology or that he was opposedto it.What is relevantto the questionofhisposition
on astrology in
oppositionto it other
is hisconsistent works as well(hiscommentaries
on Isaiah and Job as mentionedabove),probablyover a long periodof time.In
addition,notwithstanding hishighesteemforSeferYesira,he was also critical ofit:he
considered thedoctrineof creationexpoundedin thebook to be secondonlyto the
truedoctrineof theTorah(Introduction, pp. 30-31). Like manyseriousmedieval
authors,Saadia thoroughly studiedthe theoriesand doctrineshe wroteagainst,so
thereis nothingunusualaboutit.As mentioned above,he,likeal-Qirqisãní, was not
opposed to the theoretical of
study astrology(perhaps in order to combat it effec-
tively),butonlyto thepracticalapplication of it to divination.
89 Thereadingofυ is closertothePersian form, so thatmanuscript
^ 2ai2; p: Dstmrgot. may
be closerto theoriginal work.
39

books by epic poets (such as Homer or Virgil)or the Holy Scrip-
tures.93Fahd notes the corresponding Arabic termsal-qarca and al-
faDl,terms treated in detailby Qirqisanï(see above), as well as games
of chancewhose outcomeis determined by drawinglots {musãhamá).
That is probablythemeaningintendedby Saadia,ratherthannonsense
in general.To the best of my knowledge,this meaningis not docu-
mentedin Arabicdictionaries. Fahd foundthe termin a work by al-
JähizÄentitled al-Tarbic wa-Dl-tadwir.94 In theglossarythattheeditor,
Pellat,appended to that work,95 he thatthetermalso occursin a
states
book about divinationattributed 5:12: hisãb
to al-Jãhiz,Bab al-cirãfay
al-hismìrjwa-biya Dl-qarca ("calculation of the hsmyrj, that is,
belomancy"). Pellat cites Ibn al-Nadïm's al-Fihrist,which lists nu-
merousworks about belomancy,includingsome attributed to Dan-
iel.96As it turnsout, Saadia is one of our earliestand fewsourcesto
use thisterm;his use of it providesinteresting evidenceof thesources
of divinatory techniquesamong theArabs. Saadia's withthe
familiarity
termmayindicatethathe foundit in one of theprofessional workson
the subject that he had read prior to writingthe introductionto
Daniel.
The secondterminvolvesan emendationof themanuscripts, but I
believethe emendationis quite sound. The termnawbahmt*7(sing.
nawbahar) is found in the astrologicalliterature, but not very fre-
quently.98 The word,of Persianorigin,is apparentlya compoundof
nWy"nine,"and bahr,"brightness, sunrise,"etc.Drawingon an Indian
methodof calculation,it denotesone of the nine equal divisionsof a
zodiacal sign, assignedin turn to the seven planets;the figureor
manifestation of inanimatematter(such as metals)or a thing(such as
animals) observed in each of these allows predictionsto be made.99
to
According Ullmann,thetermreflects thePersian(interalia) origins
of earlyArab astrology.100 Like bsmrgDt, this termatteststo Saadia
Gaon's proficiency in the subjectand theimportance of his worksfor
the generalhistoryof Arabicthoughtand science.
40

Conclusion
As additionalnew fragments of Saadia's workscome to light,he con-

tinuesto astonishus. In his introduction to Daniel he classifiesand
discussesdivinationtechniques,arrangesthemin a hierarchy, and then
refutestheirvalidity.The technicalterminology he employsindicates
90 ThusLisanal-cAraband
al-Munjid.Lane does notcitethewordat all.
subsequently
91
o« Jea^1·
In al-Munjid: JolabV,.yîl» ?M£=Ji
92
Fahd, La divinationarabe, p. 32.
93
Possiblythisproducedthe sense "meaningless words" foundin the dictionaries.
Divinationby leafingthrough theQuPãn is knownin Arabicas istikhãra.
94 al-Tarbïc ed. CharlesPellat(Damascus,1955),p. 81:1.
al-Jãhiz5 wa-H-tadwìr,
95
Ibid.,p. 207.
96 See also s.v."qarca" in theindexofworksin Sezgin,Geschichte 7.
97 see note to Arabic text.
LJ,
2b3;
98 For example, Ikhwãnal-SafãD, 4: 350-351,361. 1 havenotfounditin generaltextsof
Arabastrology suchas Abu Macsar,TheAbbreviation oftheIntroduction toAstrol-
ogy:Together withtheMedievalLatin Translation ofAdelardofBath,ed. and trans,
by CharlesBurnett, KeijiYamamoto, andMichioYano (Leiden,1994);see nextnote.
NeitherhaveI foundit in thisformin Persiandictionaries. I havefoundnawbahar
withthemeaningof thebeginning of spring,as well bahralone in thesenseof
as
spring,sunrise, and thelike,as notedherein thetext.
or brilliance,
99 See: Ikhwanal-Safã' 4:350-351,361; and al-Bïrûnï, al-Tafhim, pp. 266-267,#455.
The latterhastheformNHBHR, vocalizedbyWright nuhbahr. The Latinversionof
theAbbreviation ofAbu Macsar'sIntroduction (pp. 138-139,chap.7, VII, §§22-24)
mentions a ninefolddivisionofthehousesofthezodiacandincludesthePersianterm
in a corruptand Arabizedform:elnowarat.The termmaybe relatedto the"ninth
power"mentioned by AbrahamIbn Ezra,Seferha-Tecamim, ed. Ν. Ben-Menahem,
(Jerusalem, 1941),p. 13.Various other astrological
systems thatIbn Ezra discussesalso
use theterm"ninthhouse";see Sela,"The Fuzzy Border,"p. 295.
100
p. 297, transcribingnawbahrãt.
Ullmann, Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften,
41

on the subject.This is the
thathe had read at leastthe basic literature
main topic-or, more precisely,the main polemicaltopic-of the in-
troduction. As notedabove,hisargument againstall formsofdivination
is not based on halakhah.He does not associatethe techniquesdis-
cussedwiththeTorah'sprohibitions of manticpractices, some of them
quite detailed.His objectis to provethat,in the conflictbetweensci-
ence and prophecy, prophecyis victorious.The Torahprohibitions are
irrelevantto his argument. On theotherhand,Isaiah'sprophecy(chap.
becauseforSaadia it can be interpreted
44) is relevant, as expressinga
philosophicalsystem.His argumentis aimed most probablyat Jews
who were attractedto those techniquesof divination,especiallyas-
trology,whichtheyconsideredto be well-founded methods.
scientific
Saadia set out to prove thattheseJews' effortswere worthlessand
hopelessand had nothingto do with science:the sciencesdeal with
knowledgethatcan be observedand corroboratedby the senses,a
conditionthatthe futureclearlycannotfulfill.Saadia contrastedas-
trologywith a philosophical-Rabbanite theorywhose similarityto
Muctaziliteor philosophicalpositions his time is presumablyno
of
accident.In otherwords,Saadia's messageto educatedJewswho had
absorbedmuchof Arab cultureand wereeagerto followthescientific
fashionsof theirtimewas thatastrologyshould be rejectednot only
froma religiousstandpoint, but also froma theoretical and scientific
one. This is the centralpolemicalthrustof the introduction and the
maininterestof Saadia's commentary on thebook of Daniel.
We mayassumethatSaadia was also interested in disassociatingthe
manDaniel,theprophetsentto theJewishpeople,fromall thedubious
theoriesthathad been linkedwithhis name,mostof themsomehow
relatedto astrology. All thenon-Jewish books predicting theeventsof
theEnd ofDays and explicitly associatedwithDaniel or otherpersons,
and whichbelongedto the genreknownas malãhim,wereworthless.
The Jews had only one book of malãhim,whose associationwith
Daniel could notbe stronger: thebiblicalbook of Daniel; therewas no
42

other.There are, indeed,otherpolemicalmotifsin the commentary,

such as the argumentagainstthe view thatRedemptionhad already
occurredin thetimeoftheSecondTemple101 andvariousanti-Christian
and anti-Karaite claims.102
Thesearguments, however,arenotuniqueto
thecommentary on Daniel and can be foundin otherworksby Saadia
thatdeal withtheRedemption.
The introduction to Daniel revealsa motifor aspectthatis unique
to it and whichmade it forlatergenerations, too, a kindof definitive
summary of the Rabbanite position on calculationsoftheEnd ofDays.
is
This why it was importantin, for example, the thoughtof the
twelfth-century SpanishphilosopherAbrahambar Hiyya. We should
notethatBar Hiyya createda mistakenimpressionof Saadia's attitude
to astrology.Because he referred citingthe com-
to Saadia, explicitly
mentaryto Daniel (presumably also its introduction)as part of his
justificationof the study of astrologyand its use to calculate a
"timetablefortheultimateRedemption,"103 manythoughtthatSaadia
supported such a positionin the commentary.104 The introduction to
101 A view mentioned in Saadia'sintroduction.

explicitly
102 Thesemotifshaveall beendiscussedat
lengthby Schlossberg, "Conceptsand Meth-
ods."
103 Abrahambar ed. A. Z. Poznanski,(Berlin,1924),p. 110.
Hiyya,Megillatha-megalleh,
On Abrahambar Hiyya's astrological oeuvresee Baffcai, "L'astrologiejuive méd-
iévale,"332-334. An epistledefendingthe legitimacy of astrologyattributed to
Abrahambar Hiyya,publishedby Z. Schwarzin S. Krauss,ed.,Festschrift Adolph
Schwarz(Berlinand Vienna,1917),Hebrewsection,pp. 23-36,discussesthematter
onlyin relationto talmudicstatements and does notmentionSaadiaat all.
104 As understood
byPoznanski,see hisintroduction to Megillatha-megalleh, p. xix.An
is
parallel worthy
interesting of notehere: Sezgin, Geschichte7: 151-152, classifiesthe
well-known scientistThãbitibn Qurra(d. 901) as an astrologer(though most of the
writingshe listsare certainly
astronomical).Sezgin(ibid.,p. 329) refersto this clas-
as a factand addsThãbitibn Qurrato the"astro-meteorologists"
sification (I doubt
43

thatcommentary, publishedhere,provesconclusively thatthiswas not
thecase. Moreover,it is one of theearliestdocumentsfromthemilieu
of medievalArabic culturethatatteststo the systematic rejectionof
a
astrologyby religious thinker.
The inclinationto astrologicaldivinationevinced by many of
Saadia's contemporaries is probably "the many opinions and dis-
tortions"thatalmostbroughtabout the loss of theTorahand that,in
Maimonides'view, justifiedSaadia's eschatologicalcomputations.105
Maimonidesmusthavebeenfamiliar withtheastrological
literaturethat
was theJbutt of Saadia's attack.He may even have known Saadia's
introduction to thebook ofDaniel; ifso, thismaywell explainwhythe
greatsage of Fustãtupheld Saadia's positionin relationto eschato-
logicalcalculations.
Any futureaccount of the historyof Jewishastrology106 in the
Middle Ages should beginwithits earlieststage-Saadia Gaon107and
his predecessors, fromwhom he derivedthe inspiration forthe essay
published here. The factis thatinformationto that has
effect longbeen
available.Saadia's introduction to the book of Daniel will no doubt
contributeto the formulation of a complete,coherentchapterin the
aforesaidhistory.
44

whetherthe one work mentionedtherefitsthe definition of this term,strictly

speaking).Qirqisânï,in hisanti-
astrologicalchapter(Anwar,p. 591;see above,n. 47),
quotesThäbitas explicitly thescientific
rejecting validity ofal-ahkãm(thejudgments
inferredbyastrologers from thepositionsof theplanets theconstellations).
and Whom
shouldwe believe?Otherscholarshaveconcluded, from other statementsby Saadia,
thathe did believein astrology.
Goldstein, "Astronomy andtheJewishCommunity,"
pp. 39-40 and 50-54,basesthatconclusionon Saadia'scommentary to SeferYesira
η.
(ibid., 80). Alexander Altmann also held thatSaadia believedin astrology;see A.
Altmann, "Astrology,"EncyclopediaJudaica 3:791, quoted by Goldstein,
"Astronomy and theJewishCommunity," p. 41 n. 57.
105
Epistleto Yemen, ed. Shailat,1: 100 (Arabic text);pp. 144-145in SamuelIbn Tibbon's
Hebrewtranslation; Engl. tr.in Abraham S. Halkin, ed.,MosesMaimonides' Epistleto
Yemen, with an English translation by Boaz Cohen (New York,1952),pp. xii-xiii
revised]inD. HartmanandA. Halkin,Crisisand Leadership:
(repr.[slightly Epistles
of
Maimonides [Philadelphia, 1985],p. 117).It shouldbe mentioned thattheaddresseeof
the Epistle,whichwas writtenin replyto his query,was especiallyinterested in
astrology and favorabletowards it.Therefore the Epistle a
includes discussion
detailed
ofastrology,see Halkin,Epistle, pp. xxi-xxvi;andsee I. Twersky (ed.),A Maimonides
Reader(above,n. 43), p.23.
106 Andindeedofthe ofmagic-butthatwouldbe beyondthescopeofthepresent
history
discussion.Goldsteinindeedtook up thechallengeas formulated here,but lacking
precisedocumentation therewas no way he couldreach thesame conclusions.
107 As did Barkai see above,n. 28. See also aboven. 80.
verybriefly;
45

Saadia's Introductionto Daniel: The Judaeo-ArabicText
The Manuscripts
15= St. Petersburg, RussianNational Library,Antonin476; identified
by Bruno Chiesa.108 Six largeparchmentleaves,32 lines per page; a
fewlinesare missingat thebottom(henceI havenot indicatedtextual
variantsin theselines;the texthas been restoredhere,as faras pos-
sible,accordingto p). Veryfinesquarescript.The firstthreeleavesare
fromthe Introduction. featurein thispassage,
There is an interesting
which recursseveraltimes:the scribe divided words betweentwo
themin themiddle:Ibl7-18 ('πκηon1™);
lines,splitting 2a29-30 (pin]
ηκ); 2b3-4 (ππεκ3πκ); 2b7-8 (max wdiòki); 2blO-ll (^m m); 3alO-
11 (pini πε^κ); 3all-12 (ηκπ *κ); 3al4-17 (ροκ ,ίκτιdki ,'òk ηπη^κ
mam). A similarphenomenonis knownin Arabicmanuscripts written
by Muslims.
As statedon fol. la, the manuscript was in the possessionof one
Joseph b. Yeshucah.109 We know of personsof thatnamein the
several
eleventhcentury, all associatedwith thehistoryof theLand of Israelin
thatperiod.110 AnotherJosephb. Yeshucahservedas a judge in Alex-
andriaformanyyearsin the firsthalfof the century, as amplydocu-
mentedin the Geniza.111
112
p = CambridgeT-S Ar.33.33. One parchment leaf,of an unusual
shape:its width (directionof writing in the line) exceeds its height.A
noteworthy feature of the script is that the alif al-wiqãya/al-fãsila is
as a
preserved rule, while in V it is not written at all. This may attestto
thedate whenit was copied.113Otherleavesof thismanuscript are in
MS Oxford,Bodl. 2629,fols.42-43; buttheyare fromthebody of the
commentary, not the introduction.114 They are not the same size as
fragment p and differfrom each other as well.Fromthis,as well as the
unusualshape of thefirstleaf,we mayconjecturethatthescribeused
46

Haggai Ben-Shammai
leftoverscrapsfroma parchment workshopto writehis own copy of

Saadia's commentaryon Daniel.
X = Oxford2486; publishedin Saadia,Daniel, pp. 13-15.
108 See n. 6.
above,Introduction,
109 The words"semarosuro** afterhis and his father's
nameprobablyindicatethathis
fatherwas stillalive.
110 See M.
Gil, Palestineduringthe FirstMuslimPeriod(634-1099) (Tel Aviv,1983)
(Heb.), index.
1*l On this intheFatimid
Josephsee M. Frankel,"TheJewishCommunity ofAlexandria
and AyyubidPeriods:Portraitof a LeadershipElite" (Hebrew),Ph.D. dissertation,
The HebrewUniversity ofJerusalem, 2002,pp. 63-66.The indexofJ.Mann,History
oftheJewsin Egyptand PalestineundertheFatimids(Oxford,1922;repr.1969and
New York 1970),containsseveralmorereferences to Josephb. Yeshucah;all the
documentsinvolvedwererepublished in Gil, Palestine.One particularlyinteresting
documentwas also publishedby S. D. Goitein,TheJewishCommunity in Palestine
aroundtheBeginning of Islam and in the CrusaderPeriodin Lightof the Geniza
Documents(Hebrew)(Jerusalem, 1980),p. 114; but its writersignsas "Josephbar
Yeshucah."The matterrequiresfurther study.For the date of the manuscript see
further above,n. 89.
112 Thisidentificationis alreadyrecordedin thenewcatalog,C. F. BakerandM. Polliack,
ArabicandJudaeo- ArabicManuscripts in theCambridgeGenizahCollections: Arabic
Old Series[T-S Ar.la-54] (Cambridge, 2001), no. 3240.
113 See Arabic(Hebrew),(Jerusalem, 1961;2nded., 1981)
J.Blau,A GrammarofJudaeo-
§§42-44.
The two leavesarepartof a groupdescribedbriefly in theBodleiancatalog(and by
as
Chiesa,"Appunti,"p. 95) coming from thecommentary on Daniel.Fol. 37 is not
relevant, a
being commentary on Isaiah 10:15publishedby Y. Ratzabyin Sinai 109
(1992):97-99 (and see Saadia,Isaiah,pp. 169,268). The remaining leavesbelongto
variousmanuscripts of Saadia'scommentary on Daniel.
47

ip = Cambridge,T-S Ar. 26.54; 2 leaves,22 linesper page. Fine
squarescript.115 Partof thisfragment was publishedin Saadia,Genesis,
p. 174 n. 44. The whole fragment publishedby Y. Ratzaby,"R.
was
Saadia's Commentaryon Daniel (Supplementsand Addenda)" (He-
brew),Sinai 104 (1989): 98-101. The firstleafincludesthe end of the
introduction (to verso,1. 8).
Afterthe completionof the editorialwork on the articleMr.
EphraimBen-Poratbroughtto my attentionan additionalGeniza
fragment of theIntroduction. He identified in thecourseof
it recently
his work on Biblical exegesisin the Geniza, in associationwith the
FriedbergGeniza Project(at theCenterfortheStudyofJudaeo- Arabic
Culture- Ben-Zvi Institute).It is CambridgeUniversityLibrary,T-S
NS 182.66. It consistsof one leaf,16 linesper page. It is writtenin
square orientalscript.All numbersindicatedin the textby Hebrew
and also abbreviations,
letters, are givenon themargins(by a different
hand?) in full Arabicwords. I gaveitthesign2p. It parallelsin Vfol.3b,
11.8-29. It has severalvariantreadings.All of themare alreadydocu-
mentedin p. None of themoffersany significant new meaning.
Text of the edition and translation

None of the manuscripts seems to be betterthan the others,p was
copied for his own use by a reader(perhapsa scholar),who made
numerousalterations and "emendations"in the text.It includesmany
changesthatdo not affectthemeaning(see, e.g.,v.l. in U,fol.
linguistic
Ib7-14). Therearea fairnumberofomissions,butthisis also trueofV.
The latteris surelyearlier,so thatwhereverit existsI have takenit as
my copy-text,emendingit in accordancewith p when thatseemed
necessary.The textis therefore somewhateclecticwherethereis more
thanone MS. WhereverΌ is my copy-textbut thatMS is defective, I
48

Haggai Ben-Shammai
have filledin fromp (or K), indicatingthis by square brackets(see

above in thedescription of U).
The followingtextualvariantsare ignoredin the apparatus:fullor
abbreviatedquotationsof biblicalverses(exceptwherethe changeis
formulasused to introducequotations(bxp κω, 'pa, 'p'D,
significant);
731). Diacriticalpointsare alwaysindicatedby apostrophes,whatever
thenotationused in themanuscripts. For technicalreasons,mynotesto
theArabictextare in Hebrew.
My own additionsin the Englishtranslation(for linguisticand
contextualclarification) are enclosed in parentheses.Restored text,
markedin theoriginaltextby squarebrackets,is similarly indicatedin
thetranslation; thesame appliesto biblicalreferences.
115 Recorded in Baker and M. as no.

Polliack, Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic ManuscriptSy
2023.
49

nKyïafcb]wn -roan
. . . ΓΡ-Τ17ΌΊϊαΆ
rom mm
° . .] mu "Y . .] ° mtaïi n^ya

Aerane117 [ ] [i]
we^k ^κρ 118fmo 'ra'u; [η^κ] "»öjo1»kî3 ηπκ^κι η^κηοΑκ ikhd] [K"y p] [2]
οπκ'υ·ί6κ ^κ n^Ky)3T"^»yno^^K ^κ π'υκο^κ ['iktdki] [3]
η^κ^^κ rrrobip ^ κ» n^yn tiöje^k ^κίοκ πκ^κ π^κ ηΊκηη] [4]
κιβίό τλώπί 120nnDmπκ^^ m^y φρι^κ "»Qκη m» πκρ^ιιό] [5]
îpj KJKDηκγικ^κ 121π'ΐπητο KjnTWn lyn κηκ [.κτικ] [6]
η^'τι T»püKJ^K ^κ 'Ποκ'γκ^κη 123κηηκπ[^ ^κ]ρ·»122κη^κηκΓίαΐί?κ]κ] [7]
nmy η^κλκπη n^y^K ]κ κ^ρρπ KmiJa^y»ìò ηπκ^τλΐ [κ»^] [β]
■»"«
ηκ mn 'p'Di may 'πηη η^ k^ö p^k'd^k ^κ ήίκ^κ^κ ^y κ?3[κΐ] [9]
[n^KiTy^1? 'y»K *7κρ·>κη^κτ .ίπ ^d k^ö1»[^η]73Πnu/nta "Ή^κ] [io]
[-ΪΠΚΠ"73124KJ1HKU7 K»^ T»p^'3ï3^K ^Κ 'ΓΏΟί^ΚηΠΚ^ΰ^ DIQJ^K"»Ö"»[Π^Κ] [Π]
Κ*7£3KJ11^Κ 'ΓΓΙΚϋ/Κ^ίΟ KÎ3KT.TDK^K DÛJ"»DKÎ31 D^y» [K^7] [12]
ηικπ 'η ηη"7ηκ nyr» ηηη^ πηκ *»d'p ^ι 'πηη rray rn"»ö'D[ι3]
117
.fry]ικ Λ] D^ttrn^ 1WSK
11β
.κη^ ρ
.πηοηρ 12°
U1
.t'Tbnκηπηρ
122
.ÌÒ p :KÎ3JK
.219§ ,ρπρηικ^ηπκ*ι bv;κ^κ+ρ 123

"κη·»ΐ"
.κΐ3ίπκnnwa^y»κ^7απκ^τπκ^ρ :Kïandîp[κ1? ^3 κππκιρ 124
ηπκΐι
50

Haggai Ben-Shammai
128ιμ;127κίιποϊ312ό*ητ6κηπη Km diôtAk mua κώ1?'¥»κ ^κρ*»125κτμκί[u]

ΠΉρ^κ uby "^y 'py^K 12V7yκ»κτ ρτππϊΛκ nby by "py^K [15]
nny 'y»K ^κρ-ι.η»η ^wm vb yvn m fp'3i 130rrmnino» k"7ö [ió]
'πκϊαοη^κ ηκητΆκ π#ηηκ^Ώπρη ism .ριηκ1?hìdd t»kinu ^ku; [17]
κπ·»ΰ'π^Λκη Τ1Κ3nnp^K'D ίμ xb dkj^k ijy κ:τ>λ [ιβ]
'ΓΟΏ'λ131|»Di
nmK ^7'λκρ 132*>ttòío p»^sn kïdjk ρρ^ώκ ]kd κτΛ ínpai κπο^'λ [ι9]
κΏΠΊ^η ικ nynnικ ν?3Όηκ»κ ππόκιπ 'η 'πιπκίη mam« [20]
134π·»ο
b'ì p^K'a^K pî 135t7)3yî3 'ηκ η^κ rbv nmy ν^η^κ [21]
1Μο»'Λκ n'inb ό1»1?
Kâ icTOÒia 1sen^s;κπτι κ^τ ηκηοκ^κ mn 1S7p mon 13όο·6^κ π^κ^λ [22]
η^κν ιπ Ηκ "»JVK κη [d^W [23]

'πη^κν πκί -τανη^κ -by πηκ'τ 'ηκ 140]3·»
DKin^K π'τπ ΊΐΒίόια rœbv 'y κ^^κ^κ 142n"»!un
]κ nân π1?141κη^ι π[ϊ·>Λ] [24]
ΚΠΠΜ
125
.ΚΪ3Κ1ρ
127
.2ΐ9§ ,ριηρτ lion ma
12β
.njynjyυ
129
.κη^7 ρ
130
.npw κιπ •»'ηκΐ)πηη [?nay]ρ
131
.ηικηρ TiVnd^ïd ï*wn γα "n^'r η^η ηπκ ρ ;·>Γηρ
.ηΐαρ 132
.πΌΪ33·7Κ 133
ρ
134
Vïaynrpsρ ^ηνη π·«ΰ
13S
πϊ»κ ικ ,πβ1»msnnn ktiut dw» nsny "^nv" ρ nor»a rmio^ ;ΐτ γγπΛ d^^^d Tunn iniura κί?
.rrru1K-αηρ"an^s" κ^ηι ;p pvwraVu;ρρνι κ^κ
136
.κη^7 υ
137
.κγγριkVimn ρ :iiooìòk n'in 'a
13β
.Dîn ρ
139
atto» ρ
14°
.χ* ρ
.κηκιρ 141
51

vry mnnb ïfri 'wi ηκτα vinm 144r6Kpa14linnap1?1» kkpö γηο^ικ ['ρα] [25]
κ» D^v -bv lop iK "»s14ΌκΛκ ρ tto 145πηκ'λ ηρι Vipj D'n [uaun] [20]
■?Kpρ ^ΚΓΟ 1^'Ί "»ΟΠΠ^ΚΠ rüKDIΙ*?'! ^Κ 1^2PK^Ö ΠΪΟ frnp]1D"»][27]
'ρνη^κ ρ nrwKVDwdwk ηίτΛι .[ηκτ ηπί? πηΰ/πκι] [28]
[. .] bvy' ΊΠ73ora Wmnn ^κ 147ί?κρΰορ^π^κ nnnm κη ^y nb] [29]
[η^ΙΌ kö ■^κ^p)^14etpykV ikdok ^k ^kd [ "ΐκ n*»ûfnaκ'ΐκ ] [30]
[. . . . KnD κιρ·>] iK πκιρ ρ ψ*γ>Όκη κ*η [κπψκη ^y ϊυλκτεn^Kjy ]Ώ] [3ι]
[]κητ ^κ τ» ^y πη^κ]37"»a'mm k»i γτ[ιίταιη ^y ] [32]
n^yyD ròî ίκίκο "unηηπ ηηη]πϊ3[im*»^τκ -tu;kdπ^ιρ τκ'^] [33]
oyy> ]ϊ3Ή'ϋο^κ «γη^ηι[ . ,ί?κ ι» 'πηΰΠ)3^κ ί49*πρ[Ί ] [34]
[ . . . ,κ^ιπΰ κππΊΊΠΰ κπηκ'ΐ οοΛκ πηη τίτ πίηρη ικίκι ιπη] [35]
[κπηπκ]Λ ηκ^'^κι ηκ^^κ η^ν κ^ίπ 'ΐκ Vìk^k piTar ^y [ι]

[K'nj» K»y Dnyüpna κηη ^λκ^π*» d^ ηκ ί^κί 15Ο.ηΊκηη [2]
[κ^ΐιπτα pb /λΐTy toi κ^ ->ibπίλ κί?·« 'p'31 n<)t:7K
nnîyt [3]
πκίώ ny*K ni» ΐΐ3ΚΊ53mu Vip pa1»κ» ^y φρΛκ lyp [4]
mîc πίταηπτιπ'αηinanoK ke^ö ^'ρηυ^κ ]Wdk n*»aιη^ητ [s]
Dnn üb ηκηηηη 15^ ππικοπ ·»&n'a*»^^τ ^y τ'ϋ6κη ι^κπκ [6]
kokö :[!]KT»'iKytjιηκρκί 1Μοπη^κπια ìy^pa ηπ^ηκηη *»ö [7]
.«uno U2
Mir*? 14S
144
.(τπκ«•'mVtc7
proaρ κηιη]do7^sny πσταrmK3^)Vxpaρ
.τπλκ 145
ρ
146
.ΟΠΟΰ3Κ+ ρ
Miròρ 147
.D^7sn 14β
ρ
149
?npnann^K"ηρ^κ]nVwn
.ΠΟ0Κ+ρ 15°
151
.ρηυρ
Ατηιοηκηο ·« ηηη η^ ruonnnVKì« ρ :οπ^»κηη ... ικ 152
52

Haggai Ben-Shammai
χα'π^ηκ^κ Ίΐηκ^κ "»a"^rò laiyn p'-οκ omn kiíhVk τικγ6κ [β]

ττν κ^η 185γα^κηηη^^κι 15*ηΛιο ikiti^k χακτ'ΐκ "»dτυΛκ [9]
KmiyfcD1» πκιυκ -»ainpariK κ» tp κπιογο* 15*tynn"»ai [io]
•»dt.η^ηρκ κη tp 15êKmn^ πιοκίώ "»ai157ηκκ#α κϊ3 φ^ [n]
rnwn âKurn^K16Onjxâ Knu; pia ^y Krannn1»159ηκηηϊ7π [ι2]
'πριυ ^yK ηπ ρ'ΐ^κ πιρ^κ ^?'ί^ 161:κπ^ν κϊ31πίπ nninwy [13]
ηκ^κπ pa τη^Λκ ^^κ'ηκ^κ "»aργυτ» ana ^ικπ ρ •ηη^κ "»a [u]
κπ3)3και 'yx'ypJiÒKνηο Kmn κη n^KiD^K νκίητηnîap^K [15]
Dip ^DUn"lEp^K Ίυ Dip Í7DU7 ^^npanî DKpBI Tini?Π1? [16]
nκ^n^κ ηκι*κι 165fnnnnÍ7Ki kvvVk ^kdu;ki 1é4ntp[17]
ηιαπκι Kmiîp1»Ίκη'3κ κ^π χαρ bs *»aοπ^ι [ιβ]
κ» non "»^κ'yK 'π'λκπ κη Dâ κπη pjaDn1»[19]
tpürt16éwDbiη·>3ηπ^ν κώ ηκη'ηκ κ^ι ρ^ν [20]
ηιρ^κ ^κ κ^ιρ [21]
uaK απακηπκιΐπ -»a167|·'>»ι7νκ^κ
15S
."«κτ
ís/Kp
ΐ)3κρι ρ :κτ'ΐκνηιηκρκιππη^κπκη
απη^κπη
κππη«7Κ Kvbìoτ·^!7Κ3πκμ^κ |η ηιαπ*»di

KÎ31 Kmκηι+ ρ
κγππ^ 155
'ρκ^κ ·ό Kmiw tnü3"»öt
.('ρκ!7κ... 'ya^Ki:mnnnΠϊ3πη
unuï3VJtt7
-wqk)
156
.(>)κη'ΐ7+ ρ
.ηνκαρ 157
1Μ
.ΚΠΤΙ3ΊΤ ρ
1Μ
.(κιηηπκη)ηκηηη^κ ρ
.KTJ uo
ρ
π^ηπ "»υ^1? an^y lé1
ίώ ]π]πηpiojonm υ·»κrvrwrruyun
κ^ ητπ^ητκπ ;nî3*npn tptnw rmj) ρ
m
.(η·η^3κπ
1*2
,ηκηκ^κηκ^κπò'"x "h'K'; i2:ksπκίρ nora manió)ηκ^κπ^κd
vb .pp ^ ρηρηοηρ :tnpâw pnpairn 1é3
."hw rònri'xm'b nnnru
144
.πκτρρ
.τκιηπκ^κι 16S
ρ
-
.pbv
1*7
Γ^κ ?
53

πίοπκ 168'nyioy
"»dηπΊκηνκχακτ»το [22]
'nöij/mnmn ιόοεπε^κ tpaö .ηηΑκ tod [23]
"»DIDO to 'ΓΤ3ΊΠΊKTOOim ^K^ÖK^K ΠΙΟΠ [24]
ΠΚΠ^Κ "ΐπΓϊΐΛία pBJÒJOJ/ΟΊ^ίΟ169fyUÒK1VlÜ1?* [25]
[jpö] τκηΛκ 171[>]ΊΠ[η]ηtqojòk 'πνιαΛκ π'ίπ 'ίκ [26]
['p'Dl] ΠΓίνΚϋΤKHWKy '¡Tilai/ ^Κ piKp [27]
[ΚΠ1»]^ /¥Κ 'Í7)3 T>Î3U7ΠΚΊΚ ^D 'tÍ7K'Í7 172i6i^K [28]
ΡΊΠ] Ί-»'πκη "»am^Dn "»ί^κ ππη^κ •'û fy»K [29]
ηκ'^οκ^κ ■'φκ i/nu^Krrm η^κι^^κ ηκ [3ο]
τη κ1?173ιπ]φο'λη^κι η^ΊΠ^κτ τί^π^κτ [31]
[^ϋΊΠΐ οη^^κ κηπκη Ίκηρκ^κ ρ] [32]
[ΊΚΊΠκι ρη ικ mm ττιοπ ·>ο κπΊ^ηκη κηκι Ίηρ^κ] [33]
[Π'ΠΠ ]NÛ 'HDKnJT'ΓΠΚνσΐ 'HÏ3pyi 'ΠΙΚ^Τ IK . .] [34]
κ^κ ΐρ^'λ^κ rrra^K in «mau τι^κ κπ^χα iox'yp^K [1]

υιηπ^κτ ηκΊΰ/κ^κτ175nra^K^νκ κπ^ίκιρ ^ν nn"7174Ι7'»Ι7Τ
κ1?mx ]n [2]
3πκ p-nano1»Kmn τι^κ 177ηκΊπηη^κτ ηκ'η^'πη^κτ πν^ία '^τιπ^κι [3]
ρ îpD im κϋπηηκι κ^ηΊ'λ 178<Ήηι^ρ·» ]n ρ ί'π^κ η'λΐη ηπηκ [4]
169
.κη^7 ρ
ηκ nmsn "tpw by'an "τ ^y "|*iyw3
"Γπη^κη";miDjn κττ ϋ ncni'y"mi) mnVxiρ 17°
;üutt7nn
.(η·Ί3ΐ3πrnjrunho"»»rmw^"ju/nnamyunrònn ηκ oön ρ p"»nyn
αηοκ ίϊ3 "»rnVn^ κττ nynnn wn πκ·πρ^nu/pπ^π 171
.n-na-p ]Κ3 πκηρπ ;·>"Π3
.κη* ρ 172
173
?ηκ ητ»πί?ηη^ ;p "p
m
.(219§ ,pT(p1 ΙΚ^Ι ΠΚΊ) Κ^^Ι Ό
175
.ηίη^κ d
176
.(Diiin^ rnynπκί) τππ^κι mT'nVTnïw πκίπ ,·»"Π3η
πκί33"p
177
rnj/nπκτ ;nüWö nnyn man timbri ηηπηπ) ηκηπηυ^ι :ητ>π^ ηη^^ πκ-in ^"π^η τη·»ηη η3
.(Dirin1?
54

Haggai B e η - S h a mmai
ηκορκ 'λ ηποιω *>öηπκτηγι :mpn κη^ο γτκγο'πpaïa ηπτπ [5]

*7κιπκίκτι'^ιοκ ηιοπκ ρυρο*ητρ^κίχΛκηιαπκ pra'rp mp [6]
•»π'3κ^κιτ^κηΛκ ηιοπκ ρηητρ praia Kwn nròpx nm V>köö [7]
te*7Kρτατρ praia ητοκ nnwm ^κοη^κ ρυροΉ πκίκ [β]
DttíÒK |κ 173Ì7T]κ ^κ ηπΊΐηκ natal nvj η^#ιηύγο1»ontr^Dm [9]
m απΊΐηκ ipwn κη^κ ηπ^κΛο ·>ο'HD^nn te ^πκτ 179κπ^π"»a [io]
^κ pnDu^K κρη^κ ^y i/η'λκη^'ΐ â n^runην^κ ηκ^πκη ^m [ιι]
te *>aικηηρ1»[m; ρ] Komm1» 180απακ3 ηη^/η^κτ ^πτ ·>^κ p^y [ι2]
"»a
#πρ·>ρτ y^Kü^K ^y 181fnnn lap·»η1?keVi 'mo 'd^k ^κίπ •»π'rrm [13]
KHâ τι^κ 'mtAx Λκυ η^'ΐ i^yaa ^^'Λκη ντ3κ K)amKnnpK [u]
τλΛκ ικηρ^κ κ'τπ ι» ριηηο1»ηπ^κ pnyna ικηηρ1» [ι5]
ΠΊΚίρη pD1»HJ)3Ί13Κ "(ΚΊρ])3Τ '".ΉΚΊΟ^Κ ^2ybì2bb [16]
184'Π'ί7'Ί
im 1β6η™·>»η^η ^ηκ *»öη^η^κ pa1»^185#πί'ί κη:τη 'mo [17]
ΐ'π'π^'πη ^κ 'Π'η^'ηη ρ ρη^Ώ^κ KpÍ7yann ^κρη^κ [ιβ]
'τη'Ρ'Π'η ΠΊκηρη pa1»run ηη^κ ίπ ]κηρ ιϊ3Τ[19]
]η η^η^κ ^NpnjK1? ί'π^κ ίκ 1ββ'το#ρ'Π'η187κηηΊΐ'mo [20]
ηκ^κΊρ^κ ίππ κη 'πτη η^'ΐτ #πηκ^κ 'πηκ [21]
p^yn^K κ» νη ^*ί an»'« kh^d 'xtq^k "»a [22]
'iro^K pi paxip^K ρ man ιοητρ κηη 189rra [23]
17β
.Κ13Π ρ
.nnfmd 179
1β0
.(γγπλ)KömKQ υ
.πη^χ ρ 1β1
182
.•pnbbρ
1"
^ΙΚΊΟ^Κ ρ
1β4
.pn^m n^Kom ρηνη ρ
185
m)33ηη^ιπ-ιοόοπ^
.(ηττηκ^ Kintt7 n^îan ίιο) mo 'x' fmfi ]kd ρ
"»myn
.nrsaρ 1Μ
187
.!KD+p
.mo+ρ 18β
189
.ΚΏ3κπι ρ :κηη ma
55

íò tòk "fri bmw KÎ31 TQ^paxAia ηηκνη^κ [24]
ΚΪ33Κ1ìò^bi κπ'Υ3ΓΡο ^ρ*6κ κγρ^κ -nnop] [25]
κγρο ππ^κπ τοκ ηηκ'λη^κ "»^yκγρο ρ^πν*] [26]
^λ κχη ]kö τππκι ηη:Λκ 19Οηκπ^κ ['mm] [27]
ìò ke^jòk v»)3f>iK raro ·>ΰnn'DK ^p w] [28]
κηκ'γρ^κΊ *7Π^κ ηκη'ηκ jy [pn^y] [29]
k*»U7
"'pn^y» κ*7nmio Ί^η κ)33Π [κοπή kddi] [30]
[Τ»)33ΠΚ1ΰ·»ΚΠ^Κ ^Kp ΚΏ3 ΠΠ3^)3η "»U7·>κη] [31]
[οπκωπ ]κο ρ^ηη^κ ^πη κηι "αϊ] [32]
KÍ7 nn*»)3fAKJ)31]
ΓΙΪ3Κ "»Ö'ΠΤΚΟ JTPÛ1» [33]
[ ηπ^κυ^ο ^κπ *»akvöj 192ηπ^ιν!»<ϊïôt nnns^nîa] [34]
η^ηηη 193rt)sipηκη'^κ nyp κώ^τ fai ynw ιί^ ηκ^ "îpn [ι]
[]]ì2 κ^κ 1f4n^ n^y 'nanv)3 *»^κ ^"»no κ1? m^n 'rnu^K Vik niy u/niD [2]
[ηνηηηκ "ριόκι kïdd^k ^vk 'πη^υν^κ ηκη'λκ^κ 195|κ kï3D mjy [3]
η^η 196"»">
13JKρη)3 ηΊΥ·»ιη^κα ">"»ίώκ hd π^ιρ ηκ'η rmy ι» [4]
ίοππ kÍ7K τικ» p^'d^k ηκη ^νκ κίπ 197<»d
πη ■»asn ότ [5]
2ΟΟηκ'Π3|KD η^ n^y 19^πκ ηρ·»κ^7 may ι» ιπ 19ej/mn'DíÒK ικ [6]
ο]Μ->φ^ ιπκ π^ν ηρ·»κ^ mjv ]ì2 bnbx, *7πκ 2Ο1τ»^ηη [7]
."ηκπ"ητντικη
pi pnnn1? πκ-uaunρ pân 19°
]jt»ïiitronψτο ρ·»03
191
.psnjnρ
.orniva1ρ 192
.κι*? ρ 193
Λ^κ ρ 194
19δ
.(πιηττπηηπη nuïaurn) ^κρ ρ :nVip...|κ
ism^ "i^îannpu κιπ η^ικ ,pan ιηικηκηπ pioan ini) D*naηιηκ ίοο+ ρ 196
.(]Κ3γ'ηι ·ΰ·»κι
.kit»Vρ PJ37K ... '»ο 197
.KÏ3D+ρ 19β
ΛΠΚΠ^ν ρ :n*»Vv ΊΠΚ 1"
20°
•Τη Ρ
56

Haggai Ben-Shammai
η*7'τubw κπκτο'ΐ ti^k pna 'Λκ -τπκpa1»|κ η^'τ -ryn202<»öj n'n [β]
Ίρυ iifrlDíO Π'3Ο3 ΓΗ» ·>ΰθinarm 2ΜΠΓη0Ί|Κ ΠΓΝΚ1Ο3Ί*η [9]
ηη^κ 204nmora Ίρ pa·»]κ Dipnea ή 'Dpi nra mnK nan [10]
ηνκ puDinn^K *»^κm ί^1» traî in1?]n ηη^η·»[!]pim [11]
τι:Λκ ηκπ^κ 206<»^κ πη tup ^^n·» Dôpi πη^^κ ηκ'ηκ^κ 205ηκπ^κ [12]
bpbp DDp Dop1?orra yj 'd 'πνιηυη^κ ^'ηκηη^κτ ηκηο^κι [Μ]
nnnb'K/πκ η·»»3π :rira πη^η πκί Dânnn ^Kttrn^nn [u]
'DKi τ^κιη^κ DKDnKi dva^k 'πνκα^ ^v ι^ηκππη^κ 207[!]pl7K[15]
pbx,ακ^πκ 13 ^D1» arum .^κοη^κτ ηκκιηηκ^κ [!]ίκ·»π [16]
bnìòì 208t>iKia^K η^η "»aίτππ khjk p»yp κηι 'λ^κ [!]ηκακΊ [17]
κπ1»^ ηρτ»κ"7Ίΐηκ^κ mH ]κη πνηηκ η'η /πηκ^κι η*»η [ι8]
η·»^1» ^η nyyi ray im ηψη ^κρ ^κ ττη^κ 'ππ'ί ]η κ^κ [19]
K'VTiBJ210Dial7K^ώ ^κηρκι 2Ο9^7ΐκη ^κιτ nnÍ7nanyn ^ν'λΐ [20]
"nrm "»πίππ^ιΛ Ίηκπ η^'τ -ryn^κρ πκ η^κηη^κ ί*»κο^ [21]
πι& ]ϊ2κπτπι ηηκ^κ bn dî .tmiD^ ιηκη utdik [22]
npa^Ki mbïo :n"»nmη*»»» '·»"»"ipÍ7'πηκηκ^κτ κ^πκ^κ ^?n [23]
Γτ^ιηπ] ''JKηκ Ίρί7ηριτ^κιηκ^Λκτ i'vrn urmn "»"»"'pb [24]
[ . . . τιτ]Λ α·»π^κηnD U7·» 13 ιρ^ 'ποκπϊι 'πηκνο 211Ι73Τ
[25]
·»·»
[κϊ3Vipaηη nu7]v yan 'u;k *7Dπητ33Πγώ'μπ κ» ^d 'π^η'λ^κη [26]
[Tua πιο ^ηρ pa·»]κη 'γνι ^bv kivìòvk "»a'πη^π^κ rra [27]
.κη·»1? 201
ρ
.kmρ 202
.cnrrnnn
/ικληπ=ΐ"ΰ'Λη na ü 205
:p "»^ικ)
204
.pmnn^Kηπ ρ
.κη·6ρ 205
.κη^ υ 206
.κη* ρ 207
2Οβ
.ΠΌ^Κ ^ΠΚΊ "UCia^K ρ :JTQ ^ΠΚ1?! HKID^K
.to τ^η ρ 209

21°
.DID ρ
2"
.ΠΟΚΠ^Κί ΠΊΚ37Ό^Κ1 p :'ΠΟΚΠΛ1 'ΓΠΚνΌ *7D1
57

[κ"ΐκ nrmp tpym η] mu; κΐΓΠίοτκπιε κπηι κγο [28]
[τπίοτ κ1?! m mpn] κώ non ruía τπκίγακ 212κ:ππκϋ7[29]
[nmrmmy nrrax ] îantm|κ ktoöi l^ypj κ1?! [so]
[nrrm;wb "τκ [?]Drrajm ππγικύο}7ϊ3Τ deíòk 213ηηπΛ γπεί] [31]
[ΚΪ331Tirtíó ηττηκπ ίτλπ ηπ^ "7κρκη^ι ^ 214ηνλΐι?κ n^y ρ] [32]
[πκ1?*ρ τπκιπ^κ η^η ·>ΰκ^^ πη η^π -φ κώι Ί^κηηα ]Κ3] [33]
nan κη "?)3ηπ3
η^'ΐ pD1»]κ ^κΐ] η^'τ [> ι ητ κ] ^dkw κηι πκ'λ"ονττ» υοηιίί^κ [34]
[Τ ΊΥρ ))3 ΚΓ^ν ΠΙ
•»ηηηη*»iu;k nyΛ τικυπ ·>3ku7k"»"»ηντ216kjv'p'Di κππη^κ 215κηι^κπ η^'Υΐ [ι]

ιρ ίκτ .ιηρι^ πκίκ ίικ^ ^κ'ύτ' ''üöur»nu/m
*7ΐκpa η^κ η^ν γι kjio κϊ3 217üonj]κ ·>λ:ι:ροπναι^κηππ κίπ'^η [2]
'η n-ípjΚ3ΚηπΊηκ ηηνη η^'τ ^ικ ^pJT :πί'^κ ^κ κπώκ [3]
ηηνη η'η yin im #nyp"»d218nnnu7 minyi ηΐΊλ"»aή^ό
f3 ·>υι»3η [4]
Κϊ3ΉΠ'λ nnm κη 219fnoxnnuno ^d yâr'amι^η^κ "οκ xJi/τλΊ npy [5]
•»"7Kίκίοκ^κ 220η#η .viib npy»Kip*»!'πχρ "»önnnur'd 'ρκ^κ γι [6]
^ό []ΰ K'yi]y 'mo 'η KiUtt221/moΊ'Π'π dkuòk í^n •'S n^pj kjk wm nu/n [7]
^np ]X32Z4ibibxmb 223mDnnl7K 'j'n Km»! i:ro 222nnny
21S
.(78§,?n?i mói πκί)<nnnjl7=
214
.onmnnpi) i^Vk f7"^nnon ]»
21S
ρ :Knmu7Kxm
.KnnK3tt7Ki
.κη^7 ρ 216
.υοηκρ 217
21β
^n1? mwn) murp
.(ηΐϊ3οη
.roanoπηη ρ :κϊ3ποκηη 219
22°
n^Kiaρ,υ ntrr>j
.(χιχην "pî t"3î3IKS «η rnixaí?^ηκ) κπ3)3ΐκ
,ίιόπ "»ö1?
221
.ρ^η υ :fyn... mo
222
.ητιηνρο K:nnay -«jo
.DDnnVxρ 223
58

Haggai Ben-Shammai
]K "^K npi^K ^b'l "[73D.DÛ ]T»í?y ^mm *7Kp K)3 ΊΓΠ ΓΡ^Κ KJ^VST [8]
226"py)3t7l71Ή1Π ^V ΠΌΠΕ1?1? Κ3Ύ3Κ ]Π3 Κ'ΪΚΟ 225'η'3'ΓΙ Ί¥Ε ]Ì2 ΚΓΠ'3 [9]
'yn ηκτ ddhk "»mpa ipo ^κρ η^'ΐ^τ mo 'yrrn νΰ'Λκ ίκ^ ήιπ -by [10]
im 228mu7'y bii ìxòì *»ûη^Ί lyn ϊοηκρη 227<ΐκηnu/)3ίι'^κ n'n xxib [11]
Kjna^K'Dn ^d 230]kdi ιοπηΛιοε ^ό "»û"»η^κ 229|i»l7t'niii»ii
prau; ηκιρηη [ι 2]
pV '2ΡΚΊ :DT» 233'Υ'^7D1»1' ΊΟΌΏ^ **W
DJ1Í7 "^KpTIT» 231ΠΊΰ7'3 TUD 'Λ'1?'
Π [13]
no φ'ΐ iyy' svtbην nwb ην uv f» ττηττι
^ρ 'τ» ]*»JD ira [u]
/mo Ί"» 'mo "ρ bib τρκ k'ttkö η^κ rncvD ^κ ^ιρ^κ κ'ΐπ π1? [is]
235K)3D1KID fm0 '27ΊΚ* KHüDpn 'HJD Ύ^ 234fI7 "^"m taTH HÜ)3tt7[16]
m pica 236>>ö"7Kpη^'π^ι iD^n Tipm ηκτ T>oan "»öKjnnw [17]
biibh 240in'DK^K'iπυη^^ 239κϊ3Πηπκ 238n"»mnnu7
237]·»πίορκπ nrin [18]
242'pDKrxw 'y ^nn^ ηκ^η ^b "»3k^j 241κππη τικ ιγροτ 'mnj "»ai [19]
.nn^KSκ Λ^κη 224

ρ
"5
.mo+ κ
226
?
/ywWn
λπί κ 227
.mo ρ 228
.ΓΠ^ηντρ,κ 229
.mo yb rao 'η ιατπνιρ :τηο ... ]Κ3ΐ 230
.^+ ρ 231
/Λκ f[7y+ κ 232
πίκηvbw ρ 233
.D^yu/rn
πηο1?ρ ;-ιοό»πpa n-nönVίλπ 234
yb κ ;]*»nVm
235
.ΚΏΠ KÍ33 Κ
¿κ ρ 236
237
.prnnπτηηη«; ηκ κ :π·»ΠΓΰΰ7
pmia
23β
.rrnTQWü
.Κΐ3πκιπκ 239
ρ
24°
.Π^ΚΠ^ΚΙ ρ ;Ί3Κ^Κ1 Ü ;Κ "|3
241
.κϊ3πηρ
242
.(mïann γιώπώntjnu7n)κη1»1?
ρ :mu7 ... 'pûK
59

naurn "w bi 'nnntra ·αΛκ κπΓΰ'ηκ κη^ρη τιαι ηηηκ [2ο]
-frn^K244ι6κKj"7243pDn'ram μα nn'DKηη .raw 'y ηικ^ΰ^ nmw [21]
nnnpi -»dnpyi pnm ηηΊηκ *7ΚΠ3tòb 245t nnn roo ^κπτ [22]
Ίοοη *»η)3247ηητ»πη ηπ·»ο'p'D ηη^κ nôîa ί·»>ι^η^κ "^π^ ntana [23]
^κπ3 κ^κπ απ^ by** ^y1».npy»win ηκ ττΰη ^κρ "^"τ1? [24]
Tuyú/·>οιrnâ ·>οnmK ^ϊ; ito ^?πκ249^κρ ηκΊ^τ [rnnx'Χ' [25]
nmj; "»d"'η-'η^κ κηη ηπηι nrrann'πτό1»[fnnm *»π25°κ)33κΐ][26]
ηκι ηκη^κ κππ '»a ìnjuK κη ^di /untv[κ1?wntuni unjK] [27]
ρτπιτη•'Jur
η·»3^πκ 2S2tnj"ΐκ ]nj kjcüsuk^ η^κ ]kd ivo] [28]
nm KJ^7τπ3Π3 "»na"un ηκη n^ nsncen^K]κτ ηι^κ •'û 255nmK][29]
255]κ'ϋ^ι:nnny ητ»πtin^K ran [254ι^κρkî3Dηη^κιπκη ηηνκ] [3ο]
Π1Ϊ3 ]Κ 1Γ1Ί nU7[)3
256ΠΚρϊ3 κΛκ ΊΌΚΊ] [31]
Κ
1» nniKìaoK poi η^Ί^ι ηπηηκτ pnyn npy»nny "»ao257ινηηκ'τι 'nao 3"n û; n*»n
nnn KnÍ7DnaKDpnan*»jdifraovnp "»mnnn κη^η njKD apsn '»jdκη^ικ ^κ κηΊ'ηκ
.■»a 244
ρ
245
•Ti^K τ ρ
.*+ ρ 246
.(υ·»:τυ nani'mn 'πη)ηηνπη 247
κ"πι) ρ :D*»:np
24β
.^Kpi Κ :^Kp d^lVl p) ^7'Í7
249
.κη^ ρ
25°
.Π3Κ1ϋ;ρΤ3
251
.Dr6ipa+ ρ
unoρ 252
.amia ρ 2"
.κ'3ΡκnVipaρ 254
.Ί3ΐηοκκη η^3 η^'τ^κ [ηκ'«η=]ηκ'ωηρ^ικ;nynprrw ηιοηϋ ·ρ 255
25é
.0 ]Κ3 Ίν
rrwiinvnbηη^ 257
60

Haggai B en-S ha mmai
*'b^b 'nyp ">annn r'b na'T d*7"ik nnn Knta ηη nta dîtûk *»jdκβκι /mo a"p "»m
^Kpa nnnnn pn πτπηηnova 25βκηι7ΐ xrbman 'nyp "»akVi ynib ΊΏκη fn*p"»aκ^ι
■f?n"»aVip1»ηκ-ü 'ïk ^Kj7ttun [259.. j '*ι ίβκ1? nnn ηηηκ ηκ w rns κιηπ ηνη
'hjdi πηηκ1?^Ki/nunηκ ίαπ mÍ7n ì"o nrraíó -¡kdi'λτ260πτnrwKb "ò ]π 'π^ρ^κ
^κ 'mo r* ππίικ nny ι« Kprra .pruon η^'τ ^ηρ 'π^ρ^κ ϊππ pana 'π^ηπ^κ
npy irnm 'mo ö"p pny nnî 'mo r* ηπηηκ ηη^ k^ïd'a ]m κ'ηκΰ /ruó n"yp
/mo 3"n η^π *|KDrmo T")3p
ΊΏν "»anop3)3m k»jk ηηη^κ ικ^ κηκ^κ ηκ'ω odv "»a^sòk ίμκ πηπ pani
•»'ί^κ ηητακ ηην ί#3κkìdh^k π'π ηηη n^D π^κητ ρη "»inixa πτ»λ"»aκ^ ογγοκ
.Km κη ^y nnn in
ηκ ττοη ηνη ^κρ πκ Ί^η^κ ìò'di ηί^λ Û7n"»nηνη ]κ WÍ7K ίοκ πϊ/ώ]κ dti
'ηκ ιν»ηιιν»*7κρ'ηκ 'mo r*nn η^π [. . . ] χοτ^ίί αϊ ηπη ητνηρκπι 'λΐητρν "»πηι
. . . ν^η "»m^ικ^κ 'na^K'Dn ^ο -ικηρω 'mis^K ]κ 261Kânvaκτ'λ ρη 'n'ua^
VlK p 'Π3Ό'b ΊΚ Û7 Π"»!Ί'3Κ ]Ώ 'Π3Ο 3"U7'»ΓΤί '^^Κ t^K'M^KT 'mO awtt^ KHlWi
. . KnoumrriK1? 'n#l7mu; ny 'pa πν[. . .] n'y» mnv
'λΐuniDÍ7irrwö1?w ί?3Κna "?κρ 'τκ on^íai ^k-w» [i]

η'λτΓΡΐί?κκηη ηηκτ urna η^η κη^α /π^ρ^κ τ»κσι [2]
η1?»Π]κη'3κ ^K'ia ninu/^K pâ tan ρ·π*ΓΟκ uTvbv [3]
Κ3*7ΠΚ·»ΚΚΓΡ^Κ ηκ'^Κ ΚΩ "Y»KO1 ΙϋΠ "^»T ροΥΠ [4]
'yya ^y κπ'*νη Vnranîoi nvw>bn ->bv'π^ΐα'λ^κη [5}
ròl TK^ÎS^K *7KpKI33 ^"ttÓK 'Π'ΓΠΚΠ^Κ ΠΤΚ'λΚ'ΊΚ 1KD!) [é]
'ϊυγπκγοκ naKi κίκί nyiU7^KTτπκίπ^κ 262·ίρκη 'nny ^y [7]
•»ρκη 'bv 'fytrtìub bxn κ'^»κ Í7KpKïan 'π·»3κ'η^κ [·]
Mb nv 'λ^κ 'Π'πτκπ^κ n'yp^K κπκι njnen^kvmKirfrK [t]
25β
.Ι« ^κ ?
"*
.(■QK^fD ÌK) 'ΓΠΚ^Ι tap "Ι^'Ί ]Κ31 iD^ttrn1?"»ΊΚΊ]Κ3
26°
.ρμοτν
.nnyψκηιρ ρριαππϊ 2"
61

jköok ίε κ» toi njnun^Ki 'γπκιγοκ "»ρκη^y ^»*ήι 'λ [ίο]
κπρ» ·>π·>3κιη]κ ^κ πνίϋη^κ by ^κ^οκ βγγγτγο [n]
KB by 'rò™ njnun^Ki Dïpn kî3 jwa '-pa [12]
wbx. ]κώτ -»aττγπκγ6κ ηκηόκ νη τη'^κ^κ ίκτ -»ûτ» [ι3]
κη ^tb vrb rwrv'yvnb ηοΓΡ u/îa^/n^κρ kï3D[!]mn [u]
Κ'ΠΠ VOKJÏ31K pOJl HpÛ .ΚΊυΠΙ ^ΠΛΠ w UV [15]
"» 'πΐηοη κ^πη uh ίοο^κ [ιó]
ήκορκ nopj1» nyj ·>ο 263t>m
V3KJÏ3 'Ö TDIÓK 'Π^ΚΤ 264.mD^)3^K Ί1)3Κ "»ÖΚΓΗΒ 'Π [17]
*»ö^κ^κ ΐ'Λκ .κτΆκ "»κπια^νλ η^'Άι 'Tvnxbbπ^κ^ητ [ι8]
'2Í7K Τ'^ΚΊ .ΠΉΛκ Τ ]Η npU7)3^K1^DKïa^K ·>01ΠΑΛΚ 'n^Û^D [19]
rrn» κπίη'ηηηι nv^bìz 'ί ρ narnaìna^û/dκη ">a [20]
Άκ τ'Λκι /nao fn'3[?jin c?]nar3'κ;» ^κ^τ^ η^3>>]κ "?ηρ [21]
-»SΗ^Κ Τ'λ^ΚΊ.DíOttOK 'HIK^V p J7KJn)3KÍ7K
'Π·»ΰ·>3 "»3 [22]
brxp'h^ö^d "»atòk τ'λ^κι.Ί^κ^ηη η^π τι^κ tïbîok [ι]

'τ^κι .nita^K ''a ηκΛΛκ "»aηοϊοη^κ "»aι^κ τ'Λια .Ί^ΰ;1?! [2]
ρ "7)3'λ 'π^κ τ'λ^κι.^πι^κη η^κΛϊί^κ ^'ηηη "»aVip^K ρ ^»'λ [3]
[?]ρώ "»η^κsrrnoKρ»ο^κ ^"»yan'Λκ η^κι -φηη^κ ίηρ^κ [4]
Ίκ^p)^^ -ρ^κ απκ^η "»a'^κ τΆκι .^κ'η^κ nny^xi ι,.η^κ [5]
ή^κ "»π'η^κ τ'λ^κ ι» 'rn'DiÒK κτ'λκ 'π^κ n'nna ,ρ'^κ^κ yp^K [6]
KJ1? n^KarnìηκΊκηνηοκ -»a•»ρκιη^κή^κτ .nva^nW τι^κ [7]
."pyriOKπ^κη Knyiyj "»a 'tdk κπκποκ ηταηρ ip #ηκι [β]
"»abv πκ*υ^3) ?nra^K

.(η«7ΐ3ππ b'"x "4
62

Haggai Ben-Shammai
Saadia's Introduction to Daniel:

English Translation
la
Translationof Daniel withtheinterpretation
of its topics265
by our MasterSaadia...
[property]ofJosephson of Yeshucah,mayhis Rock protecthim266
may he live and be grantedmerit
lb
[1] [In thenameoftheLord] maywe do and succeed,a good [sig]n267
[,..268]Israel
[2] The book of kingdomsand apocalypsesconcerningwhat will
come to pass after1,386years.Says he who is engagedin
[3] the rendering of thewords (of the book) into the language(cur-
rently) used269and in clarifying
its topics:
[4] Blessed be theLord God of Israel,Who aloneknowswhatwillbe
beforeit is, Who reveals
[5] to those close to Him (thatpart) of (the future),knowledgeof
whichwill benefit(them),and praisedand magnified be He forever
265 of its topics" is a common termin book listsforworks

"Tafsirwith the interpretation
thatinclude both a translation(in the strictsense of the word) and a fulland detailed
commentary.
266 See above in the
descriptionof MS Ü.
267 See note to
originaltext.
268 See note to
originaltext.
269 That the
is, languageused in practice,Arabic. The entiresentencemeansthattheauthor
intendsto translatethe book into Arabic and thento add a commentaryon its content.
63

[6] and ever.So afterwe have extolledHim withtheseattributes, we
say
[7] thateventsthatwill takeplace in thefutureare called "concealed
things"in relationto thosewho speak (= humanbeings),for
[8] sincewe findthattheydo not knowthem(= theevents),we state
confidently thatthey(= thoseevents)arepreciselythoseknowledgeof
whichis concealedfromthem(= thespeakers).
[9] But in relationto theCreatornothingwhatsoeveris concealed,as
it is said, "Behold I am the Lord,
[10] theGod of all flesh.Is anything hidden270 fromMe?" Qer.32:27].
Similar,one calls the decisions
. [11] thatarein (people's)mindsconcealedin relationto createdbeings,
sincewe see thatno man
[12] knowswhat is in his fellow'smind.However,in relationto our
Lord, nothing
[13] whatsoever is concealedforhim,as itis said,"forYou aloneknow
theheartsof all men" [2 Chron.6:30].
[14] Similarly, one does not call whatdarknesshidesor whatis buried
underground concealed,save
[15] in relationto the knowledgeof createdbeings;but when it is in
relationto theknowledgeof theEternal,
[16] thereis nothingconcealed(fromHim) in any way,as it is said,
"darknessis not dark for You" [Ps. 139:12]. And it is said further,
"Exposed is
[17] Sheol271 beforeHim,Abaddonhas no cover"[Job26:6].Now that
we have prefacedthesedetails,whichare said to be
[18] concealedin respectof people's knowledgebut not in respectof
theirCreator'sknowledge,we shall mentionthatwhichcauses them
(= the details)and all
[19] theirkind,and say: Sincepeople do not know something unless
[20] they have perceivedit throughone of their senses, whether
throughhearingor throughsightor throughanothersense,
64

[21] it is impossibleforthemto knowwhatis concealed,sincethefive

senseshaveno connectionto it (or: effect on it). But as fortheCreator,
[22] mayHe be magnified, Who does notknowthingsby meansofone
of theseagencies272 or by other(agencies),it is not impossibleforHim
[23] to know the future;for,accordingto the acceptedterminology,
His essenceis a knowingessence,thatis, He knows
[24] by virtueof His own essence.273 And sinceit was not appropriate
forthe prophetsto speak of His knowledgeof thingsas if it did not
involvethesesenses,theyspoke as ifit did not involvethesesenses(of
theknowledge)
[25] of one of thoseclose to Him in relationto what [He]
(= God) taughthim,and [Scripture] says,"He shallsensethetruthby
his reverenceforthe Lord: He shallnot [judge]by what
[26] his eyes behold, [nor decide by what his ears perceive]"
We further
[Isa. 11:3].274 say: Manypeople have triedto discoverwhat
[27] [will be before]it is and have not been successfulat that.Their
statein thatrespectis like the stateof thepersonwho said,
[28] "[So I appliedmyselfto understand this,]butit seemeda hopeless
task" [Ps.73:16].275Therefore,the most importantamong themhave
avoideddealing
270 Saadia
probably understood Heb. yippale0 according to the Aramaic translation
yitkasse0= covered, hidden; Tanakh has here "wondrous."
271 As Saadia understands "Sheol" refersto
it, anythingor anyone buried underground.
I.e., the senses.
"■* See
Saadia, Amànat, p. 91= Beliefs,p. 104.
274 Cf.
Saadia, Isaiah, p. 26: "The Lord will revealHis worship to him throughprophecy,
and he (=the prophet)will be such thathe shall not judge by the sightof his eyes alone,
nor by what his ears hear." Instead of "the Lord will reveal to him" one mightalso
translate,"the Lord will inspire him." The word yulhimuhu is fraughtwith con-
troversialmeanings;see Ben-Shammai,"Polemical Element."
275 Cf.
Saadia, Psalms,p. 175: wa-in kuntufakkartuftmacrifatdhãlika minal-khatãr [sic;
65

[29] [withthis,as thesage forbadethemthem,]whenhe said,"Do not
boast of tomorrow,for you do not know what the day will bring"
[Prov.27:l].276Hemade[...]
[30] [...when it happensto him,for]mandoes not knowtheextentto
which
[31] [one of the elementsof his temperament]will [prevailover the
others],nor whichof his powerswill growweakeror stronger, just as
[•••J277
[32] [. . . concerningthe guidanceof his Lord] and what He will
generate278 in His worldin thecourseof time,
[33] [as he said, "Justas you do not know] theway of the spirit,like
thefaculties(?)in thephysicalbody" [afterEccl. 11:5]. In saying"like
thefaculties"he meant
[34] [....]279which branchofffromthe [...]. The word ka-casamim
(faculties)280is derivedfrom"He will have great
[35] strength {we-(asam)"[Dan. 8:24]. And when he says "theway of
the spirit"he meantthe soul itself.I have investigated those matters
precisely. And these[...]281
2a
[1] in two ways:(1) becausetheylefttheknowledgeof theconcealed
and unknownto its O[wner],
[2] blessedbe He; (2) becausetheydid notconcernthemselves withit,
and so it did not distractthemfromwhatit is to be hoped
[3] thattheywillachieve,as itis said,"O Lord,myheartis notproud
nor my look haughty;I do not aspireto greatthingsor to what is
beyondme" [Ps. 131:1].But othersbesidesthese(persons)
[4] proposedto know whatwould be beforeits being,and strovein
thatrespectforthemostdifficult,
[5] and took therebythe most difficult path. When they had ex-
haustedtheirefforts and failedto achievetheirgoal,
66

Haggai Ben-Shammai
[6] theyattributed theirinabilityto an errorin theircalculationsor

(made the excuse)that (adequate)precisionwas not
[7] followedin theirobservations. They were contentwiththeseat-
and withmakingexcuses.Those
tributions282
[8] whose pretensions weremoremodest,who used forthatpurpose
terrestrial
things,that is,
[9] observationof the organsof animals,such as the liverand the
shoulderblade,283 of eggs,284[and thelike],withoutnumber,
read al-khãtir}]fa-idhã bihì tacb wa-shaqãD = Indeed, I thoughtto know thisthrough

my thought,but it involves labor and difficulty.
276 One of the
meaningsSaadia associates with thisverse (Saadia, Proverbs,p. 218) is the
refutationby historyof the astrologers*pretensions,as attestedby Scripturein Isa.
47:13 and 19:12; see above, n. 41.
277 The words
missing here probably also referto human ignorance of the areas of
knowledge enumerated below.
278 the verb as the fourthform; it may also be read in the firstform,
Understanding
meaning "what will take For the verse quoted from Ecclesiastes, see
place/occur.**
there
Saadia, Sefer Yesira,p. 101. Is theresome connectionbetween his interpretation
and the quotation here?
279 As
suggested in the note to the text, perhaps the text may be restored as "[the
separate faculties](of the soul).**The comment in Saadia, Daniel, p. 159, is of no
help here.
280 ka-casamlm.
281 One should
presumablyrestorehere some clause like "the prophets/thoseclose to
etc.
God are worthyof praise**or "had the correctintention,**
282 Of the errorto the method of
calculation,etc.
On scapulimancy,see C. Burnett,"Scapulimancy(Divination by the Shoulder-blades
of Sheep),**in C. Burnett,Magic and Divination in the Middle Ages (Aldershot,1996),
articleXII.
284 MS adds here: "and the
p like, and of plant seeds such as (grains of) barley and date
stones and the like, and of drawingsthatthey draw in the earth.**
67

[10] and oflettersthattheywritein randomfashion,and ofsoundsthat
theyhear
[11] as theyhappen,and of sightsthattheysee as theycome.285And
(theyuse) methodsof
[12] divinationthattheyinventin variousways. We do not see fitto
concernourselveswithexplaining
[13] theircraftsand refuting them.So too withregardto peoplewhose
pretension is at a level
[14] higherthan that of the aforesaid:they observe meteorological
phenomena,286 thatis, thepositions
[15] of themoon and theraysof thestars,to see whichof themends
quicklyand whichof them
[16] tarriesand endures.They examinethe shape of the arc287of the
moon's lightand the shape of therain-
[17] bow, and the shape of the staff,288
redness,289and the sounds of
thunder.290
[18] From all these kinds (of divination)they have historicalin-
formation thattheyrelate291 and judgments
[19] thattheymake,and we have no need to recordwhat
[20] theysay,nor to committo writing292 thecounter-
arguments. But
we shalldirect
[21] our discussionto the people who have the highestpretensions.
They say thattheyhave spent
[22] manyof the days of theirlivesin the artof judgments(thatthey
deduce
[23] from)thecourseof the stars.We describewiththeutmostpraise
thoseof themwho have devotedthemselves to theknowledge
[24] of the shapes of the spheres293 and theircomposition,and the
motionof each planet
[25] in longitude,latitude,depthand altitude,
[26] insofaras thiswondrousartoverpowerspeople withitslightand
they
68

285 On thelasttwo see C. Burnett, aA Note on Two Astrological Fortune-

techniques,
TellingTables,"Revue d'histoiredes textes18 (1988):257-262 (= Magic and Divi-
nationin theMiddleAges,articleXVIII).
286 MS Ü: "thecelestial
positions."
287 MS "thecircle."
p:
Accordingto Dozy, Supplément 2: 135b,thisis a starin theconstellation
Bootes(the
Herdsman).
289 A redcolorwas observedon thebodiesof certain
peoplebornin yearsthathad a
certain in
nativity; this case it mightsymbolize a certain signofthezodiacinmales;see
Abu Macsar,Introduction, p. 38, §7. A red color in the air symbolizesfuturewars
betweentheArabsand Byzantines; ibid.,p. 132,§14.
290 I have not found
any documentation for the Arabic word "hadatlhaddat"as
"thunder(s)."The closest equivalent seems to be theformhaddain Hava's Dictionary.
Thereis an interesting parallel in the table of contents ofa workon "The Apocalypse
ofDaniel"reported byFahd,La divination arahe)p. 408,whichalso refers to thunder
in closeproximity to thehalo aroundthesunand themoon.
291 These are the treatedbelow;thatis, thehistorical
"experiments" (or "experiences")
that
precedents prove their calculations.
292 Or to establish.
293 If the
spellingHYA Τ represents thepluralhay0 at, thenthiswouldmeantheconfig-
urationsof theorbs;it mayalso indicatea singularform,as a non-classical spelling
(Blau, Grammar, pp. 40-41). At any ratethereference hereis to thescienceof as-
tronomy; cf.D. Pingree, "cIlmal-Hayâ" El1, vol. 3 (1971),p. 1135.Saadia'stermis
thusa kindof abbreviation. In Saadia'scontemporary workscilmal-hay°amayrefer
to
specifically certain branches of astronomy, i.e. the arrangement {tarkib;lit.com-
position)of the orbs (aflãk) and their configuration (hayDa), the exclusionof
to
mathematical and
astronomy astrology. By the firsthalfoftheeleventh century, with
Ibn Sïna,thetermhad cometo designatea widerrangeof meaningsthathad been
covered previouslyby cilmal- nujüm; see F. J. Ragep, Nasir al-Dln al-TusVsMemoir
on Astronomy (New York and Berlin,1993),esp. 1:29-35. Accordingto the con-
clusionofSaliba,"Astronomy andAstrology," p. 163(see alsop. 137)thetermhay0a
was firstused "sometimeduringthetenthcentury," of
as a resultof the"separation
69

[27] are guided(by it) in theworshipof their294 Creatorand the ob-
servanceof His commandments, in keepingwiththe
[28] prophet'ssaying,"WhenI beholdYour heavens,theworkofYour
fingers"295 [Ps.8:4]. Next to them
in
[29] respectof praise296 are thosewho discussthe influenceof the
motionsof
[30] [thestarsin therealmof nature,I meanheating]
[31] and coolingand wettingand drying,[since297 of necessity]
[32] [one must admit the of
heating(effect) the sun and thewetting]
of
[33] (effect) themoon,buttheirinfluence overlifeand death,or over
one's livelihoodand liberation]
[34] [...or birthor barrenness, or happinessand misery:now]
2b
[1] itis preciselythesejudgments298 thatwe reject,299
fortwoweighty
reasons.300First,
[2] because they(i.e. the diviners)have no (rational)proof of (the
truthof) its(theircraft's)laws,thatis,thehouses301 and exaltations
and
dejections(or: falls)of the stars302and theirperigees
[3] and the terms303 and the faces304and the triplicities305
and the
ninths,306from which they deduce
[4] theirjudgments-otherthantheirargument "so havewe triedand
examined"-but thatis like theargumentof those
[5] inferior to themin level,whomwe mentioned above.And we have
foundthattheythemselves are dividedintothree:
[6] (a) Those who maintainthejudgmentsof thenativities and reject
thejudgmentsof election307
[7] and of questions308- theyare the ones who speak the leastnon-
sense.309(b) Othersmaintainthe judgmentsof the nativitiesof elec-
tions
[8] and removethe questions;and theirabsurdwords are morenu-
merous,(c) Othersmaintaineverything
70

Haggai B en- Shammai
astronomy as a distinct discipline"(i.e.,distinct fromastrology). It maythusbe that

Saadia'suse of thetermis one of itsearliestattestations.
294 I.e. ofthestars.
295 "theworkofYourfingers " as camalak which
Saadia,Psalms,p. 64,translates al-bãhir,
Qãfih renders as "Your wondrous work." Here Saadia is using the Arabic root bhr to
describeastronomy's influence on humanbeings:it floodsthemwithlightand thus
overpowers themand enhancestheirpiety.
296 That one levellowerthanthe
is, previousones.
297 to the emendation in thenoteto theoriginaltext.For thematter
According suggested
discussedherecf. Saadia,SeferYesira,p. 60:20-22,regarding the beginning of the
zodiacalcirclefromthesignofAries,"becausetheplantsbeginto growwhenthe[heat
of the]sun residesin it (= underthesignof Aries,in themonthofNisan)."
298 Or matters.
decisions,observations,
299 Or
deny,condemn.
3 The textthatfollowsseemsto
presentonlyone reason.Possiblythesecondreasonis
thatdiscussedon f.3a18,according towhichconcealed(orfuture) things canbe known
onlythrough as
prophecy, may proved be from Scripture. Two reasons are mentioned
inverysimilar wording, butincompletely, fragment commentary Isaiah49;
in a of a on
seeaboveintheintroduction. Explaining thefirst reason,Saadiaexpandsatlength while
describing and refuting details of astrology, concluding with the superiority of
prophecy in f. 3a2. He then goes back to the same subject from the start,as stated.
301 For the in thispassage,see W. Hartner[& P. Kunitsch],
astrological terminology
"Mintakat al-burüdj," El2 7: 81-87.ForSaadia'suse ofthisterminology elsewhere, see
aboveintheintroduction, textatn. 88.The "houses"refer to astrological housesalong
theecliptic, setup in a horoscopeby one of severalmethods, starting fromthepoint
wheretheecliptic crosses the eastern horizon. See al-Bïrunï, al-Tafbim, pp. 149-150,
#246-248.Anotherpossibility is thattheyreferto thedomicilesof theplanets:see
ibid.,p. 256,#440.Accordingto MS U: "death."
302 See
Fahd,La divinationarabe,p. 489-chapterheadingsfroman astrological text,
one
including referring to the astrological meaning of the positions of the stars.The
termusedhereis asrãf,thepluralofsaraf,whichis a synonym ofsucud; see also cAbd
al-Haqq al-Tahanawi,Kassafistilãhãt al-funun(Cairo,1963-1977),II: 1736-1737.
71

[9] and theirconfusionin thismattertherebyincreases.Indeed,things
have come so faras theclaimthatthenations
[10] in theircountriesand thepeopleofeverykingdomtheyrule-their
fateis determined
[11] by thejudgmentsof the stars.They have reliedin all thison the
conjunctionof thetwo superior
[12] planets,I meanSaturnandJupiter. For theyfindthatbothofthese
(planets)[p verso] are in conjunction once
[13] in a periodof approximately twentyyears.310 Sincetheyhavenot
succeededin determining the ascendant311 at theverymoment
[14] of theirconjunction,theytook the easy way and determined the
"ascendant"of the (whole) yearin which
[15] theconjunctionoccurs.Fromthisminorconjunctiontheyclaimto
deduce
[16] (knowledge)about individualkings.And a larger(cycle) of the
conjunction, whichamountsto 238
[17] years, perhaps258 years,in whichgovernancewill be in the
or
handsof a certainfamily, is
[18] the period in whichthe positionof the conjunctionpasses from
triplicityto triplicity.
[19] And fromone (cycle)largerthanthat,whichamountsto 944
[20] years,or perhaps964 yearsor more,(theydeduce)thepassageof
governance
[21] fromone nationto another.That is theperiodin whichthecon-
junctionsgo around
[22] all the constellationsof the Zodiac. (They relyupon) all this,to-
getherwithwhattheyappeal to
[23] thatwe havealreadymentionedabove,thatis to say,theprinciples
and thesignsof theZodiac,
[24] whetherfixedor variable,and the like,whichit is not possible
for
[25] the (rational)mindto relyupon as a proof.
72

Haggai Ben-Shammai
303 The translation is basedon theemendation inthenoteto theoriginal text.In

suggested
eachsignofthezodiacthereare"terms"(themedieval Hebrewtermwasgevulim)that
dividethesignintofiveunequaldivisions, eachassignedto a planet(withouttheSun
andtheMoon). Thereweredifferent methodsofdividingthesignsintoterms;see A.
Bouché-Leclercq, L'Astrologie grecque(Paris,1899),pp. 206-215.One of themwas
used by theEgyptians; see Abu Macsar,Introduction, p. 12,§1; p. 50, §§52-54.This
sourceindicates thatthetermwas partofthebasicterminology ofthisdiscipline and
may therefore figure in introductions to the fieldor generalaccounts thereof (see also
al-Bïrunï,al-Taflñmp. 265). For example,dependingon the positionof the stars
relativeto sucha borderat thetimeof a ruler'sbirth,one couldpredictwhetherhe
would rulejustlyor unjustly;see Yamamotoand Burnett, Abu Macsar,p. 76, §11.
Othermethodswereused by the"Chaldeans"and by Ptolemy.
304 The dividedthesectionof each signof thezodiac intothree"faces"(or
astrologers
"decans"),eachof10 degrees.Each oneofthe36 faces/decans is assignedto a planetin
order(including theSun and Moon). The presenceof thesebodiesin thefacespos-
sessedsignificance in astrologicalcalculations; see Dozy, Supplément 2: 785b.
305 Arab divided thezodiac into four each threesignsand
astrology triplicities, containing
eachassociatedwithone of thefour elements. These three signs were situatedin the
planeof thetriplicity (¿uüj). The termwas also used in astronomy (¿iliit^5^),
somewhat likethe"NorthStar,"butthatwas presumably nottheintention here.For
thetermsseeDozy,Supplément 1: 162-163;W.Hartner, "Muthallath," El2 7: 794-795.
306 Translated inaccordance withtheemendation inthenoteto theoriginal text;
suggested
forthemeaningof thetermsee abovein theintroduction.
One ofthemostimportant branchesofdivination is knownin Arabicas elections,
thatis,electionor choiceofthemostsuitabletimeforsomeaction,mainlyon thepart
of a ruler;see Fahd,La divination arabe,pp. 483-495;al-Tahãnawí, Kassãf,1: 121;T.
Fahd,"Ihktiyãrãt," EI2 3: 1063-1064.Thischoiceofcourseinvolvedobservation ofthe
positions of the stars,particularly in the position of exaltation (see above). The me-
dievalHebrewtermforthisbranchwas mivharim. For AbrahamIbn Ezra's writings
on thissubjectand about"questions,"see Sela,"The Fuzzy Border,"pp. 374-375.
308 Anotherbranchof the art of divination;see Ullmann,Die Natur- und Ge-
beimwissenscbaften, p. 358.
73

[26] They relyupon themsolelyon the basis of experiencesin which
theirstatus
[27] equals thestatusof theproofofthosewho divineaccordingto the
shoulderblade. However,the Lord, mayHe be exalted
[28] [and magnified, has madeit knownin His books thatnone of the
wise men
[29] know]anything aboutthedurationofthekingdomsandtheirends,
[30] [and just as He testedthe]thesagesof Egypt,who did not know
[31] [anything about theirking,312as it is said, "Where,indeed,are
yoursages?Let themtellyou,letthemdiscoverwhattheLord ofHosts
has plannedagainstEgypt"][Isa. 19:12].
[32] [And as He threatened theBabylonians,fortheirsages]
[33] [and astrologers learned nothingin the matterof]
[34] [theirkingdom, and were of no avail to them313concerningthe
situationof theirrulers,]
3a
[1] as it is said,"You are helpless,despiteall yourart.Let themstand
up and help you now, the scannersof heaven,the star-gazers, who
announce, month by month, whatever will come upon you"
[Isa.47:13]. And when He wantedto announceto His nationthe en-
throning of
[2] Cyrus,He said,beforethebeginning oftheprophecy,314 thatthere
is no way to know concealedthings315 save
[3] throughHim,justas thelargebodies,thatis, theHeavensand the
Earth,316 werecreated
[4] by Him, as He said, "Thus said the Lord, your Redeemer,Who
formedyou in thewomb:It is I, theLord,who madeeverything, Who
alone stretched out theheavensand spreadout theearthfromMyself"
(Isa. 44:24). He did not
[5] use in thiscontext,thatis, the Creation,(the expression)"from
Myself"anywherebut here,and He meantto say thereby
74

Haggai Ben-Shammai
309 The termhasw has numerous of a derogatory cast.Its literary

meanings, generally
meaning either
is "filling," as theactionor as a material (in pillows,cushions,saddles,
or mutton usedas a stuffing); see E.W. Lane,Arabic-English Lexicon(London1863-
1893),p. 578a, s.v. This led to the meaning"thingsof secondaryimportance" or
real
"thingslacking content," such as "fillingwords" in the technical terminology of
the rhetorical arts;Lane,ibid., also citesthe use of the term to denote a particularly
inferior person.In Islam,adherents of tradition (ahi al-hadith)are knownto their
rationalist theMuctazilites,
rivals,particular butalso theAshcarites, as ahi al-haswor
El2
haswiyya(see "Hashwiyya," 3:269). Saadia uses the term in its rhetoricalcon-
notation. See Y. Blau,"A Remarkon G. Vajda's'Glaned'exégèseKaraite',"Tarbiz42
(1973):502 (Hebrew),who citesexamplesfromSaadia'sintroduction toJob,p. 20:2-7
(whereone findstherhetorical termskalãmmuctaridy tashbibwa-tashylc wa-hashw
calã H-kalãm).Thesetermsarementioned again in the Introduction to Job,p. 21:6-7;
see R. Drory,TheEmergence ofJewish- Arabic Literary Contacts at the Beginning of
the TenthCentury(Hebrew) (Tel Aviv, 1988), pp. 115-116. The reference to
"Hashwiyite astrologers"inal-Bïrunï, al-Tafhìm> p. 259,probablyreflects thefactthat
the term,whichoriginated in the controversy betweenrationalist theologiansand
orthodoxfollowers ofhadlth,hadbeenadoptedas a derogatory termbyscholarswho
engagedin otherbranchesof knowledge,.
310 See D. of historical
Pingree,"Kirãn,"EI2, vol. 5 (1986),p. 130; Saadia'sdescription
astrology is discussed above in my introduction.
311 The
partofthezodiacthatis abovetheeasternhorizonon a certainday.If thisis the
timeofbirthof a certainperson,or at an important timeforan individual, family,or
thelike,thisis theirtalicor "ascendant"- theirsignof thezodiac; see al-Tahânawï,
Kassãf 2: 1139.Saadiaarguesthatpreciseknowledgeof thecorrelation betweenthe
conjunction of the two and the appearance of the "ascendant" is a difficultmatter.
312 Or their
kingdom.
313
Theyhaveno further knowledgeforthepeopleof thekingdom.
314 That Isaiah45.
is,
315 In a relative
sense,as definedpreviously.
The heavensand theeartharecontrasted in severalof Saadia'sproofsthattheworld
was createdwith"smallbodies";in thoseproofs,too, one sees thattheyare con-
75

[6] thatCreationex nihilo317 is fromHim,318and no one can un-
derstandhow it was; just so
[7] theenthroning of rulersis fromHim, and no one can understand
how thatcomesto pass.
[8] AfterthatHe denied(thepossibility)thatone of thethreegroups
we have mentioned319 shouldknow this,
[9] and taughtus thatiftheyhavetheaudacity320 to judgesomeaspect
He nullifiesit and bringsit to naught,as it is said,
of it,321
[10] "Who annulsthe omensof the lone ones and makesfoolsof the
augurs;Who turnssages back and makes nonsenseof theirknowl-
edge" [Isa.44:25]. The truthis thatthe "lone ones" [Heb. baddim'
thatis,
[11] thosewho arealone,is derivedfrom"alone" [Heb. levad] and "by
themselves"'le-vaddam' and He was therebyalludingto the middle
ones,322thatis,
[12] those who engage in meteorology.And "makes fools of the
augurs"alludesto thosewho engagein (observations of) theliver
[13] and of arrows and as
gravenimages,323 Scripture saysof them,"to
performdivination, he has shaken
[14] arrows, consulted terafim,and inspected the liver" [Ezek.
21:26].324"Turnssages back" alludesto
[15] the so-calledwise men325who claimto engagein the art of the
starsby judgmentsbased on thenativities and electionsof
[16] beginnings326 and/on questions."And makes nonsenseof their
knowledge"alludesto judgmentsbased on
[17] the threeconjunctions327 and theirassertionthat(the stars)in-
fluencethe governanceof individualkingsand dynasties
[18] and nations.Afterthathe saidthatthesematters can be understood
[19] onlythroughprophecy,forHe said, "(He) confirms theword of
His servantand fulfills thepredictionof His messengers"[Isa.44:26].
[20] He made His announcement to themconcerningthe end of the
kingdomof Babylonand theriseof thekingdomof Persiaan example
76

Haggai B en- Shammai
sidered"largebodies."See mainlySaadia,Amãnãt,pp. 36:6-29,37:12-25= Beliefs,

pp. 41-43.
317 Addedherein
p: justas it.
318 Saadia theversein Isaiah accordingto the qere mediitiratherthanthe
interprets
kethibmi °itti(= "whowas withme?").He offers a similarinterpretation inAmãnãt,
p. 35:7 (and see Qafih'scomment, =
n. 19 to thetranslation) Beliefs,p. 40. Saadia,
Genesis,p. 52 (translation, p. 255, withreferences to rabbinicsourcesof thisinter-
pretation),interprets the same verse in Isaiah accordingto thekethib.Accordingto
the
Saadia, point of the latterreading is to stressthattheCreatoris "Eternal,"i.e.,not
createdat anypointof time,and thatHe was aloneat thetimeof Creation.
319 The threeclassesof diviners.
320 MS U: ifthevactwitharrogance; see noteto originaltext.
321 Of of the future.
knowledge
322 Of thethreeclasses.
323 This is Saadia's of terafim; in Gen. 31:19 he translates in thesingular,
interpretation
timthal, withouttheadjective"graven".Interestingly, David b. Abrahamal-Fâsï,the
tenth-century Karaitelexicographer ofJerusalem, explainsJefod terafim(Judg.17:5)as
asturlãbal-munajjimìn (= theastrolabe of the astrologers).See S. L. Skoss,TheHe-
brew-Arabic Dictionaryof theBible knownas KitãbJãmical-Alfãz(Agron)vol. 2
(New Haven, 1945),p. 753. See ibid.,notesand glossesby the eleventh-century
Rabbanitecommentator Eli b. Israelaboutthedistinction betweenthistermin the
senseof idolatrousimagesand in the sense of theastrologers' instrument.
324 The selectionof this versemay constitute an allusionto Saadia's inter-
particular
pretation of the current political situation in an eschatological context;see H. Ben-
Shammai, "The Judaeo-Arabic of
Vocabulary Saadya's Bible Translations as a Vehicle
forEschatological Messages: The Case of Saadya'sUsage of the 8th form of Arabic
QDR," Proceedings oftheNinthConference oftheSociety forJudaeo-Arabic Studies
(Atlanta1999),sectionD (forthcoming).
325 Muhtãhn
maymeanthosewho resortto variouskindsof devices,evasions,tricks,
deceit,and thelike.
326 That choiceof the certainactions.See above,n. 307.
is, precisetimeforbeginning
327 The three
conjunction cycleslistedabove.
77

[21] to the otherkingdoms,forHe said afterwards, "Who said to the
deep,'Be dry;I will dryup
[22] your floods,'Who says of Cyrus,'He is My shepherd;He shall
fulfillall My purposes!' " [ibid. 27-28], It is not the governanceof
nationsalone thatis fromHim,
[23] but also lifeand death,forHe says,"The Lord deals deathand
giveslife"[1 Sam.2:6]; and also wealthand poverty,
[24] forHe says,"The Lord makespoor and makesrich"[ibid.7], and
birthand barrenness, forHe says,"Shall I [Who bringon labor] not
bringabout birth?"[Isa.66:9].
[25] And all happinessand misery(is fromHim), forhe says,"For in
God thereis power to help one [or makeone fall]"[2 Chron.25:8].
[26] In sum: (He is the source) for everything thatHis wisdom re-
quires,as itis said,"WhatevertheLord desires[He does" [Ps. 135:6].328
And we say further: Whatis]
[27] the aspectof wisdom329 in His informing us of someof [thefuture
beforeit comesintobeing?We find]
[28] severalaspects330 in thatact. One is: To further explainto us [this
(future)and His power,when]
[29] we see theeventsthathavebeen,thatindeedtookplacejust[as He
announcedin advance,no more]
[30] andno less.Anotheraspect:[thatthey(= people)shouldrespect. . .
His commandments and prohibitions.]
[31] [Anotheraspect:That we shouldpose a challengeto the nations
and theiridols and theirprophesying,331 fortheyhave no]
[32] knowledge of what is concealed, He said to them,"Foretell
as
what is yet to happen, That we may know that you are gods!"
[Isa.41:23] and just]
[33] as He informed us ofwhatHe had preparedforus in thoseevents,
thatis, concerningthesuccessof
[34] our cause and our powerand our prestigeand thelike.[Untilthat
78

Haggai Ben- Shammai
shouldhappenwe shallendurewhatHe has decreedforus, thatis, our

inability]
3b
[1] and our wretchedness and thelike,and just as he (= theprophet)
said of us, "I mustbear the angerof the Lord, since I have sinned
againstHim, untilHe championsmycause and upholdsmyclaim.He
will let me out into the light; I will enjoy vindicationby Him"
[Mie.7:9]. And now thatwe have set out
[2] thesereasons,we should set forthwhich concealedthingshave
come to our knowledgefromthebeginning
[3] ofour existenceto itsend,and say:The firstpieceofknowledgeis
theannouncement to Abrahamthatwe would sojourn400
[4] yearsas strangers, enslavedand oppressed,as I have explainedin
the episode of "Know well" [Gen.15:13].332Then came the an-
nouncement
[5] to Jacobconcerning our returnto theland and theapportionment
to each tribeof a partin thegovernment and therightofpossessionin a
certaindistrict
328 HereSaadiais God's willandintentions withHis knowledge anddecision:

identifying
Theseall havetheirsourcein Him and he cannothaveanypartners in them.
329 That how is God's wisdomrevealedin ...
is,
330 Or
purposes.
331 Their to prophecy.
pretensions
332 Some of this is on Genesis(Saadia,
expoundedin partsof Saadia's commentary
Genesis,pp. 115-116;translation,
pp. 359-361), where he saysthat of
thecalculation
fourhundredyearsbeginswiththebirth of Isaac.
79

[6] of the land,333 as I explainedin thepassageof "And Jacobcalled
his sons" [ibid.49:1].334Then came therevelation
[7] to Moses our Masterthatwe would sojournin theLand of Israel
850 years.Of those,400 yearswerelikecompensation fortheyearsof
in
slavery Egypt, and 450 that were decreed to us in the land from
before
[8] our arrivaltherein,and thatis what was said, "When the Most
High gave nationstheirhomesand set the divisionsof man,He fixed
the boundaries of peoples in relation to Israel's numbers"
[Deut.32:8].335And fromthattimeuntil
[9] we cameout of Egypt(thereelapsed)452 years.336 Ifwe takewhat
was decreedforus separately, and whatwas givenus as compensation
[10] separately,thetotalamountsto 850 years.Therefore, He said, "I
have takennote of you and of whatis beingdone
[11] to you in Egypt" [Ex.3:16]. Then He announcedto Moses that
our sojourn thereafter in exile in Babylon would be seventyyears,
which
[12] correspondto the numberof sabbaticalyearsand jubileesin the
yearsthatwe rebelled(and did not observethem).The yearsof our
sinning
[13] were436 years,as Ezekiel explained:"390 days,corresponding to
the numberof the yearsof theirpunishment"[Ezek.4:5]. And sim-
ilarly
[14] "fortydays ... thepunishment of theHouse ofJudah,... one day
foreachyear"[ibid.6]. To thiswereadded sixyears,forhe was toldof
[15] thismatterbeforethe destruction of theTemple.If one takesfor
everyhundredyearssixteen
[16] sabbaticalyears and jubilees,and a further(numberof years)
corresponding to thethirty-six in theproperproportion, thisamounts
to exactlyseventyyears,just
[17] as we have explainedin the passageof "If you followMy laws"
[Lev.26:3337].Therefore, in theverse"Then
80

Haggai Ben-Shammai
[18] shallthelandmakeup for..." [ibid.34] He said twice"itssabbath

years,"once forthe sabbaticaland once forthejubilee.
[19] In Jeremiah'sprophecythis was statedexplicitly:"When Bab-
ylon's seventyyearsare over,I will takenote of
[20] you" Qer.29:10]. After(the 70 years) had been completed,the
prophetwrotethemexplicitly in detail:"As long as it lay desolate
[21] it kept sabbath, till seventy years were completed"
333
Jacob(in his blessings?) conveyedto his sons thatknowledgehe had received, pre-
sumablyin a prophecythattheyshouldultimately return to theland,etc.
334 It is thusevidentthatSaadiawrotea on Jacob'sblessings,
commentary presumably
together withMoses1 blessings in Deut. 33. Independent commentaries on thetwo
of
chapters blessings (in Genesis and Deuteronomy) constituteda kind of sub-genreof
Pentateuch exegesisin theGeonicperiodand later;butthatquestionis beyondthe
scope of thepresentstudy.
335 See
SifriDeuteronomy, ed. L. Finkelstein(Berlin,1939;repr.New York,1969),§311,
p. 352: "When theHoly One, blessedbe He, gavetheworldto thenations, he defined
theterritory ofeachand everynationso thattheyshouldnotbe mixed.Thus he sent
thesonsofGomerto Gomer[...] so thattheywouldnotentertheLand ofIsrael."A
moreexplicitexpression ofthisidea,withitsnumerical significanceas impliedby the
words"inrelation to Israel'snumbers" intheaboveversefromDeuteronomy, maybe
foundin variousmidrashim, notablyPseudo-Jonathan on Deut. 32:8.Otherhomilies
are:CanticlesRabba 6:15;NumbersRabba 9:12;Leqah Τονad loa; YalqutShimconi
1:942,on Deut. 32:8.
336 See SedercOUm
Rabba,ed. Β. Ratner(New York,1966),text,p. 6: "It turnsoutthat
fromtheDispersion(ofthenationswho builttheTowerofBabel)to thebirthofthe
PatriarchIsaac therewere 52 years."See above,n. 332, forthe 400 yearsof the
covenant"betweenthepieces"as calculated fromthebirthofIsaac.Thuswe findthat
theversein Deut. 32:8 alludes(retroactively, as it were)precisely to theDispersion,
whenGod assignedthenations theirterritories.Thus the sum totalis 452.
337 SedercOlam
Rabba, p. 15.
81

[2 Chron.36:21338].AfterthatHe informed us thatwe would returnto
theland
[22] and thatthemode of our settlement therewould be as subjectsto
kings, as was the situation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacobin theirtime,
[23] that is, thatthe land was assigned to them but not (actually)given
to them,339 as it is said, "They were then few in number,a mere
handful,sojourningthere"[Ps. 105:12].
[24] He thereforesaid, "Then will I rememberMy covenantwith
Jacob"[Lev.26:42],340 thatis to say,I shallplace themin a situationlike
thesituation
[25] of the threePatriarchs.Thus the people of the Second Temple
(period)said thattheywerein exileand slavery,
[26] and thatGod had had mercyupon themonlyto a smalldegree,in
theconstruction of theTemple,"For slaves
[27] we are,thoughevenin our slaveryGod has notforsaken us" [Ezra
9:9]. And the more thattheyspoke at lengthof thismatterand ex-
pandedupon it,
[28] thebetterit is forour own souls,forwe see thatthepeople of the
SecondTemple(period)declared
[29] thattheywere in exile and thatredemptionhad not yet reached
them;it is (therefore) ordainedforus, forindeedtheywere
[30] [moreknowledgeableabout theirsituation,as theysaid,]"Today
we are slaves,and theland thatYou gave our fathersto enjoyitsfruit
and bounty-herewe are slaveson it!" [Neh.9:36].341[...342]
[31] [Moses informed us in secret]thatthelengthof theexistence
Κ
of theSecondTemplewas 420 years,thatis thenumber343 of years(in
the lives of) Jacob,Isaac, and Abraham.He therefore arrangedtheir
namesin orderfromthelastto thefirst: Jacob'syears were all (subject
to) the covenant,and theywere 147 years;Isaac's yearswere also all
(subjectto) the covenant,and theywere 180 years.But Abraham's
82

Haggai Ben-Shammai
yearswerenot all (subjectto) thecovenant,forthereis no mentionof

covenantwithrespectto himin thepassage"Go forth"[Gen.12:1-3],
norin thepassage"And He said,To yourheirs..." [ibid.7], nor in the
passage "[after]Lot had parted..." [ibid.13:14-17].344But when He
spoke to himin the chapteron the "Visionbetweenthe Pieces,"then
He said,"On thatday theLord made a covenantwithAbram,saying,
To youroffspring I assignthisland/etc."[ibid.15:18],[...345]Ishmael,
forwe see thathe saysin thatpassage"SinceYou have grantedme no
offspring,mystewardwillbe myheir"[ibid.3]. Abrahamwas 86 years
old "when Hagar bore Ishmaelto Abram" [ibid.16:16]. There was a
yearofpregnancy, and thiseventtookplacetwoyearsbeforethat.346 So
thereremainof Abraham'syears93 yearsto reach175. If we add (the
yearsof) Abraham'scovenant,93 years,to Isaac's covenant-180 years,
andJacob'scovenant-147 years,thetotalwillamountto fourhundred
and twentyyears.
338 The firsthalfof the verse ascribes this

predictionto Jeremiah.
339 That
is, they did not rule the land.
340 This verse refersto the
Jews' returnto the land afterexile, but says nothingof the
renewal of political independence.
341 This is an obvious
polemic againstthose who believed thatthe Second Temple period
was the age of Redemption;see Schlossberg,"Concepts and Methods," pp. 172-173,
323ff.
342
Perhaps one should restorehere: To this one should add what Moses informedus ...
(see note to originaltext).
343 Translationbased on emendation
proposed in note to originaltext.
344 All of these are
passages in which God spoke to Abraham but no covenant was
mentioned.
345 Restore here: And this was beforethe birthof
..., etc.
346
Thus, according to Saadia, the Covenant "Between the Pieces" was concluded two
years beforeHagar conceived Ishmael.
83

That is themostimportant reasonfortheinversionin theorderof the
patriarchs, thatthecovenantwas madeonlyin Abraham'syears,347 not
in (theyearsof) theothers.The versetherefore began with (Jacoband
Isaac,) in all of whose yearstherewas a covenant,and added to them
the latterpart of Abraham'slife,which was "covenant"as we have
explained.
Then Moses revealedto us thatafterthe destructionof the Second
Templetherewould be exileand thelandwould be empty,becauseafter
(theverse)"Then will I rememberMy covenantwithJacob,"etc.,he
said,"For theland shallbe forsakenof them,makingup foritssabbath
yearsby beingdesolateof them"[Lev.26:43348].That is an allusionto
[...] thatamountsto 896 years,forhe says,"fortheabundantreason"
[Heb. yacan H-ve-yacan,lit.: "because and because"], the word
"because" signifying retribution.This is intendedto teachus thatthe
length of time shallbe equal to our firstyearsof sinning,whichare436
years,[...], and with them 380 years,and thesecondperiodofsinningis
380 yearsfromtheend oftheSecondTempleperiod,349 forthirtyyears
had passedfromitsbeginning[...]. As itis said,"untilthethirty-second
yearof KingArtaxerxes" [Neh.5:14] ...
ip, recto
[1] Israeland theirMessiah,forhe said,"Thus said theLord to Cyrus,

His anointedone," etc. [Isa.45:1]
[2] and the whole chapter.And when Cyrus becamekingand com-
mandedthattheTemplebe built,theywere obligated
[3] to believein all the elements350
of the Redemption.351 Similarly,
theinformation about the King
[4] of the North and the King of the South and whateverother
(omens)wereadded to themare signsforus
[5] in a generalsense of the Redemption,and as to the details,(they
are signs)thatattestto that.
84

Haggai Ben-Shammai
[6] And since the firstevent352 has takenplace in accordancewith

whattheangelsaid,thisattests
[7] to thetruthoftheotherevents(in thefuture)and theRedemption.
Whenthesecondeventtoo
[8] bringsabout what (the Scriptures)predicted,we shall have two
proofsof
[9] the eventsand the Redemption.When the thirdeventis com-
pleted,thiswill be evidence
[10] by threeproofsof theothereventsand theRedemption.As time
elapses
[11] therewill be more (signs) attestingto the Redemption,untilit
arrivesitself,
[12] and everything that has been mentioned,as well as the Re-
will
demption(itself), be proofs
[13] of whatwill be in theWorldto Come, together withthesignsto
takeplace duringtheRedemption,
[14] as it is said,"The sun shallturnintodarknessand themoon into
blood beforethecoming
347
I.e., split into the firsteight-twoyears of his life,when God had not made a covenant
with him, and the last ninety-three, as explained here.
This verse occurs afterthe referenceto the covenant in the previous verse, which
alludes, as explained above, to the Returnto Zion in the Second Temple period.
349
Probably countingthe yearsin reversefromthe end of the Second Temple period,that
is, 380 years of the total lengthof the Second Temple period. Since the text is frag-
mentary,it is not clear where Saadia gets a furthereightyyears.
Or modes, etc.; the articlesof faithin Saadia's commentaryon the Song of David
(2 Sam 22) are also defined as furikn.See H. Ben-Shammai, "Saadia Gaon's Ten
Articles of Faith," Dacat 37 (1996): 11-26 (Heb.).
351 That of thatpart of Isaiah's prophecy concerningthe rise of Cyrus
is, the fulfillment
obligates them to believe the otherparts of the prophecy,which concern the future.
352 Of the
Redemption.
85

[15] of the greatand terribleday of the Lord" [Joel3:4]. It has been
shown,therefore, thatthebenefits
[16] of thisbook cannotbe fullycountedquickly.353 The textof the
book maybe dividedintotenparts:
[17] Fiveofthemin matters ofthekingdom,354 and theotherfivein the
matterof benefits
[18] and advantagesforthenation.We havetherefore fixedthemin ten
parts.The firstpart concerns
[19] thenatureof Exile and food and drinkprovidedby the Gentiles.
And thesecondpart
[20] concernswhat(Daniel) revealedto Nebuchadnezzarin thematter
of theFour Kingdomsand theirrepresentation as a figure355
two
21] fifty- years before[God] revealed to Daniel what concerned
him.And thethirdpart
[22] concernsthe avoidanceof idolatry.And thefourthpartconcerns
thenature
ip, verso
[1] ofthedisastervisitedupon Belshazzar.And thefifth

partconcerns
theway of slaying
[2] Belshazzar.And the sixthpartconcernsthe strictobservanceof
prayersin exile.And theseventh-
[3] generalconclusionsfromthelikeningof thekingdomsto animals.
And the eighthpart-
[4] generalconclusionsfromthatmatter.And the ninthpart-details
of the seventyweeksbetween[??]
[5] [???] and thesecondperiod[?].356And thetenthpart-concerning
the eschatological
wars betweenthekingsand the othermeasuresof
[6] the End. The fourpartsfromthesecondto thefifth
[7] are thoseof the kingdoms.And theotherfiveconcernquestsfor
explanationsof (thevisions)and thebenefitsto us.
86

[8] And since I have alreadylistedtheirheadings,I shall begin to

theverses,withthe Lord's help.
interpret
353 Or
easily.
354 seemsprobablefromthe
Perhapskingdoms(see noteto theoriginal;thisconjecture
sequel).
355
I.e., an imageor idol.
Or and theSecondTemple;thetextis unclearhere,baadiaprobablymeantall the
matters to Daniel,pp. 172-179.
thathe discussedin detailin thecommentary
87


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Saadia's Introduction to Daniel: Prophetic Calculation of the End of Days vs.

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Saadia's Introductionto Daniel:

* This article,based on a presentationdeliveredat the Eighth Conferenceof the Society

© Aleph 4 (2004) pp. 11-87 11

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me by locating a fragmentof Saadia's commentaryon Daniel in the FirkovitchCol-

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Contents of the Introduction

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The second part is a very shortintroductory paragraph(a few

The Arabic Title

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The combat(muhãraba)betweentheangelsis nota contestfor

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mightyarm,withangerand rage and greatwrath"(Jer.21:5).

Quite typically,Saadia hereextendsthe literalmeaningof the biblical

The Short Introduction

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The Long Introduction

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the future;when theirefforts are in vain,theywax apologeticrather

26 At any rate,examples may be found in the introductionitself:U, lb25 (referringto the

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pass throughall fourtriplicities.The completionof thiscyclesignifies

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The connectionis obvious:knowledgeof thefutureis likenedto cre-

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onlyway to arriveat knowledgeof thingsthatare normallyconcealed

31 See belowin thenotesto the

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As alreadynoted,the maintopic of Saadia's introduction to Daniel is

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to Isaiah.One relatesto 2:6,wherethedifferent formsof divinationare

34 Saadia Gaon, Saadia's CommentaryGenesis, ed. with introduction,[Hebrew] trans-

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with idolatry,to astronomyand astrology,47 followinga chapteron

43 A. Marx, The Correspondencebetween the Rabbis of SouthernFrance and Maimo-

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In the middleof the ninthcentury,astrologywas a majorphilo-

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suggestsidentifyingthe astrologermentionedby Ibn al-Qiftïwiththe

63 Die arabische Literatur,§19; Sezgin, Geschichte7: 125-128; Ulimann,

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72 Nowhere does Hâj jï Khalïfa statethatthisDa3 üd was Jewish.Sufficeitto note herethat

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As additionalnew fragments of Saadia's workscome to light,he con-

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other.There are, indeed,otherpolemicalmotifsin the commentary,

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