Rabbi Moses ben Jacob ibn Ezra | |
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Born | c. 1055 – 1060 |
Died | after 1138 |
Other names | Ha-Sallaḥ |
School | Jewish philosophy |
Moses ben Jacob ibn Ezra, known as Ha-Sallaḥ ("writer of penitential prayers") (Arabic: أَبُو هَارُون مُوسَى بِن يَعْقُوب اِبْن عَزْرَا, romanized: Abū Harūn Mūsà bin Yaʿqub ibn ʿAzra, Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה בֵּן יַעֲקֹב הַסַּלָּח אִבְּן עֶזְרָא, romanized: Mōšē bēn Yaʿăqōḇ hasSallāḥ ʾībən ʿEzrāʾ ) was an Andalusi Jewish rabbi, philosopher, linguist, and poet. He was born in Granada about 1055–1060, and died after 1138. Ibn Ezra is considered to have had great influence in the Arabic literary world. He is considered one of Spain's greatest poets and was considered ahead of his time in his theories on the nature of poetry. One of the more revolutionary aspects of Ibn Ezra's poetry that has been debated is his definition of poetry as metaphor and how his poetry illuminates Aristotle's early ideas. The importance of ibn Ezra's philosophical works was minor compared to his poetry. They address his concept of the relationship between God and man.[1]