Ibn Ezra was a distinguished philosopher, an able linguist, and a powerful poet.
Literature Metaphor Moses Ibn Ezra and
Maimonides had different opinions as to what represented a metaphor. Both philosophers had a huge impact on the use of metaphors in literary texts. In the
Kitab, Ibn Ezra attempted to use both Arabic and Hebrew forms of metaphor with passages taken from both the Qur'an and Bible. Ibn Ezra was quite critical of earlier authors who used metaphor only to exaggerate or substituted metaphor for precise literal language. Ibn Ezra's definition of metaphor revolves around the meaning of "isti-ara" (borrowing), which is a word meaning something not known using something already known. This is Ibn Ezra's way of explaining the concept of God and God's existence. Maimonides similarly defines metaphor as temporarily “borrowing.” Maimonides’ source for his definition of metaphor is from
al-Farabi's
Short Treatise on Aristotle's
De Interpretatione. This model defines metaphor as "saying X and really meaning Y"; hence, the claim "X is a metaphor" entails proving that it refers to Y and not to X. One of his criticisms of Ibn Ezra was that Ibn Ezra simply cited his forty biblical examples without elucidation, even though many of them are not readily referenced. The fact that these two philosophers differed so greatly is not much of a surprise since their agendas also differed. Ibn Ezra was predominantly interested in the poetic aspect of metaphor whereas Maimonides had a pure philosophical intent in his definition.
Rhetoric Ibn Ezra's most successful work was the "Kitab al-Muḥaḍarah wal-Mudhakarah", a treatise on rhetoric and poetry written about the "Adab" writings of the Arabs. It is the only work of its kind in Hebrew literature. It was written at the request of a friend who had addressed to him eight questions on Hebrew poetry, and is divided into a corresponding number of chapters. In the first four chapters Ibn Ezra writes generally of prose and prose-writers, of poetry and poets, and of the natural poetic gift of the Arabs, which he attributes to the climate of Arabia. He concludes the fourth chapter with the statement that, with very rare exceptions, the poetical parts of the Bible have neither meter nor rhyme. The fifth chapter begins with the history of the settlement of the Jews in Spain, which, according to the author, began during the
Babylonian captivity, the word "Sepharad" in meaning "Spain." Then comes a description of the literary activity of the Spanish Jews, giving the most important authors and their works. In the sixth chapter the author quotes various maxims and describes the general intellectual condition of his time. He deplores the indifference shown by the public to scholars. This indifference, he declares, does not affect him personally; for he can not count himself among those who have been ill-treated by fate; he has experienced both good and bad fortune. Moreover, he possesses a virtue which permits him to renounce any pretension to public recognition—the virtue of contentment and moderation. In the seventh chapter, Ibn Ezra discusses the question of whether it is possible to compose poetry in dreams, as some writers claim to have done. The eighth chapter deals with 23 traditional Arabic figures of speech, illustrated with examples from the Koran, Arabic poetry, and Hebrew Andalusian poetry. The 11th and 12th centuries were an important time for Judaeo-Arabic poetry and literature. Jewish-Arabic speaking poets such as
Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya (He was a Yemeni Arab who migrated with his tribe to Tayma in Northern Arabia, and had converted to Judaism before the advent of Islam) and Moses Ibn Ezra differed very little in their writings from contemporary Arab poets. Their poetry included passages borrowed from the Bible and Qur'an as well as allusions to both works. The Arabic language and the related culture were only slowly adopted by Jews after the
early Muslim conquests; it was not seen before the second half of the 3rd century of the
Hij̲ra, and only became of real importance from the fourth to tenth centuries. Many Jewish intellectuals during this time evidenced feelings of guilt over using Arabic in their writing instead of Hebrew. The use of Arabic in poetry, secular as well as religious, remains the exception during the Middle Ages. Although Arabic was used in prose works by Jews and Muslims alike, intellectuals and poets who wrote in Judaeo-Arabic were in the minority at the time.
Sacred poems Many of Ibn Ezra's 220 religious compositions are found in the
mahzor, the traditional Jewish prayerbook for
Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur. These penitential poems, or
selichot, earned him the name
HaSallach. These poems invite man to look within himself; they depict the vanity of worldly glory, the disillusion which must be experienced at last by the pleasure-seeker, and the inevitability of divine judgment. A skillfully elaborate piece of work is his
Avodah, the introduction to which is a part of the Portuguese Mahzor. Unlike his predecessors, Ibn Ezra begins his review of Biblical history not with
Adam, but with the giving of the
Torah. The
piyyuttim which come after the text of the Temple service, especially the piyyut "Ashrei" (Happy is the eye that beheld it) are considered by many to be of remarkable beauty.
Philosophy Ibn Ezra's philosophical contributions were considered only minor when compared to his contributions to poetry and literature. One piece of literature that highlights Ibn Ezra's philosophical viewpoints was the "Al-Maqāla bi al-Ḥadīqa fi Maʿnā al-Majāz wa al-Ḥaqīqa." This was a work in Arabic. Much of it reiterated his poetic beliefs about the relationship between man and God and the unknowability of God. Ibn Ezra's philosophy had a
neoplatonic orientation with regard to the relationship between God and man. Ibn Ezra focuses on man as a microcosm so that God is considered a self-subsistent, unitary being who preceded creation, which therefore ultimately led to man's creation being perfect. He states that God's perfection cannot be comprehended by the human mind and the finite and imperfect human mind cannot know the infinite and perfect mind of God. Ibn Ezra's philosophy also addresses intellect, declaring that the active intellect was God's first creation. Ibn Ezra claims that the intellect is a pure substance from which all things are inherently created. Along with the active intellect is another form Ibn Ezra describes as the passive intellect. This form of intellect is considered to be above the active intellect and superior to the rational soul. His "Arugat ha-Bosem" is divided into seven chapters: (i.) general remarks on God, man, and philosophy; (ii.) the unity of God; (iii.) the inadmissibility of applying attributes to God; (iv.) the impropriety of giving names to God; (v.) motion; (vi.) nature; (vii.) the intellect. The authorities quoted in this work are Hermes (identified by Ibn Ezra with Enoch),
Pythagoras,
Socrates,
Aristotle,
Plato, pseudo-
Empedocles,
Alfarabi,
Saadia Gaon, and
Solomon ibn Gabirol. ==References==