{"id":2381,"date":"2021-09-20T12:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2021-09-20T12:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T19:35:00","slug":"ibn-ezra-in-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?p=2381","title":{"rendered":"Ibn Ezra in England"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of his life, after years of itinerant scholarship, the great commentator Avraham <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> found himself at the far edge of the world: England. It is there (probably) that he wrote an exposition of his philosophy, known to us as&nbsp;<em>Yesod Mora<\/em>; and there, too, that he wrote the unusual&nbsp;<em>Iggeret ha-Shabbat.&nbsp;<\/em>We even have a&nbsp;<em>third<\/em>&nbsp;commentary of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s on Bereshit, as recorded by his English (probably) pupil and patron.<em>&nbsp;<\/em>Yet the details of this chapter of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s life are spare and <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=rif\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Rav Yitzchak Alfasi - &#1512;' &#1497;&#1510;&#1495;&#1511; &#1488;&#1500;&#1508;&#1505;(&#1497;) - known as the Rif (1013&ndash;1103), author of the immensely important Halachot ha-Rif, a proto-code and abridgement of the legal portions of the Talmud. The Rif was born in Algeria, studying in Qayrawan (Kairouan), and established himself in Fez, though he was impelled to flee and made his&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">rif<\/a>e with question marks. Below, a closer look at the story of this consummate Sefardi thinker in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Avraham <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>,&nbsp;<em>the<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, was peripatetic, and from colophons and offhand comments, his travels can be fairly well reconstructed, as can the many versions of his work he left in the hands of patrons and students throughout Europe. He was born in Tudela, Navarra (today in northern Spain) in the waning decades of the 11th century&mdash;when exactly will depend on how you read the sources. <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> lived a whole life in the leading cities of Sefarad as a well-regarded but hard-of-luck poet, making forays into northern Africa. Then, likely due to the political situation in Iberia, he moved, in his forties, to Italy, <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=provence\" target=\"_self\" title=\"The term used by Jews to refer to the Jewish communities of what is today the southern third of modern France, encompassing the regions today called Provence, Languedoc, and the Rousillon. Major cities of Jewish Provence in the medieval period include Narbonne, Lunel, B&eacute;ziers, Montpellier, Perpignan, and Avignon, among others that where home to renowned&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Provence<\/a>, northern France, and&hellip;England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s life is rich with stories and not a few mysteries, and three big ones emerge from his English period. Two of these are elicited by&nbsp;<em>Iggeret ha-Shabbat,<\/em>&nbsp;a three-part treatise relating to the calculation of the day, month, and year. It belongs, in a way, to <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s group of writings on calendrication, but has noteworthy features: first, it is prefaced by a unique poem voiced by a personified Shabbat, and second, it is highly polemical against the sectarian claim that the biblical day begins at sunrise. The questions are, did <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> really write the unusual poem at the head of&nbsp;<em>Iggeret ha-Shabbat?&nbsp;<\/em>And was his polemic addressed to his great French contemporary, <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=rashba\" target=\"_self\" title=\"&#1512;&#1513;&#1489;&quot;&#1488; - &#1512;' &#1513;&#1500;&#1502;&#1492; &#1489;&#1503; &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1488;&#1491;&#1512;&#1514; - R. Shlomo b. Avraham Ibn Adret (c. 1235 to c. 1310, Barcelona), was a major Sefardi posek (decisor), the successor of Ramban, with whom he studied, although his principal teacher was Rabbenu Yonah (b. Avraham Gerondi). Rashba was himself the teacher of celebrated pupils, including the&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Rashba<\/a>m, who in a once-lost and sometimes censored version of his Torah commentary, suggests just this in his comment to Bereshit 1:6? To these we can add a third question, of where this storied wanderer found ultimate rest&mdash;there are a number of medieval attestations about the place where <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> died, one of the contenders being England. Each of these enigmatic questions requires a lot of ink to explore, so for today, we&rsquo;re going to focus on what brought <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> to England and what we can say more broadly about his time there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"when-did-ibn-ezra-go-to-england\">When did Ibn Ezra go to England?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the years before he&rsquo;s attested in England, <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> records the place in which he wrote a number of works as &#1512;&#1491;&#1493;&#1501; (Radom), or its variants like &#1512;&#1491;&#1493;&#1505;, &#1491;&#1512;&#1493;&#1501;, and &#1491;&#1512;&#1493;&#1505;. This locale is almost certainly Rouen, the medieval capital of Normandy, which appears in some vernacular sources as Radom; and not Dreux, a different town in northern France, or the more general&nbsp;<em>darom<\/em>, &ldquo;South.&rdquo; This matters because if indeed <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> spent several years in Rouen (probably 1154 through 1156), it makes sense that he identified London as a good place to head next. English Jewry was in the 12th century a small community, an offshoot of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=tzarfat\" target=\"_self\" title=\"&#1510;&#1512;&#1508;&#1514; - The Jewish community of northern France in the medieval period, part of greater Ashkenaz but known as Tzarfat in its own right. The name is taken from Ovadia 1:20, from which the term Sefarad is also drawn. With centers in Paris, Troyes, Rouen, Ramerupt, &Eacute;vreux, Corbeil, Sens, Dampierre, Coucy, and other towns, this&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Tzarfat<\/a> (northern France) and more particularly of Norman Jewry. His Norman contacts could have assured him of a warm reception in London, which he seems to have gotten. But, it&rsquo;s also plausible that he would make a move from another northern French city to London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Rouen-France.jpg\" alt=\"Rouen, France\" class=\"wp-image-2388\"><figcaption>Ignore the late medieval grand architecture of Rouen; <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> probably wandered around streets that looked more like this. Source: &ldquo;Tudela, (Navarra) Espa&ntilde;a.&rdquo; by Txemari &ndash; Argazki. CC PDM 1.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest colophon we have from Radom\/Rouen is from <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s second commentary on Trei Asar (the Latter Prophets), dated 1 Tevet 4917, which works out to December 16, 1156. (It&rsquo;s worth noting that in the robust manuscript tradition we have for <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, the dated colophons do not appear in all or even most copies.) The next dated\/localized colophon after this Trei Asar commentary is from the book known to us as&nbsp;<em>Yesod Mora (The Foundation of Awe,&nbsp;<\/em>though probably not so named by <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>)<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>about the reasons for the commandments (<em>ta&rsquo;amei ha-mitzvot<\/em>)<em>.&nbsp;<\/em>Its colophon reads Tammuz-Av 4918 or 4919 (June-July 1158 or 1159)&mdash;there are two extant versions of the colophon and they disagree on the year, as well as the spelling of the locale. This colophon reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>I, Avraham the Spaniard, the son of Rabbi Meir the Spaniard, who is called <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, began to compose and wrote this book in the city of Londres [London] in the island of Angleterre in the month Tammuz, and completed it in the month of Av at the end of the fourth week, in the year 4918 (4919)<\/em>.<\/p><p>&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1492;&#1505;&#1508;&#1512;&#1491;&#1497; &#1489;&#1503; &#1512;&rsquo; &#1502;&#1488;&#1497;&#1512; &#1492;&#1505;&#1508;&#1512;&#1491;&#1497; &#1492;&#1504;&#1511;&#1512;&#1488; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; &#1492;&#1514;&#1495;&#1500;&#1514;&#1497; &#1500;&#1495;&#1489;&#1512; &#1493;&#1499;&#1514;&#1489;&#1514;&#1497; &#1494;&#1492; &#1492;&#1505;&#1508;&#1512; &#1489;&#1492;&#1506;&#1497;&#1512; &#1500;&#1493;&#1504;&#1491;&#1512;&#1497;&#1513; (&#1513;&#1513;&#1504;&#1491;&#1497;&#1512;&#1497;&#1513;) &#1489;&#1492;&#1488;&#1497; &#1488;&#1497;&#1504;&#1490;&#1500;&#1496;&#1497;&#1512;&#1488; &#1489;&#1495;&#1493;&#1491;&#1513; &#1514;&#1502;&#1493;&#1494; &#1493;&#1492;&#1513;&#1500;&#1502;&#1514;&#1497;&#1493; &#1489;&#1495;&#1493;&#1491;&#1513; &#1488;&#1489; &#1489;&#1505;&#1493;&#1507; &#1492;&#1513;&#1489;&#1493;&#1506; &#1492;&#1512;&#1489;&#1497;&#1506;&#1497;&#1514; &#1489;&#1513;&#1504;&#1514; &#1491;&rdquo;&#1488; &#1514;&#1514;&#1511;&#1497;&rdquo;&#1495; (&#1514;&#1514;&#1511;&rdquo;&#1496;) &#1500;&#1489;&rdquo;&#1506;<\/p><cite><em>Yesod Mora (The Foundation of Awe)<\/em>, Bodl. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nli.org.il\/en\/discover\/manuscripts\/hebrew-manuscripts\/itempage?docId=PNX_MANUSCRIPTS990000929060205171&amp;vid=MANUSCRIPTS&amp;scope=PNX_MANUSCRIPTS&amp;SearchTxt=bodleiAN%201254\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ms. Opp. 144<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(You can see one of these colophons <a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLI\/English\/digitallibrary\/pages\/viewer.aspx?docid=PNX_MANUSCRIPTS990000738150205171-1&amp;presentorid=MANUSCRIPTS&amp;utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter#%7CFL13555486\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>, in Palatina Library, Parma Ms. 2217 (de Rossi 314) on leaf 054 in the digitized manuscript, in lighter ink.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This permits us, on the reasonable basis that the garbled spelling of London in the one colophon is a scribal error, to place <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> in England by 1158, and possibly for the unattested year of 1157.<br>Within the body of Yesod Mora there is one solid piece of evidence, though inconclusive, that the work was written in England. <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> writes in chapter one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1499;&#1497; &#1492;&#1504;&#1492; &#1489;&#1497;&#1503; &#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1513;&#1500;&#1501; &#1493;&#1489;&#1497;&#1503; &#1494;&#1493; &#1492;&#1488;&#1497; &#1491;&rsquo; &#1513;&#1506;&#1493;&#1514; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1493;&#1514; &#1513;&#1492;&#1513;&#1502;&#1513; &#1494;&#1493;&#1512;&#1495;&#1514; &#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1492;&#1501;<\/p><p><em>For between Jerusalem and this island there is four hours&rsquo; difference in when the sun shines on them.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem is, this statement isn&rsquo;t true for anywhere in England. It&rsquo;s been suggested that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> made this calculation based on the largest possible difference between day lengths; another solution is that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s 4-hour difference is based on a theoretical calculation of Jerusalem&rsquo;s ideal geographical placement. However, &ldquo;this island&rdquo; does strongly suggest England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what was he doing there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"867\" src=\"https:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/London-Tower-of-London-alley-e1666817287392.jpg\" alt='\"Tower of London alley\" by Anita363 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0' class=\"wp-image-2390\" srcset=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/London-Tower-of-London-alley-e1666817287392.jpg 768w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/London-Tower-of-London-alley-e1666817287392-266x300.jpg 266w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/London-Tower-of-London-alley-e1666817287392-500x564.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"><figcaption>&ldquo;Tower of London alley&rdquo; by Anita363 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ibn-ezras-english-patron\">Ibn Ezra&rsquo;s English patron<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In some manuscripts of Yesod Mora, there is an additional line in the dedicatory portion at the beginning that reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1488;&#1493;&#1491;&#1492; &#1489;&#1492;&#1513;&#1500;&#1497;&#1502;&#1497; &#1500;&#1488;-&#1500; &#1493;&#1500;&#1497;&#1491;&#1497;&#1491;&#1493; &#1497;&#1493;&#1505;&#1507; &#1489;&#1504;&#1493; &#1497;&#1506;&#1511;&#1489; &#1506;&#1500; &#1502;&#1514;&#1504;&#1514; &#1497;&#1491;&#1493;<br>I will thank G-d upon completion, along with his dear one, Yosef the son of Yaakov, for his generosity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Yosef b. Yaakov is known to us from other manuscripts, as we&rsquo;ll soon get to, and in those Yosef identifies himself as being from a place called &#1502;&#1493;&#1512;&#1493;&#1493;&#1497;&#1500; (Morville), which some read as &#1502;&#1493;&#1491;&#1493;&#1493;&#1497;&#1500; (Modville) and identify as Maudville or Mandeville, in Normandy.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/arts\/educational-magazines\/simon-uriel-1929?utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Uriel Simon<\/a>&nbsp;argues that it refers to a small Jewish outpost in central England. Though it seems clear that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> instructed Yosef in England, if Yosef had Norman roots, perhaps that was the connection that drew <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> to England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-third-commentary-on-bereshit\">The Third Commentary on Bereshit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fragment of a third commentary by <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> on Bereshit exists for most of parashat Vayishlach and parts of Vayechi in a total of five manuscripts. (This is in addition to the standard commentary and the long commentary, which are printed in most <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=mikraot-gedolot\" target=\"_self\" title='The \"Rabbinic Bible\" or Tanach with multiple commentaries printed on the page alongside the text. Mikra (\"scripture\" or \"verse\") refers in Hebrew to Kitvei Kodesh, writings that have sanctity, either as a whole (the way we use the terms Tanach or Bible) or in part (the way we use the terms pasuk or verse). Mikraot&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Mikraot Gedolot<\/a>; the third commentary has been published in scholarly publications, in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biupress.co.il\/index.php?cs=5118&amp;dir=site&amp;op=category&amp;page=catalog&amp;utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bar-Ilan&rsquo;s Keter edition of Mikraot Gedolot<\/a>, and online by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mg.alhatorah.org\/Dual\/Ibn_Ezra_Third_Commentary\/Bereshit\/47.1?utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter#m7e0n6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Al haTorah<\/a>.) Some versions of the third commentary include the following explanatory notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1493;&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1497;&#1493;&#1505;&#1507; &#1489;&#1512;&rsquo; &#1497;&#1506;&#1511;&#1489; &#1502;&#1502;&#1493;&#1512;&#1493;&#1497;&#1500; &#1513;&#1502;&#1506;&#1514;&#1497; &#1502;&#1502;&#1504;&#1493; &#1508;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1513; &#1488;&#1500;&#1492; &#1492;&#1508;&#1512;&#1513;&#1493;&#1514; &#1489;&#1500;&#1493;&#1504;&#1491;&#1512;&#1513; &#1506;&#1500; &#1508;&#1492; &#1493;&#1499;&#1514;&#1489;&#1514;&#1497;&#1501; &#1489;&#1500;&#1513;&#1493;&#1504;&#1497;<br>I, Yosef the son of Rabbi Yaakov of Morville, heard from him the commentary on these parashot in Londres [London] orally and wrote them in my own words. [Before Vayishlach]<\/p><p><br>&#1494;&#1488;&#1514; &#1492;&#1508;&#1512;&#1513;&#1492; &#1508;&#1497;&#1512;&#1513; &#1500;&#1497; &#1492;&#1495;&#1499;&#1501;, &#1493;&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1508;&#1512;&#1513;&#1514;&#1497;&#1492; &#1499;&#1488;&#1513;&#1512; &#1502;&#1508;&#1497;&#1493; &#1492;&#1489;&#1497;&#1504;&#1493;&#1514;&#1497;<br>This parashah the sage interpreted for me, and I wrote it as from his mouth as I understood it. [After Vayishlach]<\/p><p><br>&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1497;&#1493;&#1505;&#1507; &#1489;&#1512;&#1523; &#1497;&#1506;&#1511;&#1489; &#1502;&#1502;&#1493;&#1512;&#1493;&#1497;&#1500; &#1513;&#1502;&#1506;&#1514;&#1497; &#1502;&#1508;&#1497; &#1494;&#1492; &#1492;&#1495;&#1499;&#1501; &#1508;&#1497;&#1512;&#1493;&#1513; &#1494;&#1488;&#1514; &#1492;&#1508;&#1512;&#1513;&#1492; &#1489;&#1500;&#1493;&#1504;&#1491;&#1512;&#1513; &#1493;&#1499;&#1514;&#1489;&#1514;&#1497;&#1492; &#1489;&#1500;&#1513;&#1493;&#1504;&#1497;.<br>I, Yosef the son of Rabbi Yaakov of Morville, heard this parashah from the mouth of the sage in Londres [London] and wrote it in my own words. [Before Vayechi]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This fascinating information is the piece of the puzzle that gives us the place of origin of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s patron (Morville\/Maudville\/Mandeville) and places their teacher-student relationship squarely in London. It also indicates that the aged <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> dictated Torah commentary to his pupil. In addition to this, a similar note appears in a manuscript of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s aforementioned commentary on Trei Asar, in which Yosef again gives his full name and states that he copied it from <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s autograph, adding dictated comments. The place where it was copied is not given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"whereabouts\">Whereabouts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> (maybe) implies that he also stayed elsewhere in England, in a (curiously) unspecified town outside of London. The introductory poem of <em>Iggeret ha-Shabbat<\/em> begins,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1493;&#1497;&#1492;&#1497; &#1489;&#1513;&#1504;&#1514; &#1488;&#1512;&#1489;&#1506;&#1514; &#1488;&#1500;&#1508;&#1497;&#1501; &#1493;&#1514;&#1513;&#1506; &#1502;&#1488;&#1493;&#1514; &#1493;&#1514;&#1513;&#1506; &#1506;&#1513;&#1512;&#1492; &#1489;&#1495;&#1510;&#1497; &#1500;&#1497;&#1500; &#1513;&#1489;&#1514; &#1489;&#1488;&#1512;&#1489;&#1506;&#1492; &#1506;&#1513;&#1512; &#1497;&#1493;&#1501; &#1500;&#1495;&#1491;&#1513; &#1496;&#1489;&#1514;, &#1493;&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1492;&#1505;&#1508;&#1512;&#1491;&#1497; &#1492;&#1504;&#1511;&#1512;&#1488; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;, &#1492;&#1497;&#1497;&#1514;&#1497; &#1489;&#1506;&#1497;&#1512; &#1488;&#1495;&#1514; &#1502;&#1506;&#1512;&#1497; &#1492;&#1488;&#1497; &#1492;&#1504;&#1511;&#1512;&#1488; &#1511;&#1510;&#1492; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509; &#1513;&#1492;&#1493;&#1488; &#1489;&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1500; &#1492;&#1513;&#1489;&#1497;&#1506;&#1497; &#1502;&#1490;&#1489;&#1493;&#1500;&#1493;&#1514; &#1492;&#1488;&#1512;&#1509; &#1492;&#1504;&#1493;&#1513;&#1489;&#1514;.<\/p><p><br>It was in the year four thousand, nine hundred and nineteen in the middle of the the night of Shabbat, on the fourteenth day of the month Tevet, and I, Avraham the Spaniard, who is called <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, was in a city, one of the cities of the island which is called the end of the earth, which is in the seventh zone of the zones of the inhabited land.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not at all certain that the opening poem is the work of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, and thus that this information is authentic. Despite this, it forms a core part of the evidence marshalled in favor of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s English chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another claim I&rsquo;ve seen made is that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> refers to the London fog in his description the darkness of Egypt. This seems to refer to the following comment (in the long commentary on Shemot 10:22, which he wrote in Rouen):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1491;&#1506;&#1493; &#1513;&#1492;&#1493;&#1488; &#1513;&#1500;&#1513;&#1514; &#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501; &#1488;&#1500;&#1488; &#1506;&#1500; &#1508;&#1497; &#1497;&#1513;&#1512;&#1488;&#1500; &#1513;&#1492;&#1497;&#1492; &#1500;&#1492;&#1501; &#1492;&#1488;&#1493;&#1512;. &#1493;&#1492;&#1504;&#1492; &#1497;&#1501; &#1488;&#1493;&#1511;&#1497;&#1504;&#1493;&#1505; &#1497;&#1489;&#1488; &#1495;&#1513;&#1498; &#1506;&#1489;, &#1513;&#1500;&#1488; &#1497;&#1493;&#1499;&#1500; &#1488;&#1491;&#1501; &#1500;&#1492;&#1508;&#1512;&#1497;&#1513; &#1488;&#1501; &#1497;&#1493;&#1501; &#1493;&#1488;&#1501; &#1500;&#1497;&#1500;&#1492;, &#1493;&#1497;&#1506;&#1502;&#1493;&#1491; &#1494;&#1492; &#1508;&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501; &#1495;&#1502;&#1513;&#1492; &#1497;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501;. &#1493;&#1488;&#1504;&#1497; &#1492;&#1497;&#1497;&#1514;&#1497; &#1513;&#1501; &#1508;&#1506;&#1502;&#1497;&#1501; &#1512;&#1489;&#1493;&#1514;.<\/p><p><br>The Egyptians did not know that it [the darkness] lasted for three days except by means of the Israelites, who had light. And indeed a thick darkness comes from the ocean (yam okyanus [the sea of oceanus]), such that a person can&rsquo;t distinguish whether it is day or night, and sometimes it stays like that for five days. I have been there many times.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assuming that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> is referring here to the Atlantic Ocean, this does not necessitate him being in England. His claim that he has often experienced such a thick fog coming from the Atlantic also seems to indicate not a novel experience but a long-standing one. It&rsquo;s also not clear that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> revised the long commentary on Shemot in England, although it&rsquo;s possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A final claim sometimes adduced in favor of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s English years is that he compared matzah to the bread he saw prisoners receiving in England. The story about the prisoner&rsquo;s bread was recorded in the name of &ldquo;Ben Ezra&rdquo; by R. Yehosef ha-Ezovi, a 13th century Proven&ccedil;al poet; it shows up in a number of places, including the Passover section of the law code Orchot Chayim by R. Aharon ha-Kohen of Lunel (I wrote about this code in a blog post) and in Abudarham&rsquo;s haggadah commentary (here). This legend, however, actually claims that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> witnessed or experienced the prisoners&rsquo; bread in India, not England; it is, in fact, the basis of a wholly different claim with its own story and highly tendentious premise, that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> visited India. (Spoiler alert: unfounded, but with interesting implications about the spread of Indian ideas in the Islamicate world.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ibn-ezras-purported-death-in-england\">Ibn Ezra&rsquo;s purported death in England<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And finally, we have Moshe Taku&rsquo;s bitter tale of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s sad demise at the hands of demons in an English wood. Moshe b. Chasdai Taku, a 13th-century rabbi from possibly Dachau, Bavaria or Tachov (Tachau), Bohemia, is quite a personality. His polemical work&nbsp;<em>Ketav Tamim<\/em>&nbsp;is known for its invective against&nbsp;<em>both&nbsp;<\/em>the mystical movement of Hasidei Ashkenaz&nbsp;<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;the rationalist movement represented for him by Rav Se&rsquo;adyah <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=gaon\" target=\"_self\" title='&#1490;&#1488;&#1493;&#1503; - pl. &#1490;&#1488;&#1493;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501; - Geonim - \"excellency,\" the formal title of the head of one of the academies of Bavel (Babylon, or present-day Iraq), and later Israel, Baghdad, Damascus, and Egypt. It is apparently shortened from the phrase gaon Yaakov, \"pride of Jacob,\" found in Amos 6:8, 8:7, Nachum 2:3, and Tehillim 47:5. In&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Gaon<\/a>. As you might imagine, Taku was not a big fan of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>. Fancifully, he recorded (in the aformentioned&nbsp;<em>Ketav Tamim,<\/em>&nbsp;some 100 years after <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s death):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#1493;&#1492;&#1504;&#1492; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; &#1499;&#1514;&#1489; &#1489;&#1505;&#1508;&#1512;&#1493; &lsquo;&#1493;&#1491;&#1488;&#1497; &#1488;&#1497;&#1503; &#1513;&#1491; &#1489;&#1506;&#1493;&#1500;&#1501;&rsquo;&hellip; &#1493;&#1492;&#1504;&#1492; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; &#1496;&#1506;&#1492; &#1489;&#1513;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501; &#1513;&#1492;&#1497;&#1493; &#1502;&#1500;&#1493;&#1497;&#1503; &#1488;&#1493;&#1514;&#1493; &#1514;&#1502;&#1497;&#1491;&hellip; &#1493;&#1488;&#1507; &#1506;&#1500; &#1508;&#1497; &#1499;&#1503; &#1513;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501; &#1492;&#1512;&#1488;&#1493; &#1500;&#1493; &#1513;&#1497;&#1513;&#1504;&#1501; &#1489;&#1506;&#1493;&#1500;&#1501;. &#1493;&#1513;&#1502;&#1506;&#1514;&#1497; &#1502;&#1489;&#1504;&#1497; &#1488;&#1497;&#1490;&#1500;&#1488;&#1504;&#1496;, &#1513;&#1513;&#1501; &#1502;&#1514; &#1489;&#1497;&#1504;&#1497;&#1492;&#1501;, &#1499;&#1497; &#1508;&#1506;&#1501; &#1488;&#1495;&#1514; &#1492;&#1497;&#1492; &#1512;&#1493;&#1499;&#1489; &#1489;&#1497;&#1506;&#1512; &#1493;&#1489;&#1488; &#1489;&#1497;&#1503; &#1512;&#1493;&#1489; &#1499;&#1500;&#1489;&#1497;&#1501; &#1513;&#1492;&#1497;&#1493; &#1506;&#1493;&#1502;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501; &#1493;&#1502;&#1506;&#1497;&#1497;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501; &#1506;&#1500;&#1497;&#1493;, &#1493;&#1499;&#1493;&#1500;&#1501; &#1513;&#1495;&#1493;&#1512;&#1497;&#1501;. &#1493;&#1491;&#1488;&#1497; &#1488;&#1500;&#1493; &#1492;&#1501; &#1513;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501;. &#1499;&#1513;&#1497;&#1510;&#1488; &#1502;&#1489;&#1497;&#1504;&#1497;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1494; &#1504;&#1505;&#1514;&#1499;&#1503; &#1493;&#1495;&#1500;&#1492; &#1493;&#1502;&#1514; &#1502;&#1488;&#1493;&#1514;&#1493; &#1495;&#1493;&#1500;&#1497;.<\/p><p><em>Here, <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> wrote in his book, &ldquo;there is certainly no demon in the world&rdquo; and yet <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> was mistaken about the demons that were always accompanying him&hellip;and even so, demons showed him that they are present in the world. I heard from people of England that there he died among them, when once he was riding in the forest and came upon a pack of dogs that were standing and threatening him, all of them black. Certainly these were demons. When he went out among them, then he was endangered, and became ill and died of that same illness.<\/em><\/p><cite>Moshe Taku, <em>Ketav Tamim<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note that the Ashkenazi Taku uses the term England (&#1488;&#1497;&#1490;&#1500;&#1488;&#1504;&#1496;) as opposed to the Norman-French Angleterre (&#1488;&#1497;&#1504;&#1490;&#1500;&#1496;&#1497;&#1512;&#1488;) used by <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> in the surviving&nbsp;<em>Yesod Mora<\/em>&nbsp;colophon, suggesting the latter&rsquo;s stay in <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=tzarfat\" target=\"_self\" title=\"&#1510;&#1512;&#1508;&#1514; - The Jewish community of northern France in the medieval period, part of greater Ashkenaz but known as Tzarfat in its own right. The name is taken from Ovadia 1:20, from which the term Sefarad is also drawn. With centers in Paris, Troyes, Rouen, Ramerupt, &Eacute;vreux, Corbeil, Sens, Dampierre, Coucy, and other towns, this&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Tzarfat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several other intriguing clues that began circulating in the Middle Ages about <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s place of death; my favorites place him back in his beloved Sefarad or, at last, in Eretz Yisrael. Those are stories for another time. For now, I&rsquo;ll just note that only a narrow thread of evidence suggests that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> ever left northern Europe: it has to do, really and truly, with a horoscope, ascribed to <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>, written for a child born in October 1160 in Narbonne (titled &#1502;&#1513;&#1508;&#1496;&#1497; &#1492;&#1504;&#1493;&#1500;&#1491; &#1502;&#1513;&#1504;&#1514; &#1491;&rsquo;&#1514;&#1514;&#1511;&#1499;&rdquo;&#1488;, see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLIS\/en\/ManuScript\/Pages\/Item.aspx?ItemID=PNX_MANUSCRIPTS990001988940205171&amp;utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.nli.org.il\/sites\/NLIS\/en\/ManuScript\/Pages\/Item.aspx?ItemID=PNX_MANUSCRIPTS990000986450205171&amp;utm_campaign=Stories%20from%20Jewish%20History&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>). For this reason, some scholars place <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> back in southern France at the end of his life. Others, Taku&rsquo;s demons notwithstanding, suggest that England, his last known port of call, makes logical sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"716\" src=\"https:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%9F-%D7%A2%D7%96%D7%A8%D7%90-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-1024x716.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2394\" srcset=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-1024x716.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-300x210.jpg 300w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-768x537.jpg 768w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-500x349.jpg 500w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-800x559.jpg 800w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57-1280x895.jpg 1280w, http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Astrological-treatise-&#1488;&#1489;&#1503;-&#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488;-UPenn-Ms.-LJS-57.jpg 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption>Astrological diagram from a 14th-century compendium of <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s astronomical &amp; astrological works. Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Ms. LJS 57.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we marshal all the sources, accepting them as basically accurate and viewing them in totality, it seems clear that <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> moved from Rouen, Normandy to London, England around 1157, in his sixties. There he taught a young patron, Yosef b. Yaakov, dictating commentaries on Tanakh to him and writing for him a book on the meanings behind the commandments of the Torah. <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a> also continued his scientific work, writing an opinionated treatise on the calendar and heading it with poetry in quantitative meter. He may have spent time in other English Jewish communities. It is possible that he died in England.<br>But, like a lot of information about the distant past, much of this evidence is dependent upon cross-references, hints, attributions, and narrowly-surviving texts. So this is a story about the unlikely coming of a Sefardi rabbi to the Jewish outpost of London, &ldquo;the end of the earth,&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s also a story of how we make our stories about the past. <a href=\"http:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?encyclopedia=ibn-ezra-2\" target=\"_self\" title=\"Avraham Ibn Ezra | &#1512;' &#1488;&#1489;&#1512;&#1492;&#1501; &#1488;&#1489;&#1503; &#1506;&#1494;&#1512;&#1488; - &#1512;&#1488;&#1489;&quot;&#1506; was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">Ibn Ezra<\/a>&rsquo;s improbable English chapter is less definitive than we might imagine it to be. But that its echoes survive make it all the more amazing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the end of his life, after years of itinerant scholarship, the great commentator Avraham Ibn Ezra found himself at the far edge of the world: England. It is there (probably) that he wrote an exposition of his philosophy, known to us as&nbsp;Yesod Mora; and there, too, that he wrote the unusual&nbsp;Iggeret ha-Shabbat.&nbsp;We even have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[63,105,49],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medieval","tag-ibn-ezra----","tag-sefardi-","tag-england"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ibn Ezra in England - Tamar Marvin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At the end of his life after years of itinerant scholarship the great Sefardic commentator Avraham Ibn Ezra found himself at the edge of the world: England.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trmarvin.org\/?p=2381\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ibn Ezra in England - 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