A Hebrew Encyclopedia of the Thirteenth Century. Natural Philosophy in Judah ben Solomon ha-Cohen’s Midrash ha-Hokhmah.: Edition, Translation, Study

The first of the three major thirteenth-century Hebrew encyclopedias of science and philosophy, the Midrash ha-Hokhmah presents a survey of philosophy and mathematical sciences. Originally written in Arabic, the author, Judah ben Solomon ha-Cohen, who was inspired by Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, translated his own work into Hebrew in the 124os in Italy when he was in the service of Frederick II. The part on natural philosophy edited and translated in this volume is the first Hebrew text to draw extensively on Averroes’ commentaries on Aristotle. Over several chapters, Resianne Fontaine explores Judah’s ambivalent attitude towards Aristotelian philosophy.