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131-481: The polyglot Bible was the result of Spain's long-lasting tradition of translations of texts. Through centuries the intellectual class of the Iberian peninsula had developed a deep understanding of the issues of translation and the difficulty of conveying, or even interpreting meaning correctly across languages. Religious texts were known to be particularly difficult due to their high metaphorical content and how dependent on

262-463: A quill (or other permitted writing utensil) dipped in ink. Written entirely in Hebrew , a sefer Torah contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained sofer ("scribe"), an effort that may take as long as approximately one and a half years. Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of text per column ( Yemenite Jews use fifty), and very strict rules about

393-545: A Flemish astronomer and translator from Arabic to Latin, was a pupil of Hermann of Carinthia . He translated into Latin the Liber de compositione astrolabii, a major work of Islamic science on the astrolabe , by Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti , which he dedicated to his colleague John of Seville. Dominicus Gundissalinus is considered to be the first appointed director of the Toledo School of Translators, beginning in 1180. At

524-545: A binding covenant with God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it. The Book of Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle , which they had just built (Leviticus 1–10). This is followed by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11–15), which includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: Kashrut ),

655-573: A broad consensus of modern scholars see its origin in traditions from Israel (the northern kingdom) brought south to the Kingdom of Judah in the wake of the Assyrian conquest of Aram (8th century BCE) and then adapted to a program of nationalist reform in the time of Josiah (late 7th century BCE), with the final form of the modern book emerging in the milieu of the return from the Babylonian captivity during

786-452: A central Jerusalem square. Wellhausen believed that this narrative should be accepted as historical because it sounds plausible, noting: "The credibility of the narrative appears on the face of it." Following Wellhausen, most scholars throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries have accepted that widespread Torah observance began sometime around the middle of the 5th century BCE. More recently, Yonatan Adler has argued that in fact there

917-526: A debate about the qualifications of the religious authority itself to properly translate from the original sources. One of the answers to this debate was the polyglot Bible, which Cisneros hoped would end the issue forever. Diego López de Zúñiga was the chief editor, and was fluent in Latin as well as both Aramaic and Arabic. He was given a team of various translators. Converted translators and academics were favoured and specifically sought since they were fluent in

1048-527: A few scientific and theological subjects studied by the ancients, and further advanced by the Arabic-speaking scientists and philosophers, to be heretical. The Condemnations of 1210–1277 at the medieval University of Paris , for example, were enacted to restrict the teachings of several theological works, among which were the physical treatises of Aristotle and the works of Averroes (the Latinized name of

1179-412: A frame during the exile (the speeches and descriptions at the front and back of the code) to identify it as the words of Moses. However, since the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah's reforms (including his court's production of a law-code) have become heavily debated among academics. Most scholars also agree that some form of Priestly source existed, although its extent, especially its end-point,

1310-645: A great number of tannaim , the oral tradition was written down around 200 CE by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi , who took up the compilation of a nominally written version of the Oral Law, the Mishnah ( משנה ). Other oral traditions from the same time period not entered into the Mishnah were recorded as Baraitot (external teaching), and the Tosefta . Other traditions were written down as Midrashim . After continued persecution more of

1441-622: A naturalized citizen of the kingdom of Castile. He translated most of Aristotle's Rhetoric , interspersed with portions of Averroes ' middle commentary and short fragments from Avicenna and Alfarabi , Aristotle's Aethica Nichomachea , middle commentary on the Poetics , finished Averroes' Commentario Medio y Poetica to Aristotle's Rhetoric, translated the Psalterio from the Hebrew text into Castilian, and translated from Arabic to Castilian an epitome of

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1572-514: A series of Muslim religious treatises, dated 1213, and a Greek treatise on biology. Alfred of Sareshel (also known as Alvred Alphitus, Walfred, Sarawel, Sarchel, Alphredus Philosophus, Alphredus Anglicus, etc.) was an English translator and philosopher who resided in Spain towards the end of the 12th century. He Translated the pseudo-Aristotelian De plantis , and the part on alchemy, Avicennae Mineralia of Ibn Sina's Sifa . John of Toledo attended

1703-544: A shipwreck in transit to Italy around 1521. The Aldine Press based the Old Testament text in the 1518 Aldine Bible on the Complutensian's Greek Septuagint , paired with a New Testament based to some extent on Erasmus's version. Erasmus acknowledged using the Complutensian in the 1527 edition of his Novum Testamentum . The Complutensian Polyglot Bible was published as a six-volume set. The first four volumes contain

1834-479: Is Targum . The Encyclopaedia Judaica has: At an early period, it was customary to translate the Hebrew text into the vernacular at the time of the reading (e.g., in Palestine and Babylon the translation was into Aramaic). The targum ("translation") was done by a special synagogue official, called the meturgeman ... Eventually, the practice of translating into the vernacular was discontinued. However, there

1965-582: Is called a Sefer Torah ("Book [of] Torah"). They are written using a painstakingly careful method by highly qualified scribes . It is believed that every word, or marking, has divine meaning and that not one part may be inadvertently changed lest it lead to error. The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing

2096-508: Is done with painstaking care. An error of a single letter, ornamentation, or symbol of the 304,805 stylized letters that make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use, hence a special skill is required and a scroll takes considerable time to write and check. According to Jewish law, a sefer Torah (plural: Sifrei Torah ) is a copy of the formal Hebrew text handwritten on gevil or klaf (forms of parchment ) by using

2227-731: Is known to have worked in both schools; he translated the Old Testament during the second period. This transitional period was when the first direct translations were made from Arabic into the vernacular Castilian. Mark of Toledo , a Spanish physician and Canon of Toledo, translated the Qur'an and various medical works such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq 's Liber isagogarum , Hippocrates' De aere aquis locis ; and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's versions of four of Galen's treatises: De tactu pulsus , De utilitate pulsus , Se motu membrorum , De motibus liquidis . He also translated Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's Isagoge ad Tegni Galieni ,

2358-544: Is no surviving evidence to support the notion that the Torah was widely known, regarded as authoritative, and put into practice prior to the middle of the 2nd century BCE. Adler explored the likelihhood that Judaism, as the widespread practice of Torah law by Jewish society at large, first emerged in Judea during the reign of the Hasmonean dynasty , centuries after the putative time of Ezra. By contrast, John J. Collins has argued that

2489-634: Is read every Monday morning and Thursday morning at a shul (synagogue) but only if there are ten males above the age of thirteen. Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life. The Torah is also considered a sacred book outside Judaism; in Samaritanism , the Samaritan Pentateuch is a text of the Torah written in the Samaritan script and used as sacred scripture by the Samaritans ;

2620-448: Is regardless of whether that yod appears in the phrase "I am the LORD thy God" ( אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ , Exodus 20:2) or whether it appears in "And God spoke unto Moses saying" ( וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֲנִי יְהוָה. Exodus 6:2). In a similar vein, Rabbi Akiva ( c.  50  – c.  135 CE ), is said to have learned a new law from every et ( את ) in

2751-601: Is the culmination of the story of Israel's exodus from oppression in Egypt and their journey to take possession of the land God promised their fathers . As such it draws to a conclusion the themes introduced in Genesis and played out in Exodus and Leviticus: God has promised the Israelites that they shall become a great (i.e. numerous) nation, that they will have a special relationship with Yahweh their god, and that they shall take possession of

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2882-463: Is the second book of the Torah, immediately following Genesis. The book tells how the ancient Israelites leave slavery in Egypt through the strength of Yahweh , the God who has chosen Israel as his people. Yahweh inflicts horrific harm on their captors via the legendary Plagues of Egypt . With the prophet Moses as their leader, they journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai , where Yahweh promises them

3013-556: Is uncertain. The remainder is called collectively non-Priestly, a grouping which includes both pre-Priestly and post-Priestly material. The final Torah is widely seen as a product of the Persian period (539–332 BCE, probably 450–350 BCE). This consensus echoes a traditional Jewish view which gives Ezra , the leader of the Jewish community on its return from Babylon, a pivotal role in its promulgation. Many theories have been advanced to explain

3144-501: The parashot for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex . Conservative and Reform synagogues may read parashot on a triennial rather than annual schedule, On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Saturday's portion is read. On Jewish holidays , the beginnings of each month, and fast days , special sections connected to the day are read. Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah , to celebrate

3275-666: The hif'il conjugation means 'to guide' or 'to teach'. The meaning of the word is therefore "teaching", "doctrine", or "instruction"; the commonly accepted "law" gives a wrong impression. The Alexandrian Jews who translated the Septuagint used the Greek word nomos , meaning norm, standard, doctrine, and later "law". Greek and Latin Bibles then began the custom of calling the Pentateuch (five books of Moses) The Law. Other translational contexts in

3406-450: The Ancestral history (chapters 12–50). The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, using the flood, saving only the righteous Noah and his immediate family to reestablish

3537-587: The Children of Israel . The Torah starts with God creating the world , then describes the beginnings of the people of Israel , their descent into Egypt, and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai . It ends with the death of Moses , just before the people of Israel cross to the Promised Land of Canaan . Interspersed in the narrative are the specific teachings (religious obligations and civil laws) given explicitly (i.e. Ten Commandments ) or implicitly embedded in

3668-555: The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following God's commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Leviticus 17 establishes sacrifices at the Tabernacle as an everlasting ordinance, but this ordinance is altered in later books with

3799-662: The Ethics known as the Summa Alexandrinorum . Under King Alfonso X of Castile (known as the Wise), Toledo rose even higher in importance as a translation center, as well as for the writing of original scholarly works. The Crown did not officially recognize the School, but the team of scholars and translators shared their communal knowledge and taught newcomers new languages and translation methods. There were usually several persons involved in

3930-646: The Islamic Golden Age "back east" were well known in Al-Andalus such as those from the Neoplatonism school, Aristotle , Hippocrates , Galen , Ptolemy , etc., as well as the works of ancient philosophers and scientists from Persia, India, and China; these enabled Arabic-speaking populations at the time (both in the east and in "the west," or North Africa and the Iberian peninsula) to learn about many ancient classical disciplines that were generally inaccessible to

4061-663: The Jerusalem Talmud . Since the greater number of rabbis lived in Babylon, the Babylonian Talmud has precedence should the two be in conflict. Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism accept these texts as the basis for all subsequent halakha and codes of Jewish law, which are held to be normative. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism deny that these texts, or the Torah itself for that matter, may be used for determining normative law (laws accepted as binding) but accept them as

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4192-619: The Kabbalah . He intended to prove that the texts were a reflection of Christian doctrine, and that the Jews put their souls in peril by not acknowledging that. Such translations have been lost, although there could be a link with the later development of the Christian Kabbalah . The first known translation of this period, the Lapidario , a book about the medical properties of various rocks and gems,

4323-513: The L ORD our God, the L ORD is one." Verses 6:4–5 were also quoted by Jesus in Mark 12:28–34 as part of the Great Commandment . The Talmud states that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by Joshua . According to the Mishnah one of the essential tenets of Judaism is that God transmitted

4454-644: The Lapidario are the Picatrix , a composite work of ancient treatises on magic and astrology, or the Tratado de la açafeha that was translated into Latin from an Arabic text by Al-Zarqali with the help of Guillelmus Anglicus . He also did the Tetrabiblon or Quatriparito (Ptolemy), 15 treatises on astrology (effects of stars on man and properties of 360 stones with which to ward off negative astral influences), and Los IIII libros de las estrellas de la ochaua espera , that

4585-540: The Libro de las cruzes , while Guillén Arremon D'Aspa collaborated with Yehuda on the translation of the IIII libros de las estrellas de la ochaua espera . Isaac ibn Sid was another renowned Jewish translator favored by the King; he was highly learned on astronomy, astrology, architecture and mathematics. At the King's direction, he produced a translation of the Libro de las armellas that

4716-671: The Old Testament continued, so they could be published together as a complete work. The Complutensian Old Testament was completed in 1517. Cardinal Cisneros died in July 1517, five months after the Polyglot's completion, and never saw its publication. Further delays happened when, following the death of Cardinal Cisneros, the text was confiscated by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V . Erasmus 's four-year exclusive privilege in 1516 (and

4847-743: The Old Testament . Each page consists of three parallel columns of text: Hebrew on the outside, the Latin Vulgate in the middle (edited by Antonio de Nebrija ), and the Greek Septuagint on the inside. On each page of the Pentateuch , the Aramaic text (the Targum Onkelos ) and its own Latin translation are added at the bottom. The fifth volume, the New Testament, consists of parallel columns of Greek and

4978-543: The Spanish language . By his insisting that the texts translated be "llanos de entender" ("easy to understand"), he ensured that the texts would reach a much wider audience, both within Spain and in other European countries. The scholars from such nations as Italy, Germany, England or the Netherlands, who had moved to Toledo in order to translate medical, religious, classical and philosophical texts, returned to their countries with

5109-509: The Talmud and Midrash . Rabbinic tradition's understanding is that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by God through the prophet Moses , some at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle , and all the teachings were written down by Moses , which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of

5240-480: The children of Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus . The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God , successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the covenant with Noah ) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob). The Book of Exodus

5371-524: The rabbinic commentaries ( perushim ). In rabbinic literature , the word Torah denotes both the five books ( תורה שבכתב "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah ( תורה שבעל פה , "Torah that is spoken"). It has also been used, however, to designate the entire Hebrew Bible . The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in

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5502-484: The synagogue in the Ark known as the "Holy Ark" ( אֲרוֹן הקֹדשׁ aron hakodesh in Hebrew.) Aron in Hebrew means "cupboard" or "closet", and kodesh is derived from "kadosh", or "holy". The Book of Ezra refers to translations and commentaries of the Hebrew text into Aramaic , the more commonly understood language of the time. These translations would seem to date to the 6th century BCE. The Aramaic term for translation

5633-526: The 'Pentateuch' ( / ˈ p ɛ n . t ə ˌ t juː k / , PEN -tə-tewk ; Ancient Greek : πεντάτευχος , pentáteukhos , 'five scrolls'), a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria . The " Tawrat " (also Tawrah or Taurat; Arabic : توراة‎ ) is the Arabic name for the Torah, which Muslims believe is an Islamic holy book given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst

5764-619: The 13th century, the translators no longer worked with Latin as the final language, but translated into Old Spanish . This resulted in establishing the foundations of a first standard of the Spanish language, which eventually developed two varieties, one from Toledo and one from Seville . Traditionally Toledo was a center of multilingual culture and had prior importance as a centre of learning and translation, beginning in its era under Muslim rule. Numerous classical works of ancient philosophers and scientists that had been translated into Arabic during

5895-516: The 15th century. Another side effect of this linguistic enterprise was the promotion of a revised version of the Castilian language which, although it incorporated a large amount of scientific and technical vocabulary, had streamlined its syntax in order to be understood by people from all walks of life and to reach the masses, while being made suitable for higher expressions of thought. The contributions of all these scholars, both oral and written, under

6026-406: The 19th and 20th centuries CE, new movements such as Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same: As a part of the morning prayer services on certain days of the week, fast days, and holidays, as well as part of the afternoon prayer services of Shabbat, Yom Kippur, a section of

6157-546: The African , or the Persian Al-Khwarizmi . Al-Andalus's multi-cultural richness beginning in the era of Umayyad dynasty rule in that land (711-1031) was one of the main reasons why European scholars were traveling to study there as early as the end of the 10th century. As the Arabic-speaking rulers who initially came in 711 intermingled and intermarried with local populations, the co-existence of Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and

6288-737: The Archbishop deemed important for an understanding of several classical authors, specially Aristotle . As a result, the library of the cathedral, which had been refitted under Raymond's orders, became a translations center of a scale and importance not matched in the history of western culture. Gerard of Cremona was the most productive of the Toledo translators at the time, translating more than 87 books in Arabic science. He came to Toledo in 1167 in search of Ptolemy's Almagest. Since he did not know Arabic when he arrived, he relied on Jews and Mozarabs for translation and teaching. His translated books include

6419-486: The Christian parts of western Europe, and Arabic-speaking scientists in the eastern Muslim lands such as Ibn Sina , al-Kindi , al-Razi , and others, had added significant works to that ancient body of thought. Some of the Arabic literature was also translated into Latin , Hebrew , and Ladino , such as that of Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides , Muslim sociologist-historian Ibn Khaldun , Carthage citizen Constantine

6550-567: The English language include custom , theory , guidance , or system . The term "Torah" is used in the general sense to include both Rabbinic Judaism 's written and oral law , serving to encompass the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the Oral Torah which comprises the Mishnah , the Talmud , the Midrash and more. The inaccurate rendering of "Torah" as "Law" may be an obstacle to understanding

6681-403: The Islamic philosophy and scientific works from Classical Arabic into Medieval Latin . The School went through two distinct periods separated by a transitional phase. The first was led by Archbishop Raymond of Toledo in the 12th century, who promoted the translation of philosophical and religious works, mainly from classical Arabic into medieval Latin. Under King Alfonso X of Castile during

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6812-495: The Israelites have received their laws and covenant from God and God has taken up residence among them in the sanctuary . The task before them is to take possession of the Promised Land. The people are counted and preparations are made for resuming their march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they "murmur" at the hardships along the way, and about the authority of Moses and Aaron . For these acts, God destroys approximately 15,000 of them through various means. They arrive at

6943-415: The King Alfonso later ordered to be revised by Samuel ha-Levi , Joan de Mesina, and Joan de Cremona. He also contributed to the translation of another book on judicial astrology, the Libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas , that was, ironically, translated from Latin (as it was used among the Visigoths ), into Arabic , and then back into Castilian and Latin. Yehuda ben Moshe also collaborated in

7074-399: The Latin Vulgate. The sixth volume contains various Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek dictionaries and study aids. Jerome 's Latin version of the Old Testament was placed between the Greek and Hebrew versions, symbolizing the Roman Church of Christ being surrounded and crucified by the Greek Church and the Jews. This text was collated by Antonio de Nebrija from manuscript sources, but

7205-513: The Latin translation while Yehuda ben Moshe's gave him an oral Spanish (Castilian) translation of the Arabic treatise by Aben Ragel. This is the only documented case of a double, simultaneous translation. With Pietro de Reggio, the Italian Edigio de Tebladis de Parma translated the following into Latin: Ptolemy's Quatripartito and Jehudas's Spanish (Castilian) version of Ibn Aben Ragel's Liber de Judiciis Astrologiae ( Libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas ). Maestre Joan de Cremona, who

7336-492: The Motions of the Heavens , and Averroes' influential commentaries on the scientific works of Aristotle, among many others. Herman the German was the bishop of Astorga (1266 – 1272). He was a personal friend of Manfred of Sicily. His place of birth is unknown, but it is known that he was an important figure in Castile's intellectual life before being appointed Bishop. He is credited with translating Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle in 1240, Rhetoricoric by Averroes , and

7467-533: The Muslim philosopher-physician of al-Andalus, Ibn Rushd). Raymond of Toledo , Archbishop of Toledo from 1126 to 1151, started the first translation efforts at the library of the Cathedral of Toledo , where he led a team of translators who included Mozarabic Toledans, Jewish scholars, Madrasah teachers, and monks from the Order of Cluny . They translated many works, usually from Arabic, Hebrew and Greek into Latin. The work of these scholars made available very important texts from Arabic and Hebrew philosophers, whom

7598-450: The Oral Law was committed to writing. A great many more lessons, lectures and traditions only alluded to in the few hundred pages of Mishnah, became the thousands of pages now called the Gemara . Gemara is written in Aramaic (specifically Jewish Babylonian Aramaic ), having been compiled in Babylon. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. The rabbis in the Land of Israel also collected their traditions and compiled them into

7729-460: The Oral and the written Torah were transmitted in parallel with each other. Where the Torah leaves words and concepts undefined, and mentions procedures without explanation or instructions, the reader is required to seek out the missing details from supplemental sources known as the Oral Law or Oral Torah. Some of the Torah's most prominent commandments needing further explanation are: According to classical rabbinic texts this parallel set of material

7860-489: The Pentateuch is read from a Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section (" parashah ") is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year. The division of parashot found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah , Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls , chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of

7991-400: The Promised Land. The first sermon recounts the forty years of wilderness wanderings which had led to that moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law (or teachings), later referred to as the Law of Moses ; the second reminds the Israelites of the need to follow Yahweh and the laws (or teachings) he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends; and the third offers

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8122-435: The School to study works of medicine before returning to England and being ordained cardinal. Later he traveled to Rome, where he became a personal physician to the Pope. He is believed to have translated into Latin several medical treatises which dealt with practical medicine. Hermannus Alemannus worked in Toledo between 1240-1256. Although at the service of Manfred (Naples) from 1258–66, he returned to Spain where he became

8253-445: The Talmud, because they brought it with them from Assyria. Maharsha says that Ezra made no changes to the actual text of the Torah based on the Torah's prohibition of making any additions or deletions to the Torah in Deuteronomy 12:32 . By contrast, the modern scholarly consensus rejects Mosaic authorship, and affirms that the Torah has multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries. The precise process by which

8384-443: The Temple being the only place in which sacrifices are allowed. The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah. The book has a long and complex history, but its final form is probably due to a Priestly redaction (i.e., editing) of a Yahwistic source made some time in the early Persian period (5th century BCE). The name of the book comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites. Numbers begins at Mount Sinai , where

8515-430: The Torah (Talmud, tractate Pesachim 22b); the particle et is meaningless by itself, and serves only to mark the direct object . In other words, the Orthodox belief is that even apparently contextual text such as "And God spoke unto Moses saying ..." is no less holy and sacred than the actual statement. Manuscript Torah scrolls are still scribed and used for ritual purposes (i.e., religious services ); this

8646-408: The Torah is also common among all the different versions of the Christian Old Testament ; in Islam , the Tawrat ( Arabic : توراة‎ ) is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel . The word "Torah" in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה , which in

8777-420: The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch ( / ˈ p ɛ n t ə tj uː k / ) or the Five Books of Moses . In Rabbinical Jewish tradition it is also known as the Written Torah ( תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב , Tōrā šebbīḵṯāv ). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ( Hebrew : ספר תורה Sefer Torah ). If in bound book form , it is called Chumash , and is usually printed with

8908-477: The Torah was composed, the number of authors involved, and the date of each author are hotly contested. Throughout most of the 20th century, there was a scholarly consensus surrounding the documentary hypothesis , which posits four independent sources, which were later compiled together by a redactor: J, the Jahwist source, E, the Elohist source, P, the Priestly source , and D, the Deuteronomist source. The earliest of these sources, J, would have been composed in

9039-418: The Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity ( c.  537 BCE ), as described in the Book of Nehemiah . In the modern era, adherents of Orthodox Judaism practice Torah-reading according to a set procedure they believe has remained unchanged in the two thousand years since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). In

9170-400: The Torah") is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll . The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll (or scrolls) from the ark , chanting the appropriate excerpt with traditional cantillation , and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is distinct from academic Torah study . Regular public reading of

9301-458: The Torah, should be the source for Jewish behavior and ethics. Kabbalists hold that not only do the words of Torah give a divine message, but they also indicate a far greater message that extends beyond them. Thus they hold that even as small a mark as a kotso shel yod ( קוצו של יוד ), the serif of the Hebrew letter yod (י), the smallest letter, or decorative markings, or repeated words, were put there by God to teach scores of lessons. This

9432-572: The Written Torah was recorded during the following forty years, though many non-Orthodox Jewish scholars affirm the modern scholarly consensus that the Written Torah has multiple authors and was written over centuries. All classical rabbinic views hold that the Torah was entirely Mosaic and of divine origin. Present-day Reform and Liberal Jewish movements all reject Mosaic authorship, as do most shades of Conservative Judaism . Torah reading ( Hebrew : קריאת התורה , K'riat HaTorah , "Reading [of]

9563-581: The acquired knowledge from classical Arabic, classical Greek, and ancient Hebrew. The King also commissioned the translation into Castilian of several "oriental" fables and tales which, although written in Arabic, were originally in Sanskrit, such as the Kalila wa-Dimna ( Panchatantra ) and the Sendebar . Translation methods evolved under the direction of Alfonso X. Previously, a native speaker would verbally communicate

9694-412: The authentic and only Jewish version for understanding the Torah and its development throughout history. Humanistic Judaism holds that the Torah is a historical, political, and sociological text, but does not believe that every word of the Torah is true, or even morally correct. Humanistic Judaism is willing to question the Torah and to disagree with it, believing that the entire Jewish experience, not just

9825-421: The basis of the Pentateuch lay in short, independent narratives, gradually formed into larger units and brought together in two editorial phases, the first Deuteronomic, the second Priestly. By contrast, John Van Seters advocates a supplementary hypothesis , which posits that the Torah was derived from a series of direct additions to an existing corpus of work. A "neo-documentarian" hypothesis, which responds to

9956-443: The beginning, Gundissalinus only translated from Greek into Latin or Castilian, as he did not have sufficient knowledge of Arabic. He depended on John of Seville for all translations in that language. Later in his career Gundissalinus mastered Arabic sufficiently to translate it by himself. Unlike his colleagues, he focused exclusively on philosophy, translating Greek and Arabic works and the commentaries of earlier Muslim philosophers of

10087-464: The book as initially a product of the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), from earlier written and oral traditions, with final revisions in the Persian post-exilic period (5th century BCE). Carol Meyers , in her commentary on Exodus suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity: memories of a past marked by hardship and escape,

10218-517: The borders of Canaan and send spies into the land. Upon hearing the spies' fearful report concerning the conditions in Canaan, the Israelites refuse to take possession of it. God condemns them to death in the wilderness until a new generation can grow up and carry out the task. The book ends with the new generation of Israelites in the " plains of Moab " ready for the crossing of the Jordan River . Numbers

10349-510: The comfort that even should Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be restored. The final four chapters (31–34) contain the Song of Moses , the Blessing of Moses , and narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua and, finally, the death of Moses on Mount Nebo . Presented as the words of Moses delivered before the conquest of Canaan,

10480-538: The commentaries of Alfarabi regarding the Rhetoric of Aristotle. Herman also wrote his own philosophical commentary and summary of the Nicomachean Ethics During the decades following Archbishop Raimundo's death, the translating activity in Toledo decreased considerably, although it continued into the next century, and overlapped with Alfonso's School of Translators. At least one translator, Hermannus Alemannus,

10611-431: The completion and new start of the year's cycle of readings. Torah scrolls are often dressed with a sash, a special Torah cover, various ornaments, and a keter (crown), although such customs vary among synagogues. Congregants traditionally stand in respect when the Torah is brought out of the ark to be read, while it is being carried, and lifted, and likewise while it is returned to the ark, although they may sit during

10742-459: The composition of the Torah, but two have been especially influential. The first of these, Persian Imperial authorisation, advanced by Peter Frei in 1985, holds that the Persian authorities required the Jews of Jerusalem to present a single body of law as the price of local autonomy. Frei's theory was, according to Eskenazi, "systematically dismantled" at an interdisciplinary symposium held in 2000, but

10873-404: The contents of the books to a scholar, who would dictate its Latin equivalent to a scribe, who wrote down the translated text. Under the new methodology, a translator, with expertise in several languages, dictated from the base language, translating into Castilian for the scribe, who wrote down the Castilian version. The scribe's work was later reviewed by one or several editors. Among those editors

11004-488: The context in which they were written they tended to be. This sparked a debate in Spain about the convenience of continuing the translation of religious texts, and the best way to do it, over a century prior to the Reformation . The customary answer to this debate was to ask religious authorities to examine the translation and cross-check and compare different translations with contemporary Castilian , but that in turn created

11135-513: The criticism of the original hypothesis and updates the methodology used to determine which text comes from which sources, has been advocated by biblical historian Joel S. Baden, among others. Such a hypothesis continues to have adherents in Israel and North America. The majority of scholars today continue to recognize Deuteronomy as a source, with its origin in the law-code produced at the court of Josiah as described by De Wette, subsequently given

11266-731: The data for astronomical computing contained in the Alfonsine tables , of which he owned a copy after they were published in Venice in 1515. This work was the pioneer in a long list of efforts by European astronomers to attempt the computation of accurate tables of astrological predictions. They became the most popular astronomical tables in Europe and updated versions were regularly produced for three hundred years. Other translated works of astronomical nature, such as Theorica planetarum , were used as an introductory text in astronomy by European students all through

11397-503: The day would indicate the time on an internal patio. Rabbi Zag Sujurmenza is credited with the translation from Arabic of Astrolabio redondo (spherical astrolabe), Astrolabio llano (flat astrolabe), Constelaciones (constellations) and Lámina Universal (an instrument that improved on the astrolabe ). Of his works, the most important are those of the "round astrolabe" and the "flat astrolabe". He also contributed to translations of Armellas de Ptolemy , Piedra de la sombra (stone of

11528-467: The entire corpus (according to academic Bible criticism). In contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were "The Book of Moses" and "The Book of the Torah", which seems to be a contraction of a fuller name, "The Book of the Torah of God". Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as

11659-517: The festival of Passover . In his seminal Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels , Julius Wellhausen argued that Judaism as a religion based on widespread observance of the Torah and its laws first emerged in 444 BCE when, according to the biblical account provided in the Book of Nehemiah (chapter 8), a priestly scribe named Ezra read a copy of the Mosaic Torah before the populace of Judea assembled in

11790-424: The field of medicine in Europe greatly benefited from the translations made of works that reflected the advanced state of medicine in medieval Islam and some Asian countries. Nicolaus Copernicus , the first scientist to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which placed the sun instead of the earth at the center of the universe, studied the translation of Ptolemy's astronomical Almagest . He also used

11921-544: The final formation of the Pentateuch somewhat later, in the Hellenistic (332–164 BCE) or even Hasmonean (140–37 BCE) periods. Russell Gmirkin, for instance, argues for a Hellenistic dating on the basis that the Elephantine papyri , the records of a Jewish colony in Egypt dating from the last quarter of the 5th century BCE, make no reference to a written Torah, the Exodus , or to any other biblical event, though it does mention

12052-414: The following: Another important translator was John of Seville . Together with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the School, he was the main translator from Arabic into Castilian. John of Seville translated Secretum Secretorum , a 10th-century Arabic encyclopedic treatise on a wide range of topics, including statecraft, ethics, physiognomy, astrology, alchemy, magic and medicine, which

12183-579: The following: He edited for Latin readers the " Toledan Tables ", the most accurate compilation of astronomical / astrological data ( ephemeris ) ever seen in Europe at the time, which were partly based on the work of al-Zarqali and the works of Jabir ibn Aflah , the Banu Musa brothers, Abu Kamil , Abu al-Qasim , and Ibn al-Haytham (including the Book of Optics ). Other medical works which he translated include

12314-497: The ideal that is summed up in the term talmud torah ( תלמוד תורה , "study of Torah"). The term "Torah" is also used to designate the entire Hebrew Bible . The earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been "The Torah of Moses". This title, however, is found neither in the Torah itself, nor in the works of the pre-Exilic literary prophets . It appears in Joshua and Kings , but it cannot be said to refer there to

12445-687: The knowledge acquired from the Arabic, Greek and Hebrew texts found its way into the heart of the universities in Europe. Although the works of Aristotle and Arab philosophers were banned at some European learning centers, such as the University of Paris in the early 1200s, the Toledo's translations were accepted, due to their physical and cosmological nature. Albertus Magnus based his systematization of Aristotelian philosophy, and much of his writings on astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, chemistry, zoology, physiology, and phrenology upon those translations made in Toledo. His pupil, Thomas Aquinas also used much of

12576-404: The land of Canaan (the " Promised Land ") in return for their faithfulness. Israel enters into a covenant with Yahweh who gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle , the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to possess the land, and then give them peace. Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, modern scholarship sees

12707-428: The land of Canaan. Numbers also demonstrates the importance of holiness, faithfulness and trust: despite God's presence and his priests , Israel lacks faith and the possession of the land is left to a new generation. The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the plains of Moab , shortly before they enter

12838-567: The late 6th century BCE. Many scholars see the book as reflecting the economic needs and social status of the Levite caste, who are believed to have provided its authors; those likely authors are collectively referred to as the Deuteronomist . One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema Yisrael , which has become the definitive statement of Jewish identity : "Hear, O Israel:

12969-470: The late 7th or the 6th century BCE, with the latest source, P, being composed around the 5th century BCE. The consensus around the documentary hypothesis collapsed in the last decades of the 20th century. The groundwork was laid with the investigation of the origins of the written sources in oral compositions, implying that the creators of J and E were collectors and editors and not authors and historians. Rolf Rendtorff , building on this insight, argued that

13100-431: The local Romance vernacular had seen the emergence of new pidgin vernaculars and bilingual song forms, as well as the creation of new bodies of literature in Arabic and Hebrew. The environment bred multi-lingualism. This era saw the development of a large community of Arabic-speaking Christians (known as Mozarabs ) who were available to work on translations. But translating efforts were not methodically organized until Toledo

13231-586: The narrative (as in Exodus 12 and 13 laws of the celebration of Passover ). In Hebrew, the five books of the Torah are identified by the incipits in each book; and the common English names for the books are derived from the Greek Septuagint and reflect the essential theme of each book: The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah. It is divisible into two parts, the Primeval history (chapters 1–11) and

13362-657: The observance of the Torah started in Persian Yehud when the Judeans who returned from exile understood its normativity as the observance of selected, ancestral laws of high symbolic value, while during the Maccabean revolt Jews started a much more detailed observance of its precepts. Rabbinic writings state that the Oral Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai , which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism , occurred in 1312 BCE. The Orthodox rabbinic tradition holds that

13493-416: The original Arabic work was done in Toledo and from it Arzarquiel made his açafea . Isaac ibn Sid also contributed to the translation, Libro de quadrante pora rectificar: four works on the crafting of clocks, including the Libro del relogio dell argen uiuo and the Libro del relogio del palacio de las oras, The latter included designs for a palace with windows placed so that light entering them throughout

13624-462: The originals. Michael Scot , a Scotsman who studied at Oxford University and in Paris before settling in Toledo, also worked as a translator during this period. He translated Aristotle's works on homocentric spheres, De verificatione motuum coelestium , later used by Roger Bacon, and Historia animalium, 19 books, dated Oct 21, 1220. He also translated the works of al-Betrugi (Alpetragius) in 1217, On

13755-710: The papal privilege given to the First Biblia Rabbinica in 1518) may have also been a delaying factor: Pope Leo X finally sanctioned it in 1520. At which time the civil war in Castile , the Revolt of the Comuneros broke out, causing delays. The direct influence of the Complutensian Polyglot was attenuated because, according to a much later letter of King Philip II of Spain , a significant number of copies were lost in

13886-438: The peninsula. Among his important translations is Fons Vitæ ( Meqor Hahayim ), by the Jewish philosopher ibn Gabirol . At one time it was thought to be the work of the Christian scholastic Avicebron . Gundissalinus also translated several works of the major Muslim philosophers Avicenna and al-Ghazâlî . He is known for frequently eliminating passages and adding his own commentaries, rather than being scrupulously faithful to

14017-531: The position and appearance of the Hebrew letters are observed. See for example the Mishnah Berurah on the subject. Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting. The completion of the Sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and it is a mitzvah for every Jew to either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Torah scrolls are stored in the holiest part of

14148-454: The reading itself. The Torah contains narratives, statements of law, and statements of ethics. Collectively these laws, usually called biblical law or commandments, are sometimes referred to as the Law of Moses ( Torat Moshɛ תּוֹרַת־מֹשֶׁה ), Mosaic Law , or Sinaitic Law . Rabbinic tradition holds that Moses learned the whole Torah while he lived on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights and both

14279-452: The relationship between man and God. The Ancestral history (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people. At God's command Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his home into the God-given land of Canaan , where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob . Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph ,

14410-461: The relationship between the Persian authorities and Jerusalem remains a crucial question. The second theory, associated with Joel P. Weinberg and called the "Citizen-Temple Community", proposes that the Exodus story was composed to serve the needs of a post-exilic Jewish community organised around the Temple, which acted in effect as a bank for those who belonged to it. A minority of scholars would place

14541-403: The same translation. The Castilian Crown paid for most of their work, and sometimes hired the most able translators from other parts of Spain and Europe to join the school at Toledo. King Alfonso's decision to abandon Latin as the target language for the translations and use a revised vernacular version of Castilian, had very significant consequences on the development of the first foundations of

14672-475: The shadow, or sundial), Relox de agua (clepsydra, or water clock), Argente vivo o azogue (quicksilver or mercury), and Candela (candle clock). Abraham of Toledo , physician to both Alfonso and his son Sancho , translated several books from Arabic into Spanish (Castilian), such as Al-Heitham 's treatise on the construction of the universe, and al-Zarqālī 's Astrolabe. Others included Samuel ha-Levi, who translated Libro del saber ; Abulafia de Toledo, who

14803-471: The source languages and the cultures of the texts. Second in command, Alfonso de Zamora (1476–1544) was a converted Jewish scholar, an expert in Talmudic studies, and spoke Hebrew as his first language. Other conversos working on the project were Alfonso de Alcalá and Pablo de Coronel . Demetrius Ducas (a scholar from Crete), Hernán Núñez de Toledo ("The Pincian") and Juan de Vergara were in charge of

14934-517: The team of translators, and soon most of its members transferred their efforts to other activities under new patronages, many of them leaving the city of Toledo. The translations of works on different sciences, such as astronomy, astrology, algebra, medicine, etc. acted as a magnet for numerous scholars from all over Europe who came to Toledo eager to learn first hand about the contents of all those books that had been out of reach to Europeans for many centuries. Thanks to this group of scholars and writers,

15065-467: The text of the Torah to Moses over the span of the 40 years the Israelites were in the desert and Moses was like a scribe who was dictated to and wrote down all of the events, the stories and the commandments. According to Jewish tradition , the Torah was recompiled by Ezra during Second Temple period . The Talmud says that Ezra changed the script used to write the Torah from the older Hebrew script to Assyrian script, so called according to

15196-536: The translated work to bring Aristotle into his philosophical and theological treatises. Roger Bacon relied on many of the Arabic translations to make important contributions in the fields of optics, astronomy, the natural sciences, chemistry and mathematics. Many other scholars of the Renaissance period used the translation of ibn al-Haitham 's Kitab al-manazir , which was the most important optical treatise of ancient and medieval times. In general, most disciplines in

15327-518: The translation from Greek manuscripts. Antonio de Nebrija was specifically called for the translation of the Latin Vulgate . Hernán Núñez de Toledo was also the chief Latinist. The scholars met in Alcalá de Henares , a city near Madrid also known by its Latin name Complutum , at Complutense University . The New Testament was completed and printed in 1514, but its publication was delayed while work on

15458-413: The translation of Ptolemy's Quadripartitum and to gather books by Montesan and Algazel. As a result of their work, the Alfonsine tables became the most popular astronomical tables in Europe with updated versions being regularly reprinted for over three hundred years. Copernicus himself owned a copy. Juan D'Aspa assisted Yehuda ben Moses Cohen in the literal translation of the Libro de la alcora and

15589-610: The translation of the Libro de las cruces , Libros del saber de Astronomía , and the famous Alfonsine tables , compiled by Isaac ibn Sid , that provided data for computing the position of the Sun , Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars , based on observations of astronomers that Alfonso had gathered in Toledo. Among them were Aben Raghel y Alquibicio and Aben Musio y Mohamat, from Seville, Joseph Aben Alí and Jacobo Abenvena, from Córdoba, and fifty more he brought from Gascony and Paris lured with big salaries, and to whom he also assigned

15720-448: The tutelage and direction of Alfonso X, established the foundations of the modern supranational Spanish language. Pentateuch The Torah ( / ˈ t ɔːr ə / or / ˈ t oʊ r ə / ; Biblical Hebrew : תּוֹרָה Tōrā , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible , namely the books of Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy . In Christianity ,

15851-409: The two languages most used in the translations: Arabic and Castilian. The King kept some of the Jewish scholars as his personal physicians, and recognized their services with splendid favors and praises. Alfonso's nephew Juan Manuel wrote that the King was so impressed with the intellectual level of the Jewish scholars that he commissioned the translation of the Talmud , the law of the Jews, as well as

15982-495: The world , and was used as the blueprint for Creation. Though hotly debated, the general trend in biblical scholarship is to recognize the final form of the Torah as a literary and ideological unity, based on earlier sources, largely complete by the Persian period , with possibly some later additions during the Hellenistic period. The words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe ( sofer ) in Hebrew. A Torah portion

16113-442: Was an author, compiler and translator, and Abraham Alfaqui, Ḥayyim Israel or Judah Cohen. Maestre Bernardo, an Islamic convert, assisted Abraham Alfaqui in the revision of the Libro de la açafeha , which had first been translated by a team led by Maestre Ferrando de Toledo, from the same school. Among the Christian translators of this period were Alvaro de Oviedo, who translated Libro Conplido ( De judiciis Astrologiae ). Alvaro did

16244-438: Was done by Yehuda ben Moshe Cohen assisted by Garci Pérez, when Alfonso was still infante . Alfonso obtained the book from a Jew who had kept it hidden, and commanded Yehuda to translate it from Arabic into the Castilian language. Yehuda ben Moshe was one of the most notable Jewish translators during this period and also worked as the King's physician, even before Alfonso was crowned. Among his most notable translations besides

16375-493: Was left uncorrected. Nebrija eventually resigned from the project after Cisneros refused to allow him to improve the translation, in deference to the desires of the Papacy. Scanned copies Toledo School of Translators The Toledo School of Translators ( Spanish : Escuela de Traductores de Toledo ) is the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of

16506-435: Was originally transmitted to Moses at Sinai, and then from Moses to Israel. At that time it was forbidden to write and publish the oral law, as any writing would be incomplete and subject to misinterpretation and abuse. However, after exile, dispersion, and persecution, this tradition was lifted when it became apparent that in writing was the only way to ensure that the Oral Law could be preserved. After many years of effort by

16637-477: Was reconquered by Christian forces in 1085. The new rulers inherited vast libraries containing some of the leading scientific and philosophical thought not only of the ancient world, but of the Islamic east, the cutting edge of scientific discourse of the era—and it was all largely in Arabic. Another reason for Al-Andalus's importance at the time is that some Christian leaders in certain other parts of Europe considered

16768-403: Was simple and easy to understand, so that "any man could readily use it". He also translated several scientific treatises, such as the Libro del astrolabio redondo , or the Libro del ataçir , a book on the flat astrolabe (for rapid calculations of movement of the stars), typically used by astrologers. King Alfonso wrote a preface to Isaac ibn Sid's translation, Lamina Universal , explaining that

16899-550: Was the King's notary, translated parts of the Libro de las estrellas fixas and worked with Yehuda, Samuel ha-Levi and fellow Italian Juan de Mesina on the IIII Libros . Another King's notary and scribe, Bonaventura of Siena, translated Abraham's Spanish (Castilian) translation of the Escala de Mohama into French ( Livre de leschiele Mahomet ). After Alfonso's death, Sancho IV of Castile , his self-appointed successor, dismantled most of

17030-437: Was the King, who had a keen interest in many disciplines, such as science, history, law, and literature. He effectively managed and selected each of the translators, and reviewed some of their work, encouraging intellectual debate. Under Alfonso's leadership, Sephardic Jewish scientists and translators acquired a prominent role in the School. They were highly valued by the King because of their intellectual skills and mastery of

17161-631: Was very influential in Europe during the High Middle Ages. He also translated many astrology treatises from al-Fargani , Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi , al-Kindi , Aḥmad ibn Yusuf , al-Battani , Thābit ibn Qurra , al-Qabisi , etc. In philosophy he produced Latin translations of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Costa ben Luca 's De differentia spiritus et animae , Al-Farabi , Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron), Al-Ghazali , etc. Overall he's known for his intelligent syntheses, combined with his own observations and interpretations, particularly in astrology. Rudolf of Bruges ,

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