Isaac Ibn-Albalia, a Jewish writer of great dis- tinction, was born at Cordova about 1035. He mani- fested at an early age superior talents and great thirst for learning. Besides the study of the Talmud, and of philosophy, he was eager for the acquisition of a thor- ough knowledge of astronomy and the mathematical sciences, and when thirty years old began a commen- tary on the most difficult parts of the Talmud, under the title Kupat ha-Rochelim, but it was so extensive a work . IV.— U u
that he did not live long enough to complete it. He also attempted an astronomical work on the principle of the Jewish mode of calculating the calendar, under the title Jbbur (about 10G5). Becoming a favorite of the reigning prince of Spain, he was honored with the distinguished position of nasi and grand rabbi of the Jews of that domain. He died about 109-1. See (iriitz, Gesch. d. Jadcn, vi, 72. (J. H. W.) Isaac Ibn-Giat. See Ibx-Giat. Isaac Israeli ben-Josef, a very distinguished Jewish writer who tlourishcd at Toledo in the first half of the 14th century (1300-1340), deserves our notice as the author of Dbi" 1101', ^r The Foundation of the World, a masterly production on JcAvish chronology, including also the entire field of l lie siiciue of astrono- my, both theoretically and pracli.ally ili linrated (ISer- lin, 1777, 4to; and a better edition, iliid. l.s4.s.4to). This work, of which a part of the MS. has been preserved, was written about 1310 at the express wish of Israeli's teacher, Asher ben-Jechiel. He also compiled tables of Jewish chronology under the title of nb3|5fl "I'lD (Zol- kiew, 1805, 8vo, et el.). See Griitz, Gesch. d. Juden, vii, 290; Carmolv, Itineraires, p. 224; B. Goldberg, Isaac Israeli (m the Lib. d. Or. 1845), c. 433-435; Furst, Bih- lioth. Judaica, ii, 150. (J. H. W.)
Isaac Levita, or Johann Isaac Levi, as he call- ed liinisclf after his change from Judaism, one of the most eelelirated Jewish savans of the 16th century, was born at Wetzlar in 1515. He was thoroughly prepared by his friends for the Rabbinical office, and filled it for years with great distinction ; but, becoming impressed with the truthfulness of the Christian interpretation of the Messianic predictions, he and his son both, after a careful and extended study of the prophecies, forsook the faith of their forefathers, and joined the Roman Catholic Church. Some Jewish writers have attributed this course to a desire for promotion in literary cirder, which as a Jew were closed to him. But there is no reason to believe it other than the result of associa- tion with Christians, and the study of the A\Titings of Christian commentators on the prophecies, especially of Isaiah (more particularly chapter liii), which is said first to have led him to a study of the Messianic predic- tions. After his conversion (1546) he was a]ipointed professor of Hebrew and Chaldee at the city of Lowen, and in 1551 was called to a like position in the Univer- sity of Cologne. He became a vigorous defendant of the Hebrew text of the Bible, and replied to Lindanus, who had attacked it (in his De opiimo Scripturas inter- pret audi (jenere, Cologne, 1538), in a work entitled De- fensio Veritatis Jlebrtem sacrarum scripturarum (Col. 1559). He published also the following works on He- brew gramm^j-, which rank among the best in that lan- guage: (1.) An Introduction, to the Hebreic Grammar, and to the Art of Writing a pure Jlebretv style, entitled nsa i"i^i< Xima (Colon. 1553), in which he gave dif- ferent specimens of Hebrew ^vriting, dialogues, and epis- tles, both from the O. T. and other Hebrew Avritings, as well as the books of Obadiah and Jonah in Hebrew, with a Latin tran.slation : — (2.) A grammatical treatise entitled Meditationes Ilehraicm in A rtem Gramm. per integrum librum Ruth explicatfp ; adjecta sunt qiicedam contra D. L Forsteri lexicon (Viihn\. ITioS). which con- sists of a useful analysis and exc( llciit translntidu of the entire book of Ruth :— (3.) Ao/o- in Chun nil Tahdam, etc. (Colon. 1555), being annotations on Clenard's Ta- bles of Hebrew Grammar: — (4.) An excellent introduc- tion to tl e edition of Elias Levita's Chaldee Lexicon, en- titled 'ra^irTa (Colon. 1560). He hkewise translated several scientific works written by Jews into Latin, and was an assistant to Pagnini on his great lexicological work. See Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabb. ; Jbcher, Gelehrt. Lex. Addenda, ii, 2332 sq. ; Rivet, Isagoge ad Sacr. Script. ;
i Hoefer, Xour. Bioq. Gener. xxvi, 10 ; Kitto, Bibl. Cyclop.
i ii, 410. (J. H. W.)
ISAAC PULGAR
674
ISAIAH
Isaac Pulgar. See Pllgar.
Isaac " the Blind," a Jewish writer of the 13th century (from 1190-1-210), is noted as the reputed author of the 'modern cabalistic system. See Cabala. Some writers, as is well known, assert that the Cabala orig- inated \vith him, but this is doubted by the best author- ities, and he is considered only to have been the tirst to give a new impidse to the study of this peculiar philo- sophical system, to oppose the inroads of Maimonides's (q. V.) philosophical interpretation of the Scriptures. It is certain, at least, that he had much to do with one of the mystical booirs of the Cabala, the Jezirah. His theories were fiu-ther developed after his death by his two disciples Ezra and Azariel of Zerona. Gratz {Gesch. d. Juden, vii, 7J: sq., 444 sq.) seems inclined to favor the assertion of Joseph Ibn-(iikatilla, that the Cabala sys- tem was the production of Isaac the Blind, and that nei- ther the sacred Scriptures nor Jewish tradition bear any reference to prove its earlier existence. (J. II. W.)