Joseph Zabara
Joseph Zabara | |
|---|---|
| Joseph ben Meïr Ibn Zabara | |
| Born | c. 1140 |
| Died | c. 1200 Barcelona[2] |
| Nationality | Spanish |
Joseph ben Meïr Ibn Zabara (c. 1140 - c. 1200) was a Spanish physicist, poet and satirist.[3] He studied in Narbonne under Joseph Kimhi, the founder of the prominent Kimhi family.[4] The only known work of his is the Sefer Sha'ashu'im, or in English, the Book of Delight.[4] The two first known manuscripts were published by Isaac Arish in Constantinople in 1577, and one in 15th Century Paris,[5] but the book is thought to have been finished around 1200.[4] It contains a series of stories and fables, modeled after the Kalilah wa-Dimnah.[3] It also bears similarities to Arabian Nights.[5]
Zabara was probably the first to write Hebrew in rhymed prose, with interspersed snatches of verse, a form used by Arabian poets.[4] The book is thought to be semi-autobiographical, and similarities can been seen in the book and Zabara's life.[4] His work in some sections is philogynist, while in other parts he writes misogynist satires.[4] The work is a unique case, it being the earliest known European series of fables and witticisms that were partly of Indian and Greek extraction.[4]
List of Fables
His fables are as listed below:
External links
References
- ^ "Ibn Zabara (or Zabarra), Joseph ben Meir".
- ^ http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/uid=31/tocnode?id=g9780631187288_chunk_g978063118728814_ss1-45
- ^ a b "JOSEPH ZABARA (Joseph ben Meïr Zabara) - JewishEncyclopedia.com".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Abrahams, I. (April 1894). "Joseph Zabara and His "Book of Delight"". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 6 (3): 502–532.
- ^ a b Weeks, Stuart; Gathercole, Simon; Stuckenbruck, Loren (2004). The Book of Tobit. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 57–58.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Joseph Zabara". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
