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593 Bat Kol Batalyusi

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

593

BA^ALTUSI, AL-HAFIZ ABTT MOHAM-

MED ABD ALLAH IBN MOHAMMED IBN AL-SID AL

Arabian philologist born at Badajos (whence his name Al-Batalyusi = native of Badajos) in the second half of the eleventh century died at Valencia in 1127 (compare Hartwig Derenbourg in " Revue Etudes Juives," vii. 274-279; Steinschneider, "Hebr. Uebers." § 156). According to the Arabian biographers, Batalyusi was head of the philological school at Valencia, where "his lectures attracted crowds of pupils" (Hm Hallikan, ed. Slane, ii. 61; Haji Halifa, e d. Fliigel, vii. 1666, No. 6259). Besides many works on grammar and philology, which are enumerated by his biographers, there is ascribed to him a philosophical treatise entitled "Al-Hada'ik" (The Orchard), on the resemblance of the world to an





intellectual circle (" dairat al-wahami-

Credited yat"). This work, translated from with Philo- Arabic into Hebrew by Moses ibn Tibsophical bon under the title, "Ha-'Aggulot haRa'yoniyot " (The Intellectual Circles), Treatise.

was pest, 1880),

edited

by D. Kaufmann (Buda-

with a long introduction in which he

attempts to show the traces of Batalyusi's theories In Kaufmann 's opinion, Hai in Jewish philosophy. Gaon used Batalyusi's work, as appears from a passage quoted by Moses Botarel in his commentary on the " Sefer Yezirah " (iv. 2). Bahya copied the very words of Batalyusi in speaking of the numbers C" Ho-

The expression m^yfl) is found

botha-Lebabot,"viii.).

"intellectual

circles" (ni^3E^l»n

in

Gabirol's

"Mekor Hayyim" (Munk, "Melanges de Philosophic Juive et Arabe," iv. 1). Judah ha-Levi expresses himself in a similar way to Batalyusi on the gradation of the intelligences ("Cuzari," ed. Abraham ibn Ezra, in his comHirschfeld, v. 20). mentary on the Pentateuch (Ex. iii. 15), takes the same view that Batalyusi does on the decimal numerIbn Zaddik speaks also of the ation. Kaufsymbolic signification of the numbers

mann's ("'Olam Katan," ed. Jellinek, p. 49). Comment. Abraham ibn Daud was influenced by Batalyusi when he says that the nonexistence of the number one can not even be supposed ("Emunah Ramah," ed. Weil, p. 48). The whole system of the negative attributes, the theory of the omniscience of God, and the doctrine of free-will

expounded

borrowed from " The The Jewish philosophers

in the " Moreh " are

Intellectual Circles." that directly quoted Batalyusi's work, or used it without mention, are Joseph ibn Kaspi, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Samuel ibn Zarzah, Frat Maimon, Simon Duran, Joel ibn Shoeib, Moses ibn Habib,

and Isaac Abravanel. Gazzali's work, "Al-Kistas al-Mustakim," is, in Kaufmann's opinion, a simple Derenplagiarism of "The Intellectual Circles." bourg, in an article on Batalyusi ("Revue Etudes Juives," I.e.), demonstrates that the latter lived in the second half of the eleventh century, and not in the tenth century, as Kaufmann thought; consequently Hai Gaon, Ibn Gabirol, and Bahya, in spite of the parallels, could not have made use of Batalyusi's work.

There are, however, many reasons for believing that Batalyusi never wrote the work in question. First, the very fact that none of the Arabic biog-

II.— 38

raphers and bibliographers mention "The Orchard," but represent Batalyusi as a grammarian only, is alone sufficient to cast doubt upon the Reasons assertion that he was the author of a Against valuable philosophical work while in

His Au-

his

own field —that is,

in his philologic-

works, several of which are extant he evidences a lamentable mediocrity. As Kaufmann does not mention that the translator converted quotations of the Koran and of the Islamic traditions into Biblical and Talmudical ones which would, moreover, be a difficult task, beyond the power of Moses ibn Tibbon it must be supposed that these Biblical quotations are in the original, and consequently could not have been written by a Mussulman. References to the sacrifices (which occur in several passages for example, p. 48) are also entirely of a Jewish character. Further, the arrangement of the book and the treatment of the subj ects bear a Jewish stamp. But even if the original had Koranic quotations, it would be difficult to assign this book to the beginning of the twelfth century; for it would naturally have been mentioned by some writer before the thirteenth century, especially by Ibn Daud, who in using it would have quoted its author as he quotes Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and others. It may safely be asserted that this work was written at the beginning of the thirteenth century by a Jew, or at least by an Arab, who, like Al-Tabrizi, was well acquainted with Jewish philosophy, especially with that expounded in and the association the " Guide of the Perplexed " of Batalyusi's name with this book can be easily tb.orsb.ip.

al

—

—





explained.

As Kaufmann states in his introduction, the greater part of the existing manuscripts of "The Intellectual Circles " bears the name Confusion with the

"Almagest."

of Ptolemseus (DVotaa). which Kaufmann considers to be a corrupted spelling of Batalyusi ('01^132). Joseph ibn Kaspi (born 1280), who was the

p.

first to

10).

("

21, 140) bears at the head,

Circles of PtolemEeus

phon,

quote this work, has also

'Ammude Kesef," ed. Werbluner, The British Museum MS. (Cod. Add.

"Ptolemaus"

"

End

of the

"

"Book

of the Intellectual

(DI'D^tD^), and at the colo-

Book

of the Intellectual Circles

of Ptolemseus [ic&tsaf'], or, According to Others, of Abu Nasr " (Al-Farabi). The doubt concerning the authorship- expressed in this colophon proves that there were copies which bore either Al-Farabi's name, The fact or, what is more probable, no name at all. that there is not a single word of introduction in the book by the author seems to confirm the last supIt is therefore probable that some one, in position. superficially examining the book, on finding representations of circles, thought of Ptolemseus' astronomical work, " Almagest," and accordingly inserted

name of Ptolemseus (DTO^m ?) as author. This Ptolemseus became later Batalyusi (DvS>B2) through 1

the

the error of some copyist, who, by chance, knew the name of the philologist Batalyusi, but not that of Ptolemajus, and considered the " mem " as a repetition of the "yod" and "waw," the "mem" being in

many manuscripts and "waw."

easily

confounded with

"

yod

"