Philosopher
Joseph Ibn Kaspi
c. 1280 – 1345
Also known as Joseph Kaspi, Joseph ben Abba Mari ibn Kaspi
Provençal exegete who wrote some thirty works explaining the Bible through philosophy, using logic and the study of Hebrew as tools for reading Scripture.
Joseph Ibn Kaspi was born around 1280, probably in Arles. In 1314 he spent five months in Egypt, hoping to learn from Maimonides’ descendants, but found them devout and uninterested in science. Back in Provence, living in Arles and then Tarascon, he finished Silver Tower in 1317, which drew sharp criticism from other scholars.
In 1330 he moved to Spain, living in Perpignan, Barcelona, Majorca, Valencia and Tudela, and he died in Majorca in 1345. He wrote a supercommentary on Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Bible commentary, and much of his large output remains unpublished or lost.
Key ideas
- Scripture conveys philosophy
- In Kaspi’s commentaries philosophy is both a method and a body of conclusions: the conclusions the Bible’s author meant to convey to the reader.
- God is intellect
- Kaspi took God to be intellect knowing itself, and since our minds are intellect in act, to think rightly is to bring God into one’s mind. He even compared this account of intellect, knower and known with the Christian Trinity.
- Logic and language for exegesis
- Some of his works treat logic and linguistics as methods fit for interpreting the Bible, applying philosophical principles to the way he explained Hebrew words.
- Tradition
- Jewish
- Region
- Provence and Spain
- Period
- Provence and Spain
Influences
Where these links come from
- Joseph Ibn Kaspi drew on Maimonides. Source: Hannah Kasher and Moshe Kahan, Joseph Kaspi, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Joseph Ibn Kaspi drew on Abraham Ibn Ezra. Source: Hannah Kasher and Moshe Kahan, Joseph Kaspi, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Key works
- Silver Tower (Tirat Kesef), 1317
- Sefer ha-Mussar
Sources
- Hannah Kasher and Moshe Kahan, Joseph Kaspi, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy