IBN 'EZRĀ' ABRĀHĀM ben MĒ'ĪR. – Grammarian, biblical commentator, poet, philosopher, and astrologer, born in Toledo (Castile) or in Tudela (Navarre) around 1092, died, according to tradition, at Calahora in 1167. He emigrated, to escape the persecutions of the Jews, before 1140. He subsequently lived in Qajrawān and in Rome in 1140, where he wrote a commentary on the Ecclesiastē, followed by commentaries on the other four “scrolls” and by a Hebrew grammar (Mōznajīm, “Balance”).
He composed other works around 1144 in Lucca. In 1145 he completed his commentary on Isaia; in the same year he moved to Mantua, where he composed another grammatical work. The Italian Jews, devoted to Talmudic studies, did not appreciate the scholarly activity of I. 'E. In 1155 he went to Provence and was received there, especially at Béziers, with many honors. At Rodez (southern France) he completed his commentaries on Daniele, the Salmi, and the twelve minor prophets. In 1157 he completed his commentary on the Pentateuch, which was debated because it was not entirely in conformity with the Talmudic tradition. In 1158 he composed in London the work Jēšōdh mārā'. In 1160 he wrote an astrological work at Narbonne. He then went to Rome. The life of I. 'E. was one of wandering, intense labor, and poverty, of which he himself speaks with a touch of irony.
As a poet, he is too much of a grammarian to allow himself linguistic liberties. Many poems are liturgical in character. At times he treats of the struggle between body and spirit and teaches the acceptance of the vicissitudes of life with serenity. At other times he recalls the past glories of Israel and, as a son of his age, seeks to deduce from the prophetic visions the beginning of the messianic era.
His philosophical ideas are scattered throughout his biblical commentaries. His exclusively philosophical work is the aforementioned Jēšōdh mārā' (“The foundation of fear”). I. 'E. is a follower of Ibn Gēbhirōl. In his psychology one finds the influence of al-Fārābī, the Neoplatonists, and the Pythagoreans, reflected in Arab philosophy. God is creator insofar as he transforms prime matter through emanation. The world of the celestial bodies occupies an intermediate position between the primordial foundation of all things and the sensible world, in which three spheres must be distinguished: those of minerals, plants, and living beings. At the head of the last sphere stands man, whose soul is an emanation. Divine Providence extends over the laws governing the universe, so that man can exercise his own will. The sensible world depends on the constellation of the celestial bodies, and only
the soul of one who has transcended sensual nature depends directly on God.