Joseph Zabara
| Joseph Zabara | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Joseph ben Meïr Ibn Zabara |
| Born |
c. 1140 Barcelona[1] |
| 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:
- The Giant Guest[4]
- The Fox and the Leopard[4]
- The Fox and the Lion[4]
- The Goldsmith who followed his Wife's Counsel[4]
- In Dispraise of Woman[4]
- The Widow and her Husband's Corpse[4]
- The Leopard's Fate[4]
- The Journey Begun by Joseph and Enun[4]
- The Clever Girl and the King's Dream[4]
- The Night's Rest[4]
- The Nobleman and the Necklace[4]
- The Son and the Slave[4]
- The Story of Tobit[4]
- The Paralytic, the Man who Honoured His Father, and He who Adorned the Crucifix[4]
- Table Talk[4]
- The City of Enan[4]
- The Princess and the Rose[4]
- Question and Answer[4]
- Enan Reveals Himself[4]
- Enan's Friend and His Daughter[4]
- The Washerwoman who did the Devil's Work[4]
- Joseph Returns Home to Barcelona[4]
External links
References
- ↑ "Ibn Zabara (or Zabarra), Joseph ben Meir".
- ↑ http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/uid=31/tocnode?id=g9780631187288_chunk_g978063118728814_ss1-45
- 1 2 "JOSEPH ZABARA (Joseph ben Meïr Zabara) - JewishEncyclopedia.com".
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Abrahams, I. (April 1894). "Joseph Zabara and His "Book of Delight"". The Jewish Quarterly Review 6 (3): 502–532.
- 1 2 Weeks, Stuart; Gathercole, Simon; Stuckenbruck, Loren (2004). The Book of Tobit. Walter de Gruyter. p. 57-58.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Joseph Zabara". Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.