and fully discussed, by Dr. Kaufmann in his Geschichte der Attributenlehre (Gotha, 1877).
An excellent French translation, based on the Arabic original, has been supplied by the regenerator of the Guide, S. Munk. It was published together with the Arabic text (Paris, 1850-1866).
The Moreh has also been translated into the Hungarian language by Dr. Klein. The translation is accompanied by notes (Budapest, 1878-80).
The portion containing the reasons of the Commandments (Part III. ch. xxvi.--xlix.) has been translated into English by James Townley (London, 1827). The translation is preceded by an account on the life and works of Maimonides, and dissertations on various subjects; among others, Talmudical and Rabbinical writings, the Originality of the Institutions of Moses, and Judicial astrology.
III. Commentaries.--It is but natural that in a philosophical work like the Moreh, the reader will meet with passages that at first thought seem unintelligible, and require further explanation, and this want has been supplied by the numerous commentators that devoted their attention to the study of the Moreh. Joseph Solomon del Medigo (1597) saw eighteen Commentaries. The four principal ones he characterizes thus (in imitation of the Hagadah for Passover) : Moses Narboni is rasha', has no piety, and reveals all the secrets of the Moreh. Shem-tob is hakam, wise," expounds and criticises; Crescas is tam, "simple," explains the book in the style of the Rabbis; Epodi is sbe-eno yode'a lisbol, " does not understand to ask," he simply explains in short notes without criticism Miktababuz; ed. A. Geiger, Berlin, 1840, p. i8). The earliest annotations were made by the author himself on those passages, which the first translator of the Moreh was unable to comprehend. They are contained in a letter addressed to Samuel Ibn Tibbon, beginning, lefi siklo ycbuilal isb (Bodl Library, No. 2218, s.; comp. The Guide, etc., I. 21, 343; II. 8, 99). Ibn Tibbon, the translator, likewise added a few notes, which are found in the margin of MSS. of the Hebrew version of the Moreh (on I. xlv. lxxiv.; II. xxiv. ; and III. xlvii.--MSS. BodI. 1252, 1; 1253, 1255, 1257; Brit. Mus. Add. 14,763 and 27,068).
Both translators wrote explanations of the philosophical terms employed in the versions. Harizi wrote his vocabulary first, and Ibn Tibbon, in the introductory remarks, to Perush millot zarot ("Explanation of difficult words"), describes his rival's vocabulary as full of blunders. Ibn Tibbon's Perush is found almost in every copy of his version, both MS. and print; so also Harizi's index of the contents of the chapters of the Moreh (Kavvanat ha-perakim).
The following is an alphabetical list of Commentaries on the Moreh:--
Abarbanel (Don Isaak) wrote a Commentary on I. i.--lv.; II. xxxi.--xlv., and a separate book Shamayim-badasbim, "New Heavens," on II. xix., in which he fully discusses the question concerning Creatio ex nibilo. The opinion of Maimonides is not always accepted. Thus twenty-seven objections are raised against his interpretation of the first chapter of Ezekiel. These objections he wrote at Molin, in the house of R. Abraham Treves Zarfati. The Commentary is followed by a short essay (maamar) on the plan of the Moreh. The method adopted by Abarbanel in all his Commentaries, is also employed in this essay. A series of questions is put forth on the subject, and then the author sets about to answer them. M. J. Landau edited the Commentary without text, with a Preface, and with explanatory notes, called Moreh li-zealdakah (Prag. 1831; MS. BodI. 2385). In addition to these
