RT Article
T1 In Search of Inspiration: Translating Ilhām in the Hebrew Tradition of Themistius’s Paraphrase of Aristotle’s Metaphysics 12 and Related Texts
JF Henoch
VO 44
IS 1
SP 170
OP 209
A1 Meyrav, Yoav
LA English
PB Ed. Morcelliana
YR 2022
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1853931780
AB The present paper examines how medieval Hebrew translators, scribes, and scholars engaged with the Arabic term ilhām (divine inspiration) in different contexts. The launching point for discussion is the term’s perplexing appearance in the Arabic translation of Themistius’s paraphrase of Aristotle’s Metaphysics 12, in which it marks the actualization of form in the process of biological generation. The occurrence confused the Hebrew scholars, who rendered it into Hebrew by several terms. An examination of other texts and manuscripts reveals that over twenty terms were used to translate ilhām, effectively eliminating its original semantic field and infusing it with various new meanings. This complex case study enables us to retrace various practices of translation, copying, and interpretation, which are emblematic of medieval Hebrew philosophical activity.
K1 Medieval Hebrew Philosophy
K1 Tibbon
K1 Gersonides
K1 Judah Halevi
K1 Averroes