Shlomo Sela
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Shlomo Sela is Professor in the Department of Jewish Thought, Bar Ilan University. He is one of the finest world specialists of history of medieval astrology. Proficient in hebrew, arabic, latin (and 6 others languages), his work focuses on critical edition (and translations) of the astrological volumes written by Abraham Ibn Ezra, an exceptional scholar of the 12th century.
Research interests
Reception of Greco-Arabic science by medieval Jewish society; Jewish Medieval Science; Jewish Medieval Astrology; Abraham Ibn Ezra’s scientific, philosophical and exegetical work.
Key Publications
Abraham Ibn Ezra on Nativities and Continuous Horoscopy, A Parallel Hebrew English Critical Edition of the Book of Nativities and the Book of Revolution, Brill Academic Publishers, 2013.
A Newly Identified Essay on Anniversary Horoscopy Embedded in Abraham Bar Hiyya’s Astronomical Tables: Hebrew Edition, Translation and Commentary, Aleph, 2013.
Maimonides and Māshāʾallāh on the Ninth Orb of the Signs and Astrology, Aleph, 2012.
Abraham Ibn Ezra on Elections, Interrogations and Medical Astrology, A Parallel Hebrew English Critical Edition of the Book of Elections, the Book of Interrogations and the Book of the Luminaries, Brill Academic Publishers, 2011.
Queries on Astrology Sent from Southern France to Maimonides, Critical Edition of the Hebrew Text, Translation and Commentary, Aleph, 2004.
The main objective is to produce critical editions, accompanied with translation and commentary, of Abraham Ibn Ezra’s astrological writings, based on a scrutiny of Hebrew, Latin and Arabic manuscripts conserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and other libraries in Paris, related to the following topics:
(1) Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Hebrew introductions to astrology: Reshit Hokhmah (Beginning of Wisdom), the most voluminous and most famous component of Ibn Ezra’s astrological corpus (8 manuscripts in BNF); Sefer Mishpetei ha-Mazzalot (Book of the Judgments of the Zodiacal Signs), an introduction to astrology which is significantly different from Reshit Hokhmah (2 manuscripts in BNF); The recently discovered second version of Reshit Hokhmah.
(2) Abraham Ibn Ezra’s astrological works which did not survive in Hebrew but are extant today in Latin translation, or were directly composed in Latin with Abraham Ibn Ezra’s collaboration: Liber de Nativitatibus (at least 2 manuscripts in libraries in Paris); Nativitatum; Liber Eleccionum and Liber Interrogacionum.
(3) Latin Astrological works which are considered to fall within the sphere of Abraham Ibn Ezra’s astrological work: Epitome totius astrologiae, a popular Latin astrological work, dated at least in part to 1142
 Workshop organized by S. Sela (Paris IAS fellow) Talk by S. Sela (Paris IAS fellow) |
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