Deconstructing the Bible : Abraham Ibn Ezra's Introduction to the Torah

Deconstructing the Bible represents the first attempt by a single author to place the great Spanish Jewish Hebrew bible exegete, philosopher, poet, astronomer, astrologer and scientist Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164) in his complete contextual environment. It charts his unusual travels and discusses changes and contradictions in his hermeneutic approach, analysing his vision of the future for the Jewish people in the Christian north of Europe rather than in Muslim Spain. It also examines his influence on subsequent Jewish thought, as well as his place in the wider hermeneutic debate. The book contains a new translation of ibn Ezra's Introduction to the Torah, written in Lucca, northern Italy, together with a full commentary. It will be of interest to a wide variety of scholars, ranging from philosophers and theologians to linguists and students of hermeneutics.

Irene Lancaster is a Biblical scholar and regular contributor to Christian Today. She is Co-Chair with Lord Rowan Williams of the Anglican-Jewish Conversation Group, and Chair of Broughton Park Jewish Christian Dialogue Group, UK. Her most recent book is an English translation of Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen: Between War and Peace by Yedidya HaCohen and Yechiel Frisch. She has also contributed to Rowan Williams’ A Century of Poetry.