Euclid's Elements in Hebrew Garb. Critical Editions of the Translation by Moses Ibn Tibbon and the Translation Ascribed to Rabbi Jacob, with an Introduction and Glossary. Books I–II

Leiden: Brill, 2021. First edition. Hardcover. Fine. Octavo. ix, (3), 513, (1)pp. Indices and 10 page bibliography. Parallel text in Latin, Hebrew and Arabic. Green buckram lettered in white with red band near top of spine. Illustrated throughout with geometric diagrams. A fine, as new copy.

Euclid's Elements is one of the canonical texts that shaped our cultural heritage. It was translated from Greek into Arabic and from Arabic into Hebrew and Latin. There is little agreement about the textual history of the Arabic translations. The present book (truncated) offers for the first time a critical edition of two Hebrew translations of Books I–II, by Moses Ibn Tibbon and by "Rabbi Jacob". A serious attempt is made to learn from the Hebrew translations also about the history of the Arabic text. The edition of Ibn Tibbon's translation is accompanied by an Arabic text which was probably its source. Rabbi Jacob's translation is compared to the Latin translation ascribed to Adelard of Bath, probably based on the same Arabic tradition. (Publisher)

Contents: Introduction. Background : the Hebrew elements -- origins and reception -- The translation ascribed to Rabbi Jacob -- The translation by Moses Ibn Tibbon -- RJ and MIT : independent or related? -- The edition -- Appendix I: The textual hybridity of RJ : examples -- Appendix II: Differences between the diagrams of RJ and I/T for which there is no apparent explanation -- Appendix III: A comparison of the diagrams in RJ that are different from those in I/T with the diagrams in other Ḥajjājian texts -- Appendix IV: Examples of literalism and non-literalism in MIT.

Volume 88 in the Brill series "Etudes sur la Judaisme Medieval." (EJM). (Inventory #: 52359)