8. THE AIM AND STRUCTURE OF STEINSCHNEIDER’S DIE HEBRAEISCHEN ÜBERSETZUNGEN DES MITTELALTERS. THE HISTORIOGRAPHIC UNDERPINNINGS OF A MASTERPIECE AND THEIR UNTOWARD CONSEQUENCES*

Gad Freudenthal

Moritz Steinschneider’s Die Hebraeischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters of 1893 is a monumental work from all points of view and has probably done more for the advancement of our knowledge of medieval Jewish intellectual history than any other single scholarly book. Even today, more than one hundred years after its publication, no research on medieval Hebrew learning is possible without constantly referring to Die Hebraeischen Übersetzungen. And yet, I will suggest that the work’s structure follows from an implicit historiographic agenda that has had untoward consequences on historical scholarship, which a different structure would have guided onto fruitful and still largely neglected avenues of research.

1. Identifying the Question to which Die Hebraeischen Übersetzungen Is the Answer

Let us begin by asking: What is the question to which Steinschneider’s work is the answer? Our point of departure is the structure of Die Hebraeischen Übersetzungen:1

* I am grateful to Reimund Leicht for his very pertinent suggestions on an earlier version. 1 The following Table of Contents is detailed in the beginning and less so after- ward; it would have been cumbersome and not necessarily very useful to present it in all detail. 192 gad freudenthal

[INTRODUCTION:] General Considerations

PART ONE: PHILOSOPHY Chapter 1: The Greeks Aristotle: A. Logic: al-Fârâbî; : a. Short commentaries on the Organon (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary on the Organon (including all commentators); c. Long commentary on the Organon (including all commentators). B. Physical writings: I. Physics: Averroes: a. Short commentary (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commentators); c. Long commentary (including all commentators). II. De caelo: Themistius; Averroes: a. Short commentary (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commenta- tors). III. De gen. et corr.: Averroes: a. Short commentary (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commentators). IV. Meteorologica: Samuel Ibn Tibbon; Averroes: a. Summa (includ- ing commentators); Short commentary (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commentators). V. De minera- libus. VI. De plantis: Nicolaus of Damascus, Averroes. VII. De ani- malibus. VIII. De anima: Averroes: a. Short commentary (including all commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commenta- tors); c. Long commentary (including all commentators); Alexander of Aphrodisias. IX. Parva naturalia. C. Metaphysics : al-Fârâbî; Aristotle translated from Latin; Aver- roes: a. Short commentary (including commentators); b. Middle commentary (including all commentators); c. Long commentary; Themistius. D. Questiones. E. Ethics. F. Pseudo-Aristotle. Chapter 2: Arabs Averroes; ; Bataljusi; Qusta Ibn Luqa; al-Fârâbî; al-Ghazzali; ; Ali Ibn Ridwân; Ibn al-Saig; Tabrizi; Ibn Tufayl. Chapter 3: Jews Abraham Ibn Daud; Bahya Ibn Paqudah; David Ibn Marwan al-Qumsi; Ibn Gabirol; Isaac Israeli; Judah Halevi; Judah ben Nissim; Joseph Ibn Aqnin; Joseph Ibn Zaddik; Moses Abulafia; Moses Ibn Ezra; ; Saadiah; Ps.-Abraham Ibn Ezra. Karaites: Joseph al-Qirqisâni; Joseph b. Abraham; Jeshua b. Judah. Chapter 4: Christians Adelard of Bath; Aegidius; Albertus Magnus; Boethius; Th. Bricot; Marsil- ius ab Ingen; William of Ockham; Petrus Hispanus; Piccolomini; Raymund Lull; Robert of Lincoln; John Duns Scotus; Michael Scot; Thomas Aqui- nas; Versor; Vincent of Beauvais. Excerpts prepared by Judah Romano. Appendix: Logical writings.