Maimonides' "Guide of the Perplexed" in Translation

A History from the Thirteenth Century to the Twentieth

Stern Josef, Robinson James T., Shemesh Yonatan

Moses Maimonides's "Guide of the Perplexed" is the greatest philosophical text in the history of Jewish thought and a major work of the Middle Ages. For almost all of its history, however, the Guide has been read and commented upon in translation – in Hebrew, Latin, Spanish, French, English, and other modern languages – rather than in its original Judeo-Arabic. This volume is the first to tell the story of the translations and translators of Maimonides' Guide and its impact in translation on philosophy from the Middle Ages to the present day. A collection of essays by scholars from a range of disciplines, the book unfolds in two parts. The first traces the history of the translations of the Guide, from medieval to modern renditions. The second surveys its influence in translation on Latin scholastic, early modern, and contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, as well as its impact in translation on current scholarship. Interdisciplinary in approach, this book will be essential reading for philosophers, historians, and religious studies scholars alike.

About the Author

Josef Stern is the William H. Colvin Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Chicago and the founding director of its Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies. His books include "The Matter and Form of Maimonides' 'Guide'".

James T. Robinson is the Caroline E. Haskell Professor of the History of Judaism, Islamic Studies, and the History of Religions at the University of Chicago. He is the author or editor of several books, including "The Cultures of Maimonideanism".

Yonatan Shemesh is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago completing his dissertation on Moses Narboni's fourteenth-century commentary on the Guide of the Perplexed.

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