Isaac Abarbanel 1437 – 1508
Isaac Abarbanel (1437 – 1508) was a Spanish-Portuguese philosopher of the Modern era, associated with Jewish Philosophy and Renaissance.
Isaac Abarbanel was a Spanish-Portuguese Jewish philosopher, statesman, and biblical commentator of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, who served as treasurer to King Alfonso V of Portugal and to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain before being expelled with his community in the great Sephardic exile of 1492. His commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, written in the years of his wandering through Italy, fused Maimonidean philosophical exegesis with a strong messianic and political-philosophical reflection occasioned by the expulsion. The Crown of the Ancients, the Wells of Salvation, and the Inheritance of the Fathers offered the most ambitious Jewish philosophical theology of the Iberian late Middle Ages.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Spanish-Portuguese
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Jewish Philosophy, Renaissance
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Isaac Abarbanel:
“A people without a homeland must carry its commonwealth in its books.”
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Attributed to Isaac Abarbanel:
“Messianic hope is not the abandonment of present politics; it is the form in which present politics keeps faith with the future.”
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Attributed to Isaac Abarbanel:
“The wise reader of the Torah is also a reader of his own age.”
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Attributed to Isaac Abarbanel:
“Exile is a sharper teacher than any classroom.”
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Attributed to Isaac Abarbanel:
“What we have lost in Iberia we may yet build in our minds and in our communities.”
Frequently asked about Isaac Abarbanel
- When did Isaac Abarbanel live?
- Isaac Abarbanel was born in 1437 and died in 1508.
- Where was Isaac Abarbanel from?
- Isaac Abarbanel was a Spanish-Portuguese philosopher of the Modern era.
- What philosophical movements is Isaac Abarbanel associated with?
- Isaac Abarbanel was associated with Jewish Philosophy and Renaissance.
- What was Isaac Abarbanel known for?
- Isaac Abarbanel was a Spanish-Portuguese Jewish philosopher, statesman, and biblical commentator of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, who served as treasurer to King Alfonso V of Portugal and to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain before being expelled with his community in the great Sephardic exile of 1492.
- How many quotes are attributed to Isaac Abarbanel?
- There are 5 attributed quotations from Isaac Abarbanel in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.