Works
Isaac Abravanel developed many works during his lifetime which are often categorized into three groups: exegesis, philosophy, and apologetics. Exegesis refers to biblical commentary, his philosophy dealt with the sciences and how the general field relates to the Jewish religion and traditions, and apologetics defends the Jewish idea of the coming of the Messiah. Abravanel’s exegetic writings were different from the usual biblical commentaries because he took social and political issues of the times into consideration. He believed that mere commentary was not enough, but that the actual lives of the Jewish people must be deliberated on as well when discussing such an important topic as the Bible. He also took the time to include an introduction concerning the character of each book he commented on, as well as its date of composition, and the intention of the original author, in order to make the works more accessible to the average reader.
Christian scholars appreciated the convenience of Abravanel's commentaries, and often used them when preparing their own exegetical writing. This may have had something to do with Abravanel’s openness towards the Christian religion, since he worked closely with Messianic ideas found within Judaism. Because of this, Abravanel’s works were translated and distributed within the world of Christian scholarship.
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