Translator
He translated Baḥya ibn Paḳuda's ethical work "Hobot ha-Lebabot" from Arabic into Hebrew; and he turned Solomon ibn Gabirol's "Mibḥar ha-Peninim" into metrical form under the title "Sheḳel ha-Kodesh." Of the translation only a fragment has been preserved, which has been published by Jellinek in Benjacob's edition of Ibn Tibbon's translation of that work (Leipsic, 1846); the "Sheḳel" is still unprinted. In his translation, aiming chiefly at elegance of expression, Ḳimḥi does not keep to the original. He works too independently and, carrying into the work his own spirit, he often obscures the thought of the author. Notwithstanding its defects, his translation is not without merit. It has contributed to a better understanding of the Arabic authors, and is, therefore, to be considered in a certain sense as supplementing the works of the Tibbonides.
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