Ohr Amim. [“Light of the Nations” - philosophy].

Auction 94 | Thursday, June 17th, 2021 at 11:00am

Rare & Excellent Hebrew Printed Books: From the Library of Arthur A. Marx

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Lot 409

SFORNO, OVADIAH.

Ohr Amim. [“Light of the Nations” - philosophy].

<<FIRST EDITION>>. Initial word within decorative frame. <<Wide-margined copy.>> ff. 64. Opening and closing leaf laid to size, last page stained, f. 63 with few words lacking supplied in facsimile. Modern calf. Sm. 4to. Vinograd, Bologna 8.

Bologna: The Company of Silk Weavers 1537

Est: $3,000 - $5,000

PRICE REALIZED $2,000

Ovadiah Sforno of Bologna (known in Latin as Salvadeus, ca. 1470-ca. 1550) was a physician by profession. Primarily known for his commentaries to the Torah and other parts of the Bible, Sforno wrote the present volume to refute the views of Aristotle which he held to be in contradiction with many of the fundamental principles of Judaism. Sforno quotes abundantly from Muslim philosophers Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and al-Ghazali. A Latin translation of this work appeared under the title Lumen Gentium (Bologna, 1548). See R. Bonfil, Eshel, Be’er Sheva, Vol. I, pp. 208-211; EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 1209-10. The first of only nine books printed by the Jewish Silk Weaver’s Guild of Bologna. See D. Amram, The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy, pp. 232-35.