Crescas, Asher (Bonan) ben Abraham

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CRESCAS, ASHER (Bonan) BEN ABRAHAM

CRESCAS, ASHER (Bonan ) BEN ABRAHAM (first half of 15th century), author of religious and philosophical commentaries. Crescas lived in Provence. Before 1438 he wrote a commentary on Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, first printed with the Sabbioneta edition of 1553. In his commentary he quotes Shem Tov Ibn *Falaquera's Moreh ha-Moreh, a treatise by *Jedaiah ha-Penini (perhaps his Midbar Kedemot to the 25 propositions of Maimonides), Joseph *Caspi, *Levi b. Gershom, and *Alḥarizi's translation of the Guide. Crescas also wrote Avvat Nefesh, a supercommentary on Abraham *Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, extant in numerous manuscripts. Steinschneider identifies Crescas with Asher b. Abraham, the author of several liturgical writings still in manuscript in Cod. Paris 706.

bibliography:

Steinschneider, Uebersetzungen, 425; Steinschneider, Arab Lit, 206; idem, Berliner Festschrift (1903), 351; A. Berliner, Peletat Soferim (Ger. and Heb., 1872), 43; Benjacob, Oẓar, 31, no. 614, 310, no. 802; Zunz, Lit Poesie, Supplement, 43.

[Moshe Nahum Zobel]