Introduction

Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed is the greatest and most influential work in Jewish philosophy. It directly influenced Aquinas, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and the history of Jewish philosophy takes a decisive turn after the appearance of the Guide, in the wake of its Hebrew translation. Aquinas refers to “Rabbi Moyses” when he develops his own theory of analogical predication, and Spinoza has Maimonides and the Guide squarely in focus in the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, when he presents his own theory of biblical interpretation.