ר׳ שמואל בן יהודה אבן תיבון

ר׳ שמואל בן יהודה אבן תיבון (c. 1150–c. 1230) was a Provençal physician, philosopher, biblical exegete and the most influential Hebrew translator of ר׳ משה בן מימון. Born in Lunel to ר׳ יהודה בן שאול אבן תיבון, he learned rabbinic literature, Hebrew, Arabic, medicine and philosophy and inherited the family project of transmitting Judaeo-Arabic scholarship to Hebrew readers. He lived and worked across southern France and travelled to Iberia and Alexandria in search of manuscripts. He corresponded with ר׳ משה בן מימון while translating דלאלת אלחאירין, completing the Hebrew מורה הנבוכים at Arles in 1204. His deliberately technical vocabulary established much of medieval Hebrew philosophical terminology. He also translated writings of ר׳ משה בן מימון, Aristotle and Averroes and wrote original works, especially מאמר יקוו המים, that developed a philosophical interpretation of Scripture and creation. His commentaries helped form a Maimonidean school continued by his son ר׳ משה אבן תיבון and son-in-law ר׳ יעקב אנטולי. Earlier claims of a documented pilgrimage to Jerusalem or burial in Tiberias are not treated as secure.