1
/
of
1
Black Dragon Publishing LLC
Sepher Yetzirah
Sepher Yetzirah
Regular price
$0.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$0.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
This the first edition of the Sepher Yetzirah, or The Book of Creation, that was published by William Wynn Westcott in 1887. There were 2 other editions by this translator after this edition. It has also been called the Book of Formation. This text is the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah. "Yetzirah" is more literally translated as "Formation".
The book is traditionally ascribed to the patriarch Abraham, although others attribute its writing to Rabbi Akiva. Modern scholars haven't reached consensus on the question of its origins.
The famous opening words of the book are as follows:
By thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom Jah has engraved [all things], [who is] the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the living God, the Almighty God, He that is uplifted and exalted, He that Dwells forever, and whose Name is holy; having created His world by three [derivatives] of [the Hebrew root-word] sefar : namely, sefer (a book), sefor (a count) and sippur (a story), along with ten calibrations of empty space, twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet], [of which] three are principal [letters] (i.e. ? ? ?), seven are double-sounding [consonants] (i.e. ??"? ???"?) and twelve are ordinary [letters] (i.e. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?).[3]
The book is traditionally ascribed to the patriarch Abraham, although others attribute its writing to Rabbi Akiva. Modern scholars haven't reached consensus on the question of its origins.
The famous opening words of the book are as follows:
By thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom Jah has engraved [all things], [who is] the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the living God, the Almighty God, He that is uplifted and exalted, He that Dwells forever, and whose Name is holy; having created His world by three [derivatives] of [the Hebrew root-word] sefar : namely, sefer (a book), sefor (a count) and sippur (a story), along with ten calibrations of empty space, twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet], [of which] three are principal [letters] (i.e. ? ? ?), seven are double-sounding [consonants] (i.e. ??"? ???"?) and twelve are ordinary [letters] (i.e. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?).[3]
Share
