The Epistle of the Number by Ibn al-A dab

The first edition of The Epistle of the Number, composed in Syracuse, Sicily, at the end of the 14th century. It is the first known Hebrew treatise to include extensive algebraic theories and procedures, exposing novel mathematical vocabulary, and enhancing our understanding of the linguistic mechanisms which helped create scientific vocabulary in medieval Hebrew.

Inhalt

Table of Contents (page 5) Acknowledgments (page 9) Foreword (page 11) Hebrew Abbreviations (page 15) Hebrew and Arabic Transliteration (page 17) Chapter 1: Ibn Al-Ahdab (page 19)

• Introduction (page 19)
• Isaac's life and times (page 19)
• The historical circumstances (page 21)
• People in direct contact with Isaac (page 25)
• Where was Isaac in 1391? (page 28)
• Isaac's works (page 31)
• Isaac's linguistic skills as manifest in the Epistle (page 38)
• The echoes of Isaac's work (page 38)

• Summary (page 40) Chapter 2: The Hebrew and Arabic Epistles (page 43)

• The Arabic source (page 43)

• Table of Contents of The Epistle of the Number (page 46) Chapter 3: A Mathematical Commentary of The Epistle of the Number (page 51)

• The mathematical contents of The Epistle of the Number (page 51)
• A detailed analysis of Book II (page 59)
• Part I: Proportions and scales (page 62)
• Part II: Restoration and opposition (page 67)
• Part III: Problems of practical nature (page 92)
• Appendix I: The role of zero in The Epistle of the Number (page 105)

• Appendix II: Traces of algebra in Hebrew before The Epistle of the Number (page 106) Chapter 4: The Unicum (page 113)

• Cambridge University Library MS Heb. Add. 492: codicological and palaeographical notes (page 113) Chapter 5: An Edition of The Epistle of the Number (page 117)

• Notes to the edition (page 117)
• The Hebrew in the edition (page 117)

• The edition (page 118) Chapter 6: An English Translation of The Epistle of the Number (page 275)

• Notes to the translation (page 275)

• The translation (page 275) Chapter 7: A Lexicon of the Mathematical Terms in Book II (page 443)

• Notes to the lexicon (page 443) Bibliography (page 477) Index (page 485)