ABSTRACT
Because ibn Ezra is so difficult to decipher, it might be useful at this juncture to offer an appraisal of how he has been received through the ages. The history of ibn Ezra’s reception is almost as fascinating as ibn Ezra’s own work. Perhaps more than any other exegete, ibn Ezra has been turned into an idol, either to be worshipped or execrated, as the case may be. To recount his fate at the hands of those following him is to gain insight into the intellectual battles within Judaism which have contributed so much to our present understanding of ibn Ezra.
