ABSTRACT
Whereas Ibn Ḥazm employs the scriptural character of al-Sāmirī to speak of the beloved’s divine-like power and nature, the Hebrew poem we turn to next alludes to Scripture for a decidedly more pessimistic view of the male beloved. Unlike his more upbeat Muslim contemporary, Solomon ibn Gabirol stresses not the positive aspects of his beloved’s character, but the betraying nature of the adored one, and he uses Scripture to do so. In a short and somewhat difficult poem, Ibn Gabirol’s lover compares his beloved’s betrayal of him to the betrayal committed against the city of Shechem by Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). As with Ibn Mar Shaul’s earlier Hebrew poem, which compared the beloved’s treatment of the lover to David’s murder of Uriah, Ibn Gabirol’s verses, when analyzed, reveal a subversive reading of the biblical text embedded here. While the poem ostensibly criticizes Simeon and Levi for their treacherous attack on Shechem, hints in the meter, rhythm, and vocabulary of the poem point to a hidden critique of a less visible character in the biblical account. Namely, analysis of Ibn Gabirol’s poem and its use of the scriptural referent reveal disapproval not for the actions of Simeon and Levi, but of the inaction of their father, Jacob.
