ABSTRACT
Saadia Gaon, the major figure in Jewish thought during the Geonic period, is the author of the oldest known text on music written by a Jew. It should be remembered that the science of music became a subject of significant intrinsic intellectual value in Islamic civilization as a result of the vast enterprise of translation of non-Arabic, mainly Greek, texts into Arabic. The paragraph in Kitab al-amanat to be discussed here is not the only reference to music in Saadia’s writings. Of particular importance and interest is his introduction to and commentary on his Arabic translation (sarh) of the book of Psalms. Due to the Psalms’ close relationship to music, Saadia’s sarh contains several references to music, musical performance, and musical instruments. Saadia next states that, taken separately, colors, sounds, and smells do not produce beneficial effect; it is their blending and combination that give joy and pleasure to human beings.
