Sefer ha-Bahir §§ 192-193 -- the kept teachings and the stone of Israel

Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance · Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah)

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About Sefer ha-Bahir §§ 192-193 -- the kept teachings and the stone of Israel

Sefer ha-Bahir §§ 192-193 follows the patriarchs into the grade of the righteous. § 192: because Abraham "kept My commandments, My statutes, and My **teachings** (torotai)" (Genesis 26:5), the plural includes "even the **rulings and the [dialectical] argumentations (pilpulin) that are kept above**" -- Abraham "knew them and fulfilled them" (the whole Oral Torah). § 193: "from there the shepherd, the **stone of Israel**" (Genesis 49:24) -- the stone is "nourished" from "the **supernal righteous one (tzaddik elyon)" (Yesod), which is "the great hidden light" and "socheret"; the stone set below it is "dar"; and the "horns" are again "the five fingers of the right hand" (Habakkuk 3:4).

Abraham keeping even the reasoning of the heavenly academy; and the tzaddik (Yesod) as the channel of the hidden light to the stone (the Shekhinah / Malkhut) below. This is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction; the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) remains under copyright.

Sefer ha-Bahir 192-193 -- the kept teachings and the stone of Israel

Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance

ספר הבהיר · קצב-קצג

canonical late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna) Hebrew Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-Kanah) tr. Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)

Abraham and the grade of the righteous. Because Abraham kept even “My teachings” — the rulings and dialectics of the heavenly academy, the whole Oral Torah (§ 192); and the stone of Israel nourished from the supernal righteous one (Yesod), the great hidden light, “socheret,” with the stone “dar” set below, and the horns as the five fingers of the right hand (§ 193).

A provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim from the Hebrew Wikisource transcription; the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) is under copyright.

מצותי חקותי ותורותי (שם כ”ו ה) אמר הואיל ולא חפצתי בה אשמור מצותיה, ומאי תורתי, אלא אפי’ הוראת ופלפולין שמורין למעלה הוא ידעם וקיימם:
‘My commandments, My statutes, and My teachings’ (Genesis 26:5) — he said: since I did not desire it, I will keep its commandments. And what is ‘My teachings (torotai)’? Rather, even the rulings and the [dialectical] argumentations that are kept above — he knew them and fulfilled them.
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
ומאי משם רועה אבן ישראל (בראשית מ”ט כד) שמשם נזון אבן ישראל ומאי משם, הוי אומר צדיק עליון, ומה הוא היינו האור הגדול הצפון, והיינו סוחרת, והאבן שדרה למטה הימנה נקרא דר, ומאי הוא קרנים שנאמר (חבקוק ג’ ד) קרנים מידו לו, היינו חמש אצבעות של יד ימין:
And what is ‘from there the shepherd, the stone of Israel’ (Genesis 49:24)? That from there the stone of Israel is nourished. And what is ‘from there’? Say: the supernal righteous one (tzaddik elyon). And what is it? It is the great hidden light; and it is ‘socheret,’ and the stone that is set below it is called ‘dar.’ And what are the ‘horns’? As it is said (Habakkuk 3:4), ‘horns from his hand to him’ — these are the five fingers of the right hand.
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
An orientation

This edition sets the verbatim Hebrew beside a fresh English rendering and a critical apparatus: a running commentary on the passage, notes on the controlled vocabulary and the rendering chosen for each term, and cross-references to the lexicon and to related sections. It is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor.

Controlled terms noted in this passage: tzaddik (rendered as yesod). For each, the apparatus carries the sense set and the reason for the rendering chosen.

Apparatus
Tradition
jewish-mysticism
Language
Hebrew
Period
late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna)
Attribution
Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah)
Translator
Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)
License
Underlying Bahir text public domain by age; digital Hebrew transcription from Hebrew Wikisource (CC-BY-SA) via Sefaria, credited; English rendering and apparatus CC-BY-SA-4.0
Provenance
The Sefer ha-Bahir is a late-12th-century work, in the public domain by age. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim from the Hebrew Wikisource transcription (CC-BY-SA), retrieved via Sefaria and credited accordingly. This English rendering and its apparatus are a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) remains under copyright.

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Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah). "Sefer ha-Bahir §§ 192-193 -- the kept teachings and the stone of Israel." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. Last modified May 2, 2026. https://hekhal.org/texts/sefer-ha-bahir-192-193-targum.
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