[Spanish theologian and philosopher. He was born about 1380, and died about 1444. His philosophic treatise entitled ‘Ikkarim (Principles) is one of the great favorites of Hebrew readers. He has a clear style, and makes himself readily understood. It is no doubt due to this characteristic that he supplanted his master Hisdai Crescas, author of Or ha-Shem (Light of the Lord).]

The Various Ranks of Prophecy^[234]

Although all the words of the prophets are doubtless true, nevertheless the degree of the exactitude of a prophet’s words corresponds to his rank and degree in prophecy. There are many prophets who, because of the weakness of their perception, do not perceive things with sufficient clarity. For that which happens to the perceptions of the senses happens also to the perceptions of the prophets: a man whose senses are healthy and strong perceives objects in their exact form, while one whose senses are feeble does not perceive them in their exact form, and perceives only their species, or their genus, without being able to distinguish the species. Thus a man with a strong sense of sight recognizes a color, which he perceives, as it actually is (as, for instance, red or green); he likewise recognizes the degree of redness or greenness. But one whose sense of sight is weak recognizes only the genus, that is to say, that it is a color, and no more; and even if he recognizes the species, that is to say, that it is red or green, he does not know what degree of redness or greenness it is. The same is the case with the sense of hearing and with the other senses. This very thing happens to the prophets as regards their perception. One whose perception is strong perceives the thing as it actually is without a metaphor; his words are explicit, not obscure, and are therefore to be understood as true according to their plain meaning. But the words of a prophet of a lower degree are obscure, couched in riddles and parables, and are not explicit; they are therefore not true according to their plain meaning, but only according to the idea implied in them; for according to the literal sense, something else, different from that which is conveyed by the words, is to be understood. Thou thus findest that Ezekiel, his prophecies being postexilic, spoke in parables and riddles which were not true according to their plain meaning, so that he complained of this to God, who is blessed, and said: ‘They say of me: “Is he not a maker of parables?”’^[235] Zechariah, likewise, having flourished toward the end of the prophetic period, all his prophecies were in visions which were not true according to their plain meaning, but only according to that which was implied in them. When he says that he saw horses, women, and a golden candlestick with two olive-trees by it, there is no truth in the matter of the candlestick and olive-trees itself, but only in the idea implied in them. But all the prophecies of Jeremiah, who lived before the destruction of the temple, are very clearly explained. God, who is blessed, has already explained this difference between the prophecy of Moses and that of another prophet. Concerning the prophecy of Moses He said: ‘I speak with him mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches.’^[236] From this it is to be inferred that the other prophets beside Moses speak in riddles which are not explicit, and in visions which are not real. It is therefore necessary that these visions should be explained in such a manner that they harmonize with Moses’ words. Similarly, the words of a prophet of a lower rank should always be explained in such a manner that they harmonize with the words of a prophet of a higher rank and do not dissent from him. It is in accordance with this explanation that we find that Isaiah says: ‘And I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,’^[237] while Moses says: ‘For man shall not see Me and live.’^[238] Had we not known the rank of either of these prophets, we might have thought Isaiah’s words were accurate, and would have said that because of his high rank he perceived of God that which can possibly be perceived of Him, and he therefore said: ‘And I saw the Lord;’ but Moses, who did not reach Isaiah’s rank, and perceived but little of God, said: ‘For man shall not see Me and live,’ because his perception was weak, and his prophetic rank low. Knowing, however, that Moses was master of all prophets (as it is written: ‘And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend,’^[239] and it is likewise written: ‘If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream; My servant Moses is not so.… With him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches’^[240]), we are assured that Moses’ words are undoubtedly true according to their plain meaning. On the other hand, the words of Isaiah, who was lower than he in rank, are not accurate; it is because of his low rank that he said: ‘And I saw the Lord;’ for he believed that he saw God, while it was not so in reality: it was through the influence of the imaginative faculty. Moses, however, because the imaginative faculty had no influence whatsoever on his prophecy (for his prophecy was the outcome of the rational faculty that was in him, detached from the other corporeal faculties), said: ‘For man shall not see Me and live;’ and this is true. But Isaiah, because in his prophecy he also made use of the imaginative faculty, which our teachers of blessed memory call ‘the speculum which is not lucid,’^[241] was led to err and to believe, through the imaginative faculty, that he had seen God. He himself made it manifest that this perception of his was erroneous, through the imaginative faculty, and explained that the cause thereof was that his body was not purified as the body of Moses our teacher; and that is the meaning of what he said: ‘Because I am a man of unclean lips.’^[242] Nor were his qualities adequate; and that is the meaning of what he said: ‘And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.’^[243] For through dwelling among people of bad traits, the qualities of the good man become corrupt. He therefore complained, and said: ‘Woe is me! for I am undone,’^[244] as if he would say: ‘I was influenced by the imaginative faculty, and my prophecy is not through a lucid speculum like the prophecy of Moses who heard the voice speaking to him, without seeing any form before his eyes. But I, because my prophecy is through a speculum which is not lucid, that is by means of the imaginative faculty, I am not able to comprehend the speech without seeing the form that is speaking. This was caused by my being a man of unclean lips, and by my dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean lips. I therefore complain, and say: Woe is me! for I am undone. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, and I know that this is the result of the imaginative faculty; since there is no doubt that it is impossible for one who prophesies through the lucid speculum to attribute any form or likeness to Him, who is blessed, even in a prophetic vision.’ This is the meaning of what our sages of blessed memory said: ‘Manasseh slew Isaiah. Whereupon Raba says: He tried him and slew him. He said unto him: Thy master Moses said: For man shall not see Me and live, but thou didst say: And I saw the Lord.’^[245] They have also remarked that he could have refuted this argument, but he did not reply, because he knew that Manasseh would not accept his answer. The answer that he could have given is that even concerning those that lived in the time of Moses it is written: ‘And they saw the God of Israel;’^[246] here, too, because their perception was not through the lucid speculum. From all this it is manifest that it is not possible for a prophet of a lower rank to dissent from the words of one who is of a higher rank; but his words must be explained in such a manner that they are not at variance with the words of the greater prophet. Now, since it is explicitly stated in the Torah that Moses’ prophecy is of a rank higher than that of all other prophets, it is not possible for us to hearken to any prophet who dissents from him, and annuls his words. But the question whether it is possible for a prophet to explain the words of Moses, and to say that, although they were written without a qualification, there is a condition or time connected with them, even if it was not explicitly stated, will be treated of in the following, with the help of God.