IBN DAUD, AVRAHAM (1110–1180), known in rabbinic texts by the acronym RABaD I (Rabbi Avraham ben David), to distinguish him from Rabad II, Avraham ben Yitsḥaq of Narbonne, and Rabad III, Avraham ben David of Posquières, was a Spanish astronomer, historian, and philosopher. Avraham ibn Daud ha-Levi is best known for his history of the Jewish people, Sefer ha-qabbalah (The Book of Tradition; 1161), and his comprehensive Jewish philosophy, Al-ʿaqīdah al-rafiyah (The Exalted Faith; 1168). He also published a work on astronomy (1180) that has not survived.

The Book of Tradition consists of a history of (1) the biblical period, (2) the Second Commonwealth, (3) the tannaim, (4) the amoraim, (5) the savoraim, (6) the Geonim, and (7) the rabbis after the Geonic period. On the surface, this work is a history of the Jewish people from its origins to the time of Avraham ibn Daud. But in reality, as the...