MU’TAZILI TRENDS IN JEWISH THEOLOGY - A BRIEF SURVEY

This article presents a brief survey of Jewish Mu’tazilism, from its beginings in the late eight or early ninth century through the seventeenth century. Short descriptions of known Jewish Mu’tazili authors and their works are provided. We can divide the development of Jewish Mu’tazilisim into three periods: 1) the early period characterized by eclectism and doctrinal variety. 2) the classic period in which the Basran Bahshamiya school was adopted by both Rabbanites and Karaites. 3)The late period in which epitomes of Mu’tazili thought were produced. The article concludes with a brief consideration of Mutazilism in al- Andalus