The aim of this brief overview is to show that these ‘indications’ include the structure and literary arrangements of the commentaries as well as some basic assumptions about the relations between the ‘sacred page’ and philosophy, be it Arab or Christian.

The debt of Jewish to Arab philosophy has been acknowledged from the start of the history of philosophy as a discipline. Not only do Jewish philosophers write in Arabic, they also quote from Arabic authors. In Christian Europe, on the other hand, if Jewish philosophers knew Latin they generally do not say so, and, except in Italy, no Jewish philosopher or exegete quotes from Christian scholars. Although the influence of Christian thought on medieval Jewish exegesis has been recognized in a few instances, it is mostly the polemical aspects that are highlighted. The comparison between Jewish and Christian doctrines and ideas has yielded only meagre results, and we may wonder whether Jewish philosophers were really deaf to the culture within which they lived.

I do not presume to answer this question in the present study, but only to look at a few texts, in the hope that they may reveal some new facts.