Now in all that we have said by way of parable there is nothing to give an indication of the ruler’s essence and of the true reality of his substance in respect of his being a ruler. A similar thing has occurred with regard to the knowledge of God, may He be honored and magnified, given to the multitude in all the books of the prophets and also in the Torah. For necessity required that all of them be given guidance to the belief in the existence of God, may He be exalted, and in His possessing all the perfec¬ tions. I mean to say guidance to the belief that He does not merely exist, as the earth and the heavens do, but that He is an existent who is living, possessed of knowledge and of power,4 active, and having all the other characteristics that ought to be believed in with reference to His existence. This shall be made clear later on. The minds of the multitude were accord- ingly guided to the belief that He exists by imagining that He is corporeal,5 and to the belief that He is living by imagining that He is capable of motion.6 For the multitude perceive nothing other than bodies as having a firmly established existence and as being indubitably true, for anything that is not a body, but subsists in a body, is existent 5 but its existence is more deficient than that of a body, as it requires a body in order to exist. That, however, which is neither a body nor in a body is not an existent thing in any respect, according to man’s initial representation, particularly from the point of view of the imagination. Similarly the multitude do not represent to themselves the notion of life as anything other than motion and consider that that which has no local motion due to its will is not alive, despite the fact that motion does not pertain to the substance of the living but is an accident attaching to it. Similarly apprehension, | as it is habitually known among us, comes about through the instrumentality of the senses, I mean to say through hearing and seeing. And similarly we do not know nor can we represent to ourselves how a notion can be transmitted from the soul of one individual who is among us to the soul of another individual except through the instrumentality of speech, which is a sound produced by the lips,7 the tongue, and the other organs of speech. Accordingly, as our minds are likewise guided to the belief that God, may He be exalted, apprehends and that notions are communicated from Him to the prophets in order that 5. Literally: through the orderliness of the circumstances of the city.
4. Literally: knowing and being able.
5. Literally: by means of the imagination of corporeality.
6. Literally: by means of the imagination of motion.
7. More or less literally: cut by the lip.
5i«] The Guide of the Perplexed 1-46 they should communicate them to us, He is described to us as hearing and seeing; the meaning thereof being that He apprehends and knows the visible and audible things. He is also described to us as speaking; the mean¬ ing thereof being that notions are communicated from Him, may He be exalted, to the prophets. This is the meaning of prophecy. Later on this shall be made extremely clear. Again, as we have no intellectual cognition of our bringing somebody other than us to existence except through a direct act,8 He is described as active. Similarly, in view of the fact that the multitude apprehend no living thing that is not endowed with a soul, He is also described to us as having a soul. And though the term “soul” is an equivocal one, as has been made clear,9 the meaning is that He is living. Since with regard to us the apprehension can be made that all these acts are only performed by means of bodily organs, all these organs are figuratively ascribed to Him: those by means of which local motion takes place — I mean the feet and their soles; those by means of which hearing, seeing, and smelling come about — that is, the ear, the eye, and the nose; those by means of which speech and the matter10 of speech are produced — that is, the mouth, the tongue, and the voice; finally, those by means of which he among us who acts carries out his actions — those organs are the hands, the fingers, the palm, and the arm.
To sum up all this: God, may He be exalted above every deficiency, has had bodily organs figuratively ascribed to Him in order that | His acts should be indicated by this means. And those particular acts are figuratively ascribed to Him in order to indicate a certain perfection, which is not identical with the particular act mentioned. For instance, an eye, an ear, a hand, a mouth, a tongue, have been figuratively ascribed to Him so that by this means, sight, hearing, action, and speech should be indicated. But sight and hearing have been figuratively ascribed to Him with a view to indicating apprehension in general. For this reason you will find that the Hebrew language substitutes the apprehension made by one sense for that made by another. Thus Scripture says: See the word of the Lord;1 1 which is like hear, for the intended meaning is: apprehend the meaning of His speech. Similarly: See the smell of my sort;1 2 which is like saying, Smell the smell of my son, for the intended meaning refers to the apprehension 8. The word mubashara used here also means “an act accomplished through contact” and “sexual intercourse.” g. Cf. I 41.
10. Maimonides uses the word madda, meaning “matter” (materia). The expression “matter of speech” refers to sounds.
ioo The Guide of the Perplexed 1-46 [ gi6 of his smell. In conformity with this it is said, And all the people saw the sounds,13 although this station also constituted a vision of prophecy, as is well known and universally admitted in our community.14 Action and speech are ascribed to God so that an overflow proceeding15 from Him should thereby be indicated, as shall be made clear further on.16 All bodily organs that you can find mentioned in all of the books of prophecy are either organs of local motion mentioned with a view to indicating life, or organs of sensation mentioned with a view to indicating apprehension, or organs of prehension mentioned with a view to indicating action, or organs of speech mentioned with a view to indicating the overflow of the intellects toward the prophets, as will be made clear. The guidance contained in all these figurative senses is intended to establish in us the belief that there is an existent who is living, is the agent17 who produces everything other than He, and in addition apprehends His own act. When we shall begin to expound the negation of the attributes, we shall make clear18 how all this is reducible to one notion, which is exclusively that of the essence of God, may He be exalted. For the purpose of the present chapter is solely to make clear the meaning of the bodily organs ascribed to God, may He be exalted above every deficiency, and to explain that | all of them are men¬ tioned with a view to indicating the actions proper to these organs, which actions — according to us19 — constitute a perfection. In this way we indicate that He is perfect in various manners of perfection, a circumstance to which the Sages draw our attention by saying: The Torah speaketh in the language of the sons of man.i9a The organs of local motion ascribed to Him, may He be exalted, are, for instance, those figuring in scriptural dicta such as these: The stool of My feet;20 And the place of the soles of My feet.2X The organs of prehension ascribed to Him may be found in scriptural dicta such as these: The hand of the Lord;22 With the finger of Godf The work of Thy fingers;2* And Thou hast laid Thine palm upon me;25 And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed.?26 Thy right hand, O Lord.21 13. Exod. 20:15.
14. Literally: in the community. The word translated “community” is millah, which in Maimonides’ time connoted primarily a religious community.
15. Literally: overflowing (as a participle). 16. Cf. II 12.
17. facil, a participle of the verb facala, which may mean “to act,” but which also has a transitive sense coming close to the verbs “to do” or even “to make.”
18. Cf. I 53.
19. I.e., according to the human point of view.
IOI The organs of speech ascribed to Him may be found in the scriptural dicta such as these: The mouth of the Lord has spoken;28 And He would open His Ups against thee;22 The mice of the Lord is powerful;50 And His tongue is as a demuring fire.5i The organs of sensation ascribed to Him may be found in scriptural dicta such as these: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men;52 The eyes of the Lord that run to and fro;55 Incline Thine ear, 0 Lord, and hear;5* For ye have kindled a fire in My nostril.55 Of the hidden parts of the body, only the heart is ascribed to Him because of its being an equivocal term. For it is also a term denoting the intellect; it is, moreover, the principle of life in living beings. For the dicta of Scripture, My bowels are troubled for him 56 and, The trouble of Thy bowels 57 are intended likewise to signify the heart, for bowel is a term used in a general and particular sense. In its particular sense, it is a term denoting the intestines; whereas in its general sense, it is a term denoting all the hidden parts of the body. It is accordingly also a term denoting the heart. A proof of this is to be found in the dictum, And Thy Law is within my bowels,58 which is equivalent to its saying, within my heart. On this account it says in the verse-. My bowels are troubled, and, The trouble of Thy bowels 52 For the expression trouble is applied to the heart rather than to the other parts of the body. Thus: My heart troubles me.*0 Similarly a shoulder is not figuratively ascribed to Him because it is, according to what is generally known, an organ of transport, and also because the thing that is transported touches it. All the more are the organs of nutrition not figura¬ tively ascribed to Him, for even | according to what first comes to mind, these are clearly deficient.
In truth, the status of all the organs is the same — all of them, both the apparent and the hidden, being organs required for the various actions of the soul. Some of them are organs required of necessity in order that the individual may last for a certain time. All the hidden parts of the body are of this nature. And some are organs required of necessity in order that the species should last. The organs of generation are of this nature. Some again are organs required in order that the individual be in a good state and that his actions be perfected. The feet, the hands, and the eyes are of this nature 32. Ps. 11:4.
33. Zech. 4:10. The quotation as given by Maimonides is slightly inaccurate.
38. Ps. 40:9. 39. Two verses quoted above are referred to here.
40. Jer. 4:19.
102 The Guide of the Perplexed 1-46 [ 52 b — all of them being required for the perfection of motion, work, and appre¬ hension. Now the necessity of motion for living beings is due to its being required for the pursuit of what agrees with them and for the avoidance of what disagrees. The necessity of the senses, on the other hand, lies in their being required in order that what disagrees should be distinguished from what agrees with one.41 Again the need of man for manufacturing work is due to its being required for the preparation of his food, his clothing, and his place of shelter. For this is bound up with his nature, I mean his needing to prepare what is suitable for him. Sometimes it is found that some animals possess a certain craft because of their need for that particular craft. Now I perceive no one who would doubt the fact that God, may He be exalted, has no need of a thing that would prolong His existence or improve His circumstances. Accordingly He has no organs; I mean to say by this that He is not a body and that His acts are performed through His essence and not through an organ. Now faculties42 undoubtedly pertain to the class of organs. Accordingly He does not possess any faculty. Thereby I mean that there does not exist in Him anything other than His essence in virtue of which object He might act, know, or will. For the attributes are merely faculties43 with regard to which the terminology, and nothing else, has been changed. However, this is not the subject of this chapter.
The Sages, may their memory be blessed, have made a comprehensive dictum rejecting everything that is suggested to the estimative faculty by any of the corporeal attributive qualifications mentioned by the prophets. This dictum will indicate to you that the doctrine of the corporeality of God did not ever occur even for a single day to the Sages, may their memory be blessed, and that this was not according to them a matter lending itself to imagination or to confusion. | For this reason you will find that in the whole of the Talmud and in all the Midrashim 44 they keep to the external sense of the dicta of the prophets. This is so because of their knowledge that this matter is safe from confusion45 and that with regard to it no error is to be feared in any respect; all the dicta have to be considered as parables and as a guidance conducting the mind toward one being. And when the parable is of a consistent nature — as when God, may He be exalted, is 41. Literally: as for the necessity of the senses, it is for the knowledge of what disagrees from what agrees.
42. quwirti. The word also means “forces.”
43. Cf. preceding note. 44. In the text: Midrashoth.
45. The Arabic text also permits this translation: In this matter confusion is safe. (In fact, if one solely considers the wording of the text, the latter translation seems to be more exact.)
53 « ] The Guide of the Perplexed 1-46 103 likened to a king, who gives orders and prohibitions to, and punishes and rewards, the people of his country, and who has servants and executives who carry out his orders and do for him what he wishes to be done — they, I mean the Sages, likewise kept to this parable in every passage and spoke, in conformity with what the parable requires, of speech, of a favorable answer being given, or of a refusal with regard to a particular matter, and of other such actions of kings. In all this they felt themselves sure and safe in that there would not be confusion and difficulty with regard to this point. The comprehensive dictum to which we have alluded is their dictum in Bereshith Rabbah,*6 which reads: Great is the power of the prophets; for they liken a form to its creator. For it is said: And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man.*7 They have thus made clear and manifest that all the forms apprehended by all the prophets in the vision of prophecy are created forms of which God is the Creator. And this is correct, for every imagined form is created. How admirable is their saying: Great is the power, as though to say they, peace be on them, considered this matter great. For they always speak in this way when they express their appreciation of the greatness of something said or done, but whose appearance is shocking. Thus they say:48 A certain rabbi performed the act [of halisa 49] with a slipper, alone and by night. Another rabbi said thereupon: How great is his strength to have done it alone.™ How great is his strength means how great is his power. They say, as it were: how great was the thing that the prophets were driven | to do when they indicated the essence of God, may He be exalted, by means of the created thing that He has created. Understand this thoroughly. They have thus made clear and manifest, as far as they themselves are concerned, that they were innocent of the belief in the corporeality of God; and furthermore, that all the shapes and figures that are seen in the vision of prophecy are created things. However, the prophets likened a form to its creator, as the Sages, may their memory be blessed, put it. If, however, after these things have been said, someone out of malice wishes to think ill of them, depreciating men who are not seen and about whom there is no clear indication at present,51 his doing this will not harm them, may their memory be blessed.
49. A rite by which a man renounces the obligation to marry his brother’s widow and sets her free to marry somebody else.
50. The current editions of the Talmud have a slightly different text, the meaning of which is: to have followed the minority. This dictum is in Aramaic, whereas the one quoted from Genesis Rabbah is in Hebrew.
51. Or: men whom he has not seen and of whom he has at present no knowledge; or: men who did not see him and who have at present no knowledge.
CHAPTER 47 We have mentioned several times1 that the books of the prophets do not figuratively ascribe to God anything that the multitude imagine to be a deficiency or that one cannot represent to oneself as belonging to Him, may He be exalted, even if these things have the same status2 as those that are figuratively ascribed to Him. For the things that are predi¬ cated of Him suggest to the estimative faculty certain perfections or can be imagined to be perfections with respect to Him. Accordingly, in view of this having been established, it behooves us to explain why hearing, sight, and the sense of smell are figuratively ascribed to Him, may He be exalted, whereas the sense of taste and that of touch are not.
Now the status of all five senses — with regard to the fact that He, may He be exalted, is high above them — is one and the same.3 And all the senses are a deficiency from the standpoint of apprehension. This is so even with regard to a being that only apprehends by means of the senses, for the latter are passive, receptive of impressions, intermittent, and subject to pain, as are all the other organs. The meaning of our saying that He, may He be exalted, has sight is that He apprehends the visible things, and that of our saying that He has hearing is that He apprehends the audible things. He could similarly have had the sense of taste | and that of touch predicated of Him, and that could have been interpreted as meaning that He apprehends the things that are objects of the senses of taste and of touch. For the status of the apprehension of all of them is one and the same. If, however, the apprehension characteristic of one of the senses is denied Him, it would necessarily follow that the apprehensions characteristic of all of them* — I mean of all the five senses — should be denied Him. If, however, His having an apprehension characteristic of one of them — I mean an appre¬ hension of what one of these senses apprehends — should be affirmed of Him, it would necessarily follow that He apprehends all the things appre¬ hensible by the five senses.
Now we find that our books say, And the Lord saw,5 And the Lord heard,5 And the Lord smelled,7 but they do not say, And the Lord tasted, nor do they say, And the Lord touched. The cause of this is to be found in l. Cf. I 26 and 46. 2. Literally: law, or judgment.
3. Literally: and the law of [God’s], may He be exalted, being elevated above the five senses is one, 4. Literally: all their five apprehensible [categories of objects of apprehension], 5. Cf. Gen. 6:5. 6. Cf. Num. 11:1. 7. Cf. Gen. 8:21.
the fact that it is firmly established in everyone’s imagination that God does not encounter bodies in the way one body encounters another, for people do not even see it. Now these two senses, I mean the sense of taste and the sense of touch, do not apprehend the things sensed by them before they are in contact with them. On the other hand, the sense of sight, that of hearing, and that of smell, can apprehend from a distance the qualities sensed by them as well as the bodies that are the bearers of those qualities. It is, there¬ fore, according to the imagination of the multitude, permitted to ascribe them to God. In addition, the purpose and the intent in figuratively ascribing to Him these senses are to indicate that He apprehends our actions. Now the sense of hearing and that of sight suffice for this; I mean hereby that by means of them everything that someone other than oneself does or says can be apprehended. Thus the Sages have said, when setting forth their admonitions by way of reproof and warning: Know what is above thee, a seeing eye and a hearing ear.6 Now when you investigate the true reality, you shall see that the status of all the senses is that of any one of them, and that from the same standpoint from which it is negated that He has apprehensions involving touch and taste, it should also be negated that He has sight, hearing, and the sense of smell. For all of them are apprehensions of a corporeal nature, affections, and changeable states. However, with regard to some of them, it is apparent that they are deficiencies, whereas others are deemed | to be perfections; just as it is manifest that to imagine is a deficiency, whereas it is not manifest that to reflect and gradually to understand is likewise a deficiency. Therefore fancy6 which word means imagination, is not figuratively ascribed to Him, whereas thought [ mahshabah ] and comprehen¬ sion [ tebunah ], which words mean reflection and understanding, are figuratively ascribed to Him. Thus it is said: Which [ the Lord\ thought,-10 And with His comprehension He stretched out the heavens }x Accordingly, the position with regard to the internal apprehensions is similar to that obtaining with regard to the external sensory apprehensions; some of the former as well as of the latter are figuratively ascribed to Him, while others are not.
All this is according to the language of the sons of man. For they predicate of God what they deem to be a perfection in respect to Him and do not