Bahir
Bahir, short for Sefer ha-Bahir, meaning Book of Illumination or Brightness, is an early and influential text in medieval Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah). Traditionally attributed to the 1st‑ or 2nd‑century sage Nehunya ben HaKanah, modern scholarship regards this as pseudepigraphic and dates the work to the late 12th or early 13th century, likely produced in the Provençal or northern French regions (with possible connections to the school around Isaac the Blind). The Bahir’s authorship and dating have been subjects of scholarly debate, but its influence on the development of Kabbalistic thought is widely acknowledged.
The Bahir presents a collection of esoteric teachings in a concise, aphoristic style. It is notable for
Influence and reception: The Bahir helped shape medieval Kabbalah and contributed to the later Zoharic tradition,
Manuscripts and translations: The Bahir survives in several medieval Hebrew manuscripts and has been printed and