Judah ibn Balaam (or Bal'am) (Hebrew: יהודה בן שמואל אבן בלעם Yehuda ben Shmuel ibn Balaam; Arabic: Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Balaam) was an Andalusian rabbi of the eleventh century (Toledo, 1000 - Seville, 1070). Biographical information The life of Judah ibn Balaam is only known by a poem by Moses ibn Ezra in his Kitab al-Muḍaḍarah. It seems that this poem is itself based on the work of Judah, and not on other sources. According to Ibn Ezra, "Ibn Bal'am came from a respected family in Toledo, and settled later in Seville. In his old age he devoted himself to the study of halakhah. He possessed a quick comprehension and an excellent memory. His style was direct and terse, so that he could present comprehensive subjects in a few words. His literary work extended especially to compendious treatises, in which he availed himself of the thorough and comprehensive studies of his predecessors, but from which he extracted with care only their most essential and valuable contents. . . . Against his otherwise noble character and sedate nature his irritable temperament stood in marked contrast. Nobody escaped his criticism, which consisted not merely in the pointing out of faulty passages, but in a trenchant and ruthless analysis of their errors." At the end of his life he devoted himself to the study of kabbalah. Works The works of Ibn Balaam are written in Arabic. Some are only known by quotations, by himself or by other authors. Some of the preserved works no longer exist in the original Arabic, but through Hebrew translations. A contemporary and rival of Moses ibn Gikatilla, he is better known in his time for his works of halakha than for those of biblical exegesis and grammar. According to Ibn Ezra, Judah ibn Balaam thoroughly analyzed the studies of his predecessors, but carefully selected only the most valuable and essential elements. Halacha He wrote two treatises on halacha, Sefer Hatsimud (Book of the Union) and Sefer Hahakhra'a (Book of Decision). Biblical Exegesis He also wrote commentaries on most Tanakh books in Arabic. From Kitab al-Tarjiḥ, exegesis on the Pentateuch, only the comments on the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy have been preserved. He also wrote the Nuqat al-Miqra, a short biblical commentary, preserved in its quasi-entirety. The commentary on the Book of Isaiah was edited by Joseph Derenbourg and, more recently, translated and edited, along with the