THE GUIDE OF THE PERPLEXED - WHAT'S IN A NAME?

R. Samuel Ibn Tibbon translated the title of the book, Dalalat al-h.a'irin, as Moreh Nebhukhim, Guide of the Perplexed, thus creating a connection between the title of the book and the verse in Exodus 14:3: "they are perplexed in the land" (nebhukim hem ba-ares.). We argue that when Maimonides assigned the Arabic title to his work, he too thought of this connection to the verse. According to this, Moreh Nebhukhim serves not only as a guide to those who are perplexed by the contradictions between the Torah and philosophy, but also as a defense against those religions that make claims about the confusion of the Jewish religion.