Mu’tazili Trends in Jewish Theology - A Brief Survey

This article presents a brief survey of Jewish Mu'tazilism, from its beginings in the late eight or early ninth century through the se-venteenth century. Short descriptions of known Jewish Mu'tazili authors and their works are provided. We can divide the develop-ment of Jewish Mu'tazilisim into three periods: 1) the early period characterized by eclectism and doctrinal variety. 2) the classic pe-riod in which the Basran Bahshamiya school was adopted by both Rabbanites and Karaites. 3)The late period in which epitomes of Mu'tazili thought were produced. The article concludes with a brief consideration of Mutazilism in al- Andalus