זהר
Zohar
The core book of Kabbalah, written largely in 13th-century Castile in deliberately antique Aramaic, and traditionally ascribed to the 2nd-century Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Authorship, contested by design
Traditionally ascribed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (2nd c.); scholarship attributes composition largely to Moses de León, 13th-c. Castile [contested by design].
The Zohar ("Radiance") is the central work of Kabbalah, a mystical commentary on the Torah written in an intentionally archaic Aramaic. HONEST NOTE ON AUTHORSHIP: tradition ascribes it to the 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; modern scholarship attributes its composition largely to Moses de León in 13th-century Castile, writing pseudepigraphically.
This atlas presents both framings and labels the authorship contested, the pseudepigraphy is part of the book’s story, not a scandal to hide. The Zohar was first printed at Mantua in 1558–60.
IN THE ATLAS