Q0596
“The world was created ex nihilo; it did not eternally accompany the…” — Saadia Gaon (The Book of Beliefs and Opinions,…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, on creation (Rosenblatt). Theme: time.
English
The world was created ex nihilo; it did not eternally accompany the Creator.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, on creation (Rosenblatt) and files it under Jewish Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Saadia Gaon
Saadia ben Joseph (882–942), gaon of Sura, wrote The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, the first systematic Jewish philosophical theology in the Islamic world. He defended rabbinic Judaism against Karaites and used Arabic kalām methods to show that Torah and intellect agree when both are rightly understood.
How to read this passage
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, god.
Concepts in this quote
- Time
- Philosophy of time asks what tense and duration are—and how memory, death, and history shape a human life.
- God
- God appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat god as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Saadia Gaon. (n.d.). The world was created ex nihilo; it did not eternally accompany the Creator. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0596
MLA: Saadia Gaon. “The world was created ex nihilo; it did….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0596.
Chicago: Saadia Gaon. “The world was created ex nihilo; it did….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0596.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The world was created ex nihilo; it did…”?
The passage is attributed to Saadia Gaon, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, on creation (Rosenblatt). The archive attributes this English wording to The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, on creation (Rosenblatt) and files it under Jewish Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Saadia Gaon mean by time?
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, god.