Le Peculium Abrae d'Abraham de Balmes et la question des sources du Compendium

The article focuses on the question of the sources of Spinoza's Compendium grammatices linguae Hebraicae, in particular paying special attention to the widely accpted idea that Abraham De Balmes' Peculium Abrae, Venice 1523, should be among the most relevant. In the course of the argument, strictly based on philoloical evidence, the author demonstrated Beyond any doubt that Spinoza's knowledge of De Balmes was indirect, and derived precisely from J. Buxtorf's oeuvre. Also the allusions to the Kabbalistic literature, in particular the Zohar Chadash, all derive from the very same source. The article marks a relevant contribution in the field of studies dedicated to Spinoza's Compendium: shifting in a decisive way the context of Spinoza's sources from the XVI to the XVII century and from Hebrew grammar to the Christian Hebraists of the Calvinist persuasion. This will allow to evaluate in the most appropriate light a still enigmatic unfinished work such as Spinoza's Compendium.