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Wikipedia's first sentence called it "primary work of the jewish rabbi". Today it says "primary work of the jewish scholar bahya ibn paquda". We saved the article's opening at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

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The opening as it read in 2005

The Duties of the Heart , (Hebrew title, Hovot ha-Levavot ) is the primary work of the Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda , full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda .¹ Ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Saragossa, Spain , in the first half of the eleventh century. Duties of the Heart was written in Arabic in 1040 under the title Al Hidayah ila Faraid al-hulub , Guide to the Duties of the Heart , and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title Hovot ha-Levavot .² The Duties of the Heart is divided into ten sections termed "gates," corresponding to the ten fundamental principles which, according to Bahya's view, constitute man's spiritual life. The essence of all spirituality being the recognition of God as the one maker and designer of all things, Bahya makes the "Sha'ar ha-Yihud" (Gate of the Divine Unity) the first and foremost section. Taking the Jewish Confession, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God the Lord is One," as a starting-point, the author emphasizes the fact that for religious life it is not so much a matter of the intellect to know God as it is a matter of the heart to own and to love Him. Bahya held that it is not sufficient to accept this belief without thinking, as the child does, or because the fathers have taught so, as do the blind believers in tradition, who have no opinion of their own and are led by others. Nor should the belief in God be such as might in any way be liable to be understood in a corporeal or anthropomorphic sense, but it should rest on conviction which is the result of the most comprehensive knowledge and research. Far from demanding blind belief, the Torah appeals to reason and knowledge as proofs of God's existence. It is therefore a duty incumbent upon every one to make God an object of speculative reason and knowledge, in order to arrive at true faith. Without intending to give a compendium of metaphysics, Bahya furnishes in this first gate a system of religious philosophy that is not without merit. Unfamiliar with Avicenna's works, which replaced Neoplatonic mysticism by clear Aristotelian thought, Bahya, like many Arab philosophers before him, bases his arguments upon Creation. He starts from the following three premises: (1) Nothing creates itself, since the act of creating necessitates its existence (so also Saadia, "Emunot," i. 2) (2) the causes of things are necessarily limited in number, and lead to the presumption of a first cause which is necessarily self-existent, having neither beginning nor end, because everything that has an end must needs have a beginning (3) all composite beings have a beginning; and a cause must necessarily be created. The world is beautifully arranged and furnished like a great house, of which the sky forms the ceiling, the earth the floor, the stars the lamps, and man is the proprietor, to whom the three kingdoms—the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral—are submitted for use, each of these being composed of the four elements. Nor does the celestial sphere, composed of a fifth element —"Quinta Essentia," according to Aristotle, and of fire, according to others—make an exception. These four elements themselves are composed of matter and form, of substance and accidental qualities, such as warmth and cold, state of motion and of rest, and so forth. Consequently the universe, being a combination of many forces, must have a creative power as its cause. Nor can the existence of the world be due to mere chance. Where there is purpose manifested, there must have been wisdom at work. Ink spilled accidentally upon a sheet of paper can not produce legible writing.³

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16586718.

The opening as it stood in 2010 17 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Chovot ha-Levavot or Chovos ha-Levavos , (Hebrew: חובות הלבבות , English: Duties of the Heart ), is the primary work of the Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda , full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda . Ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who seemly lived at Saragossa, Spain , in the first half of the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic (but in Hebrew characters) approximately in 1040 under the title Kitab al-Hidāya ilā Fara'id al-Qulūb , Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart , sometimes titled as Guide to the Duties of the Heart, and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title Chovot ha-Levavot . There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi , but its complete text did not endure the test of time.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363020376.

The opening as it stood in 2015

Chovot HaLevavot , or Ḥobot HaLebabot (Hebrew: חובות הלבבות , English: Duties of the Heart ), is the primary work of the Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda , full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda . Ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who is believed to have lived in Saragossa , Spain , in the first half of the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic (but in Hebrew characters) approximately in 1040 under the title Kitab al-Hidāya ilā Fara'id al-Qulūb , Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart , sometimes titled as Guide to the Duties of the Heart, and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title Chovot HaLevavot . There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi , but its complete text did not endure the test of time.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 659273523.

The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Chovot HaLevavot , or Ḥobot HaLebabot ( ; English: Duties of the Hearts ), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi and philosopher, Bahya ibn Paquda , full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda . Ibn Paquda is believed to have lived in Zaragoza , Spain in the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the Hebrew alphabet circa 1080 under the title Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart ( كتاب الهداية إلى فرائض القلوب ), sometimes titled Guide to the Duties of the Heart , and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon during 1161–80 under the title Chovot HaLevavot . There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi but its complete text did not endure the test of time. In 1973, Rabbi Yosef Kafih published his Hebrew translation from the original Arabic (the latter appearing aside his Hebrew translation). Diana Lobel, A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya ibn Paquda's "Duties of the Heart" , Introduction, text: "The Hidāya was written in Judeo-Arabic around 1080."

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963294349.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

Book by Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda Chovot HaLevavot , or Ḥobot HaLebabot ( ; ; English: Duties of the Hearts ), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi , Bahya ibn Paquda , full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda . Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed to have lived in Zaragoza , Spain in the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the Hebrew alphabet circa 1080 under the title Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart ( كتاب الهداية إلى فرائض القلوب ), sometimes titled Guide to the Duties of the Heart , and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon during 1161–80 under the title Torat Chovot HaLevavot . There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi but its complete text did not endure the test of time. In 1973, Rabbi Yosef Kafih published his Hebrew translation from the original Arabic (the latter appearing aside his Hebrew translation). Diana Lobel, A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda's "Duties of the Heart" , Introduction, text: "The Hidāya was written in Judeo-Arabic around 1080."

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1135735077.

The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Book by Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda Chovot HaLevavot or The Duties of the Hearts ( Arabic : كتاب الهداية إلى فرائض القلوب , romanized : Kitāb al-Hidāyat ilá Farāʾiḍ al-Qulūb ; Hebrew : חובות הלבבות , romanized : Ḥoḇāḇoṯ hal-Leḇāḇoṯ ), is the primary work of the Jewish scholar Bahya ibn Paquda , a rabbi believed to have lived in the Taifa of Zaragoza in al-Andalus in the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the Hebrew alphabet circa 1080 under the title Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart ( كتاب الهداية إلى فرائض القلوب ), sometimes titled Guide to the Duties of the Heart , and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon during 1161–80 under the title Torat Chovot HaLevavot . There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi , but its complete text did not endure time. In 1973, Yosef Qafih published his Hebrew translation from the original Arabic, the latter appearing aside his Hebrew translation. Diana Lobel, A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda's "Duties of the Heart" , Introduction, text: "The Hidāya was written in Judeo-Arabic around 1080."

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1253261665. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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