Exploring Order and Meaning in the Structure of Isaac of Corbeil's Semak

In this study, I explore the rationale behind the sequencing of the seven pillars in Isaac of Corbeil’s Semak, as well as the possibility of finding religious meaning through this order. Such an exploration is valuable even though Isaac supplied his own explanation, as preserved within his list of commandments. In this list, Isaac maintains that the order of his seven pillars was dictated by the order of the first seven commandments of the Decalogue. However, a close reading of each pillar, as well as of Isaac’s rationale, suggests otherwise. The Decalogue model does not adequately explain three of the seven pillars. I suggest an alternative scheme that, although less elegant, could better explain the rationale behind Isaac’s structure. This approach is based primarily on his use of the well-known triad “thought-word-deed,” which signifies the totality of human action in medieval Christian and Jewish sources.