Gersonides (gurson'idēz) [key]or Levi ben Gershon (lē'vī ben gûr'shun) [key], 1288–1344, Jewish philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, called also Ralbag, from the initials of his Hebrew name, b. Languedoc. He wrote scientific works and commentaries on Averroës and the Torah. His Milchamoth Adonai [the wars of the Lord] is an elaborate treatise modeled after the Moreh Nevukhim of Maimonides. It is mainly a systematic criticism of the syncretism of Maimonides. His scientific views remained influential into the 19th cent.
