Joseph ben Isaac Qimḥī was born in al-Andalus around 1105. After the Almohad invasion, he fled with his family to Provence, settling in the area of Narbonne, specifically in Languedoc. There he dedicated himself to teaching and was known as Maistre Petit. He had many important disciples, among them his sons Moses (known as Remaq) and David (Radaq) and Joseph ibn Zabarra.

In his writings, Qimḥī often and with appreciation cites Abraham ibn Ezra, who is known to have visited Provence while Qimḥī was there, as well as other European communities, but little is known for …