Dodi Ve-Nechdi (Quaestiones Naturales)

Moon are God's creations, implying that, contrary to the view of Plato, all things are created, not eternal.

Quoting Saadya Gaon, Berachya says distinctly in the "Compendium": "The soul is created and renewed, just as other substances are created and renewed; . . . it is a pure essence . . . illuminative in a higher degree than the heavenly spheres and bodies generally." (p. 88.)

As an instance of folklore, Berachya introduces into Chapter XIII the name of Lilith A demonic figure in Jewish mythology. as a creature of air, and the Salamander as the product of fire. Adelard, on the other hand, does not mention such by name.

Berachya refers to the following names of persons and places in the course of his treatise: Alexander, Aristotle (M. VIII); Ibn Ezra (M. X, XIX, LII); Parchon (M. IV, LV); Hagarites, Arabians, Ishmaelites, Wise Men of Arabia, Wise Men of Tabor (M. IV); Cuthim (M. IV); and to himself (X, XIX); Jerusalem, the Land of Cush, Egypt, Land of the Hittites (M. VI); Tyre, Zidon, Philistia (M. XXXV); Zoan (M. XXXVII); The Hot Springs of Tiberias (M. XLVII); and Rameses (M. XLVIII); Africa and "the Great Sea" (M. VIII).

If only from a purely philological point of view, it is interesting to call attention to the following (Hebraicised) French words appearing in Berachya's version, and used by him by way of explanation:

• ente (graft)
• gois (stomach)
• gesier (gizzard or crop)
• jaune (yellow)
• pearls
• grêle (ice)
• foudre (thunderbolt)
• créon (meteoric stone, aerolite)
• soufflet (bellows)

Adopted expressions such as stomach and melancholic (and variations thereof) should also be noted.