The Zohar draws upon early mystical texts such as the Sefer Yetzirah and the Bahir, and the early medieval writings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz.

In the 13th century, * Meir ben Simon of Narbonne wrote an epistle ( included in Milhhemet Mitzvah ) against early Kabbalists, singled out Sefer Bahir, rejecting the attribution of its authorship to the tanna R. Nehhunya ben ha-Kanah and describing some of its content as follow -

However, modern scholars of Kabbalah now hold that at least part of the Bahir was an adaptation of an older work, the Sefer Raza Rabba.

The Bahir contains commentaries explaining the mystical significance of Biblical verses ; the mystical significance of the shapes of the Hebrew letters ; the mystical significance of the cantillation signs and vowel points on the letters ; the mystical significance of statements in the Sefer Yetzirah (" Book of Creation "); and the use of sacred names in magic.

One of the most accurate manuscripts of the final form of Sefer Bahir was written in 1331 by Meir ben Solomon Abi-Sahula ; his commentary on the Bahir was anonymously published as Or HaGanuz, " The Hidden Light ".

Nonetheless, it is clear that this text predates other Kabbalistic texts, including the Zohar ( thirteenth century CE ), the Bahir ( thirteenth century CE as well ), and possibly the Sefer Yetzirah ( fourth century CE ).

* The ( original Hebrew ) text of Bahir at wikisource. org

See The Book of Bahir.

Some historians suspect him to be the author of the Book of the Bahir, an important early text of Kabbalah.

Bahir Dar ( Amharic: ባሕር ዳር " sea shore ") is a city in north-western Ethiopia.

According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1, 454 tonnes of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates is 15 % of its sustainable amount.

::"... And we have heard that a book had already been written for them, which they call Bahir, that is ' bright ' but no light shines through it.

* 1331-Earliest commentary on The Bahir is written by Rabbi Meir ben Shalom Abi-Sahula, a disciple of Shlomo ben Aderet ( Rashba ), and it is published anonymously under the title Or HaGanuz.

* End of 15th century-The Bahir is translated into Latin by Flavius Mitridates but this translation is wordy and not useful.

* 1651-The Bahir is published in Amsterdam together with Mayan HaChakhmah in printed form.

* 1706-The Bahir is published in Berlin together with Mayan HaChakhmah.

* 1784-The Bahir is published in Sklav and Koretz.

* 1800-The Bahir is published in Lvov.

* 1830-The Bahir is published in Lvov.

* 1849-The Bahir is published in unknown place as part of Chamishah Chumshey Kabbalah.

* 1865-The Bahir is published in Lvov.

* 1883-The Bahir is published in Vilna.

* 1913-The Bahir is published in Vilna.

* 1951-The Bahir is published in Jerusalem.

It is in the Bahir that we find the first discussion of the Kabbalistic concept of Sefirot as divine attributes and powers emanating from God.

The world, according to the " Bahir ," is not the product of an act of creation.

Administratively, Bahir Dar is a Special Zone, a designation in between a chartered city ( astedader akabibi, a first-tier division, like a kilil ) such as Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, and cities like Debre Marqos and Dessie, which are organized as districts ( woredas ).

Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river.

Bahir Dar is situated on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile ( or Abay ), in what was previously the Gojjam province.

The most common and convenient way of traveling in Bahir Dar is cycling.

Bahir Dar's origins date to at least the sixteenth or seventeenth century ; Pedro Páez is credited with erecting several buildings in this city, one of which is " a solid, two-storey stone structure, with an outside staircase " and can be seen in the compound of the present-day Giyorgis church.

Many scholars of Kabbalah hold that the Bahir adds gnostic elements to the older work.

* Kabbalists believe that oral tradition of The Bahir goes back to the 1st century CE.

Some of the Catholic churches he designed are still standing, most importantly in the area of Bahir Dar and Gondar, which influenced Ethiopian architecture for the rest of the 17th century.

Scholar Ronit Meroz argues that elements in the Bahir date back to 10th century Babylonia, as witnessed by the acceptance of the Babylonian system of vowel points, which later fell into disuse, while other elements were written in 12th century Provence.

The next mention of Bahir Dar is from the mid-19th century, as the camping spot for the army of Emperor Tewodros II.

Kabbalists ascribed authorship of the Bahir to R. Nehunya, a rabbi of the Mishnaic era, who lived around 100 CE.

A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages.

Gojjam was divided in to western and eastern portions during the time of the Derg military regime, with Debre Marqos remaining the capital of East Gojjam while Bahir Dar became the capital of West Gojjam.

Ethiopian Airlines operates daily flights between Bahir Dar and the capital as well as with Gondar to the northwest.

On 3 – 4 March 1990, the TLA abandoned Bahir Dar in disarray, blowing up the nearby bridge with several hundred soldiers which stopped the TPLF / EPRDF forces from occupying the city.

The Bahir states, " What is the fourth ( utterance ): The fourth is the righteousness of God, His mercies and kindness with the entire world.

Urban areas in this ecoregion include: Ethiopia's capital city and Africa's fourth largest city Addis Ababa, the Amhara Region capital Bahir Dar with its island monasteries on Lake Tana, the old walled city of Harar, the spa town of Ambo, Asella in the Arsi Zone, the trekking centre of Dodola, the lakeside Debre Zeyit, the largest city in the southwest Jimma, the market town of Nekemte, and the capital of the Tigray region, Mek ' ele.