Isaac Israeli (circa 850-950) was a philosopher who wrote Kitab al Istiksat in Arabic. It was translated into Hebrew under the title Sefer Hayesodoth and into Latin as De Elementis. He also wrote a treatise on definitions and commentaries on the biblical book of Genesis and the mystical Sefer Yetzirah; the oldest Cabalistic work in known existence.

The Christian monk Constantine of Carthage translated several of Israeli's medical treatises into Latin in 1087, using them as textbooks at the University of Salerno, the earliest university in Western Europe, but omitted the real author's name, which remained unknown to the public until 1515 when Opera Omnia Isaci was put into print at Lyons, France.