^The traditional birth year of 892 was exclusively cited before 1921 and is still occasionally cited. It rests on a statement by the twelfth-century historian Abraham ibn Daud that Saadia was "about fifty" years old when he died. The modern birth year of 882 rests on an 1113 CE Genizah fragment containing a list of Saadia's writings compiled by his sons eleven years after his death, which stated that he was "sixty years less forty ... days" at death. Henry Malter, "Postscript", Saadia Gaon: His life and works (1921) 421–428. Jacob [Jocob] Mann, "A fihrist of Sa'adya's works", The Jewish Quarterly Review new series 11 (1921) 423-428. Malter rejected 882 because it conflicted with other known events in Saadia's life. He suspected an error by a copyist. The year 882 is now generally accepted because its source is closer to his death in both time and space. Abraham Firkovich had previously held the opinion that Saadia Gaon was born in 862, based on the view that he was aged twenty when he first began writing his Sefer Ha-Iggaron in 882 (See: Abraham Firkovich, Hebrew Newspaper Hamelitz - 1868, Issue 26–27)
^Stroumsa, Sarah (2003). Saadya and Jewish Kalam: The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–90. ISBN978-0-521-65207-0.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).