Japheth ben Ali's Book of Jeremiah: A Critical Edition and Linguistic Analysis of the Judaeo-Arabic Translation

Description

This volume deals with three themes: medieval Judaism, Arabic and Hebrew sociolinguistics, and Arabic Bible translation. Within Medieval Judaism, the Karaite Jews became a prosperous community under the banners of Islam. One of the most salient signs of the Karaite community's strength and internal cohesion was the extensive scientific contribution that it made to the fields of Biblical studies, Hebrew philology and philosophy. This book presents for the first time a critical edition of one of the works of the leading Karaite scholars in biblical exegeses and translation, Japheth ben Ali's Judaeo-Arabic translation of the "Book of Jeremiah", drawing on five medieval manuscripts. As the majority of Karaite works, including Bible manuscripts, are in Judaeo-Arabic, relatively few of them have been published. A number of the Karaite Bible manuscripts were written in Arabic script, resulting in their being neglected by scholars, despite the significance of these manuscripts to the history of medieval Judaism and Bible textual Studies. The author of this volume focuses on some of the most important issues in the field of sociolinguistics, namely language-contact, diglossia and the status of both Arabic and Hebrew in the medieval Jewish literary system. Equally important is the issue of the script-in-use (Hebrew or Arabic), which was a major subject of debate among the Rabbinates and the Karaites. Indeed, the language and the script used in these manuscripts will help us re-evaluate the established theories about the language-situation and literary systems in medieval Islamic and Jewish societies. The value of translating the Hebrew Bible into Arabic was unparalleled in medieval inter-religious scholarship. For Muslim scholars it was their only access to the Jewish Bible. The contribution of the Karaites to this field is enormous, and this work offers us a unique window into the Karaite theory of Biblical hermeneutics. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Illustrations Abbreviations Acknowledgments Part I A Theoretical Overview of Judaeo-Arabic as Scriptolect 1 Introduction Aim of the Book Method Scriptolect Polysystem Theory The Subject of the Book 2 Middle Arabic Middle Arabic: Presentation The History of the Term ‘Middle Arabic’ Middle Arabic as Scriptolect 3 Judaeo-Arabic Introduction Judaeo-Arabic Language The Status and Functions of Judaeo-Arabic Non-linguistic Factors Linguistic Factors Is Judaeo-Arabic a Jewish Language? Periodization of Judaeo-Arabic Pre-Islamic Judaeo-Arabic Modern Judaeo-Arabic 4 The Linguistic Status and Cultural Function of the Medieval Judaeo-Arabic Language Introduction The Language Situation of Medieval Arabic-speaking Jews Arabic/Hebrew Diglossia Medieval Hebrew Arabic Language The Division of Function Between Hebrew and Arabic The Issue of the Use of Hebrew/Arabic in Jewish Poetry 5 The Function of Scripts in Medieval Arabic Scriptolect Introduction The Script in the Polysystem Theory Hebrew Script Arabic Script in Karaite Writings al-Qirqisānī's View The Arabic Text The English Translation 6 Conclusion Part II The Critical Edition and Linguistic Analysis 7 Description of the Manuscripts 8 Description of the Hebrew Text in Arabic Script Introduction The Method of Transcription From Hebrew into Arabic Consonants Vowels A Description of the Transcription of Hebrew Consonants into Arabic Consonants Vowels Masoretic Points and Accents Hebrew Text Textual Remarks 9 The Edited Text 10 Translation 11 Orthography and Phonetics Orthography Arabic Orthography Hebrew Orthography Judaeo-Arabic Orthography Vowels Short Vowels Long Vowels The Consonants Hamzah 12 Morphology and Syntax Pronouns Independent Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns Pronominal Suffixes Verbs The infinitive The Perfect Suffix of the Perfect Verba Tertiae w/y Verba Tertiae Hamzatae The Imperfect Moods Imperative Forms Negation The Compound Verb Verba Tertiae Hamzatae (Imperfect) Prepositions Relative Clauses The Noun Gender Dual Plural Unusual Plural Word order 13 Discursive Analysis The Arabic Translation: Sharḥ Genre Syntax Perfect and Imperfect Wāw Consecutive + Perfect Wāw Consecutive + Imperfect Wāw + Cohortative Wāw + Jussive Moods The Cohortative The Imperative Participle Negation Lō + Imperfect al + Cohortative Lō+ Noun+ Verb (imperfect) Vocative Prepositions Number and Gender Asyndesis and Syndesis Asyndesis Syndesis Word Order Hebrew Lexemic Interference New Arabic Lexemic Strata Bibliography Index