The Samaritan Version of Saadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch: Critical Edition and Study of MS London BL OR7562 and Related MSS(3 Biblia Arabica)

This edition of MS London BL OR7562 and other related MSS, and the accompanying linguistic and philological study, discuss a Samaritan adaptation of Saadya’s Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch, its main characteristics and place among other early Medieval Arabic Bible translations, viz., other versions of Saadya’s translation of the Pentateuch, other Samaritan Arabic versions of the Pentateuch, and Christian and Karaite Arabic Bible translations. The study analyses the various components of this version, its transmission, its language, the extent to which the Samaritans adapted this version of Saadya’s translation to their own version of the Hebrew Pentateuch, and their possible motives in choosing it for their own use.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements List of Symbols and Abbreviations to the Critical Edition Introduction Part 1 The Samaritan Version of Saadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch 1 Early Medieval Arabic Bible Translations Introductory Remarks 1.1 Early Christian Arabic Bible Translations (8th–10th Centuries) 1.2 Early Jewish Arabic Bible Translations (9th–12th Centuries) 1.3 Early Jewish Arabic Bible Translations: Pre-Saadyan Bible Translations (9th Century?) 1.4 Early Jewish Arabic Bible Translations: Rabbanite and Karaite Translations (10th–12th Centuries) 1.5 Early Samaritan Arabic Translations of the Pentateuch (11th?-13th Centuries) 2 Saadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch Introduction 25 2.1 The Transmission of the Tafsīr in Hebrew and Arabic Characters: Important Manuscripts and Print Editions 2.2 Language and Style of Earlier and Later Versions 3 The Samaritan Version of Saadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch and Its Transmission Introduction: The Relationship of Other Samaritan Arabic Versions of the Pentateuch to the Samaritan Version of Saadya Gaon’s Translation 3.1 A Description of MS London BL OR7562 and Related Manuscripts 3.2 The Transmission of MS London BL OR7562: Transmission Stages and Components 3.3 A Description of Other Samaritan Manuscripts Identified as Related to MS London BL OR7562 or as Mainly Saadyan 4 Characteristics of MS London BL OR7562: Script and Orthography Introduction 55 4.1 The Samaritan Script Used in MS London BL OR7562 4.2 Was the Saadyan Vorlage of MS London BL OR7562 in Arabic or Hebrew Script? 4.3 Orthography 5 Characteristics of MS London BL OR7562: Language Introduction: The Language of the Early Samaritan Arabic Translation and Its Later Revision, of Saadya’s Tafsīr, and of MS London BL OR7562 5.1 The Language of MS London BL OR7562: Grammatical Description 5.2 Middle Arabic Features as a Result of Neo-Arabic Dialectal Interference 5.3 Is the Language of the Saadyan Component of MS London BL OR7562 Post-Classical, Middle Judeo-Arabic, or Middle Christian Arabic? 5.4 Hebrew Elements and Hebraisms 5.5 Aramaic Elements and Aramaisms 5.6 Islamic Vocabulary 5.7 Unusual Translations 5.8 Proper Nouns 6 Characteristics of MS London BL OR7562: Adaptation to the Samaritan Pentateuch Introduction: The Samaritan Hebrew Pentateuch and the Masoretic Text 6.1 The Tenth Commandment 6.2 Other Samaritan Additions in MS London BL OR7562 6.3 Other Textual Changes Reflected in MS London BL OR7562 7 Christian and Karaite Parallels in MS London BL OR7562 and in the Other Samaritan Arabic Translations of the Pentateuch Background: Samaritan–Christian and Samaritan–Karaite Relations 7.1 Parallels to Christian Arabic Bible Translations in MS London BL OR7562 7.2 Parallels to Karaite Arabic Bible Translations in MS London BL OR7562 7.3 Parallels between the Early Christian Arabic Bible translations and the Early Samaritan Arabic Translation and Its Later Revision 8 Non-Saadyan Samaritan Arabic Versions in the First Stage of MS London BL OR7562 Background 8.1 Parallels to the Early Samaritan Arabic Translation 8.2 The Later Revision of the Early Samaritan Arabic Translation 8.3 Parallels to Proper Nouns 9 Conclusion Summary 9.1 The Origins of the Samaritan Version of Saadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch 10 Introduction to the Critical Edition Manuscripts Included in the Critical Edition 10.1 Early and Late Readings 10.2 Other Symbols and Abbreviations Used in the Critical Edition References Abbreviations List of Manuscripts Short References to Primary Sources Bibliography Index of Authors Index of Subjects Index of Ancient Sources Index of Words Part 2 Critical Edition of MS London BL OR7562 MS London BL OR7562 Genesis – בראשית Exodus – שמות Leviticus – ויקרא Numbers – במדבר Deuteronomy – דברים Appendix A. MSS St. Petersburg RNL Firk. Sam. 179, 178 and MS Manchester JRL Sam. 73 MS St. Petersburg RNL Firk. Sam. 179 (Gen 10:12b–25a) Genesis – בראשית MS St. Petersburg RNL Firk. Sam. 178 (Deut 28:11b–42a, 29:9–30:1a.) and MS Manchester JRL Sam. 73 (Deut 28:47–29:1) Deuteronomy – דברים Appendix B. MS Oxford Bodl. OR139 (Deut 11:2–26:14) Deuteronomy – דברים Appendix C. MS Manchester JRL Sam. 2 (Deut 32–34) Deuteronomy – דברים

About the Author :
Tamar Zewi, Ph.D. (1993), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Linguistics at the University of Haifa. Her recent publications are Parenthesis in Biblical Hebrew (Brill, 2007), and Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics (associate editor, Brill, 2013).