Sinai Arabic MS 68: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Unique Arabic Gospel Manuscript

Authors

Phillip W. Stokes, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Noha Abou-Khatwa, The American University in Cairo
Georg Leube, Universität Bayreuth

Second Author's Department

Arab & Islamic Civilizations Department

Find in your Library

https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae020

All Authors

Phillip W. Stokes, Noha Abou-Khatwa, Georg Leube

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Journal of Semitic Studies

Publication Date

1-1-2024

doi

10.1093/jss/fgae020

Abstract

The study of the Bible in Arabic has become a topic of increasing interest among scholars of the intellectual history of the Islamic world, as well as Christianity in areas under Islamic rule. Nevertheless, most Arabic Bible manuscripts remain largely, or even totally, unstudied. While the textual and theological dimensions of these translations are attracting increasing scholarly attention, their linguistic analysis remains dominated by a traditionalist approach now completely outdated. This paper has two goals, one descriptive and one methodological. First, we aim to fully describe the Arabic Gospel manuscript Sinai Arabic MS 68, traditionally dated to the 14th century CE but which we date to the 16th century CE, perhaps in the aftermath of the fall of the Mamluk empire. Our description focuses on the linguistic nature of the manuscript, but includes discussions of its history and materiality as well. Second, we propose a methodological approach to studying the language of the text that takes seriously non-Classical components and contextualizes these features within what is known from other such non-Classical compositions, including especially Christian manuscripts. We conclude that the manuscript was produced by artisans and a scribe with significant courtly experience, and shows evidence of multiple normative linguistic registers, which argues strongly for the importance of broadening the framework within which scholars interpret such 'Middle Arabic' texts.

First Page

803

Last Page

867

Comments

Article. Record derived from SCOPUS.

Recommended Citation

APA Citation

Stokes, P. Abou-Khatwa, N. & Leube, G. (2024). Sinai Arabic MS 68: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Unique Arabic Gospel Manuscript. Journal of Semitic Studies, 69(2), 803–867. 10.1093/jss/fgae020
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_journal_articles/6287

MLA Citation

Stokes, Phillip W., et al. "Sinai Arabic MS 68: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Unique Arabic Gospel Manuscript." Journal of Semitic Studies, vol. 69,no. 2, 2024, pp. 803–867.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_journal_articles/6287