Description

Codex of Ketuvim (‘Writings’, the third division of the Hebrew Bible), in Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic.

The translations

It is important to note that the Aramaic translation to the Five Rolls (in Hebrew Hamesh Megilot) has a super-linear punctuation (i.e. placed above the letters). The Arabic translation of Psalms, Job, Proverbs and Song of Songs, among others, are by Sa’adia ben Yosef Gaon (892-942 CE). Sa’adia Gaon was one of the greatest medieval biblical scholars and philosophers. He was originally from Fayyum, Egypt, but lived most of his life in Babylonia. He is credited with translating almost the entire Hebrew Bible into Arabic, and is recognised as the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature.

The manuscript

It was penned on paper in a typically Yemenite square script. Beside the Hebrew text, there are partial translations in Aramaic and in Judeo-Arabic (i.e. Arabic text in Hebrew characters). The vowel points and accents, and the masoretic notations are inconsistent. The scribe responsible for copying the text was most probably, Benayah ben Zeharyah ben Marga, a major Yemenite scribe (d. 1490).

View images of the entire manuscripts via our Digitised Manuscripts website.