Add MS 15442

This still largely unedited commentary of the Psalms was composed by the physician, philosopher and East Syriac theologian Abū al-Faraj ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭayyib (d. 1043). Ibn Ṭayyib was read by famous Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Sīnā and Ibn Rushd, as well as by the Jewish polymath Maimonides. He is often described as the most important Christian Arabic exeget yet whereas his philosophical works have received a great deal of attention, his exegetical works remain largely understudied. As an East Syrian, Ibn Ṭayyib was firmly entrenched in the so-called Antiochean tradition and his commentaries focus on moral and historical aspects of the biblical texts. Albeit the matter should be investigated further, it is commonly understood that he mostly translated the Syriac exegetical heritage into Arabic and adapted it only slightly to serve contemporary needs. In the introduction to the Arabic rendition and commentary, he discusses questions such as literary style, arrangements, original purpose, and authorship of the Psalms, but also questions relating to their later reception, i.e. why they are used for prayers and why they are recited in the way they are, as well as how to interpret them to avoid anthropomorphism and how to properly understand David as a prophet.

The manuscript contains 150 Psalms and Odes of Moses and Isaiah with commentary of Abū al-Faraj ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭayyib.

Contents:

(1) Romanised author's name, fol. 1r: ( ‫Abū al-Faraj ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (للشيخ الفاضل القس ابي الفرج عبد الله ابن الطيب

Romanised title, fol. 1r: (تفسير مزامير دواد النبي) A Commentary on the Psalms of the Prophet David

Fols. 1v-5r: introduction divided into 11 parts: the first part describes the division of the Psalms into five parts by the Jews corresponding to the five senses; the second discusses different types of recitation; the third talks about the reasons why Psalms are sung according to different melodies; the fourth why the Apostles used Psalms for prayers; the fifth why David was given the Psalms, the sixth argues that David was a prophet; the seventh on the arrangements of the Psalms; the eighth on the original purpose of the Psalms; the ninth on prophesies; the tenth on the style of the Psalms; the eleventh on allegory and anthropomorphisms. Cf. Cureton and Rieu, Catalogus, p. 353; and Graf, p.165.

Fols. 5v-208r: Psalms 1-150. Each Psalm is divided into “qāla dāwūd…qāla al-mufassir…” and also related to a canon collection (fol. 5v):

المزمور الاول موعظه تحث على القنون الجميله

الطوبي للرجل الذي لم يسلك بسيبل الاثمه ولم يثبت على راى الخطاه المذنين ولم يجلس مجلس المستهزين‫ القانون طوبي لمن يحمل نيرك ويدرس في سنتك يا رب ليلا ونهارا قال المفسّر الطوبي اسم يدك على السعاده والسعاده هي على الحق وفعل الخيروتصرف الانسان

Fols. 208v-214v: Odes (Moses; Isaiah)

Ends: On fol. 214v, the end seems to be missing.

Colophon: fol. 208r, see transcription in Cureton and Rieu, Catalogus, p. 353.

The work carries the date 5 Shaʿbān 584 AH (29 September 1188 CE).