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Or 8745

Record Id:

032-004515227

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-004515227

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100178689862.0x000001

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Or 8745

Title:

Bible

Scope & Content:

This volume contains the complete Bible, a copy of the Biblia Sacra Arabica originally issued by the Propaganda Fide commission in 1671, where extant Arabic Bible translations were collected and to various extents corrected in line with various Vorlagen.

Content:

Introduction, fol. 1r–v

Genesis, fols. 2r–12v

Exodus, fols. 13r–24v

Leviticus, fols. 25r–33r

Numbers, fols. 33v–45v

Deuteronomy, fols. 46r–56r

Joshua, fols. 56v–63r

Judges, fols. 63v–40r

Ruth, fols. 40v–41r

1 Samuel (here 1 Kings), fols. 41v–81r

2 Samuel (here 2 Kings), fols. 81v–89v

1 Kings (here 3 Kings), fols. 90r–99r

2 Kings (here 4 Kings), fols. 99v–109r

1 Chronicles, fols. 109v–118v

2 Chronicles, fols. 119r–129v

Ezra (i.e. the protocanonical Ezra, here called Ezra 1), fols. 130r–133r

Nehemiah (here called Ezra 2), fols. 133v–138v

Tobit, fols. 139r–142r

Judith, fols. 142v–147r

Esther, fols. 147v–152r

Job, fols. 152v–161v

150 Psalms, fols. 162r–182v

Proverbs, fols. 183r–190r

Ecclesiastes, fols. 190v–193v

Song of Songs, fols. 194r–195r

Wisdom of Solomon, fols. 195v–200v

Introduction to Ben Sira, fol. 201r

Ben Sira, fols. 201v–216r

Isaiah, fols. 216v–233v

Jeremiah, fols. 234r–254v

Lamentations, fols. 255r–257v (Lamentations 5 is separated under the heading ‘Prayer of Jeremiah’ on fol. 257v)

Baruch, fols. 258r–260v

Ezekiel, fols. 261r–280v

Daniel: fols. 281r–288v

Daniel 1–12, including the Additions in chapter 3, fols. 281r–287r (+ note that the following are not in the Hebrew copy but rendered according to Theodotion)

Susanna, fols. 287v–288r

Bel and the Dragon, fols. 288r–288v

Hosea, fols. 289r–291v

Joel, fols. 292r–293r

Amos, fols. 293v–295v

Obadiah, fols. 296r

Jonah, fols. 296v–297r

Micah, fols. 297v–298v

Nahum, fols. 299r–299v

Habakkuk, fols. 300r–300v

Zephaniah, fols. 301r–301v

Haggai, fols. 302r–302v

Zechariah, fols. 303r–306r

Malachi, fols. 306v–307r

Maccabees 1, fols. 307v–320v

Maccabees 2, fols. 321r–328r

(Fol. 328v blank)

Matthew, fols. 329r–339r

Mark, fols. 339v–347r

Luke, fols. 347v–359v

John, fols. 360r–369r

Acts, fols. 369v–383r

Romans, fols. 383v– (foliation missed fol. 384)–389v

1 Corinthians, fols. 390r–395r

2 Corinthians, fols. 395v–399r

Galatians, fols. 399v–401r

Ephesians, fols. 401v–403r

Philippians, fols. 403v–404v

Colossians, fols. 405r–406r

1 Thessalonians, fols. 406v–407v

2 Thessalonians, fols. 408r–v

1 Timothy. fols. 409r–410v

2 Timothy, fols. 411r–412r

Titus, fols. 412v–413r

Philemon, fols. 413v

Hebrews, fols. 414r–417v

James, fols. 418r–419r

1 Peters, fol. 419v–420v

2 Peter, fols. 421r–v

1 John, fols. 422r–v

2 John, fols. 423r

3 John, fols. 423v

Jude, fols. 424r

Revelations, fols. 424v–428v

List of OT testamonia (fihrist al–shahādāt), fols. 429r–431v

List of translations of Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek names in alphabetical order, fols. 432r–435v

Index/concordance, etc. in alphabetical order, fols. 436r–475v (474v–475r blank)

The text contains no colophons and is undated, but is believed to have been copied in the 18th or 19th century CE.

Collection Area:

Oriental Manuscripts

Hierarchy Tree:

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Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-004515227

Is part of:

not applicable

Hierarchy:

032-004515227

Container:

not applicable

Record Type (Level):

Fonds

Extent:

Codex, 475 ff

Digitised Content:

Languages:

Arabic

Scripts:

Arabic

Start Date:

1700

End Date:

1899

Date Range:

18th century-19th century

Calendar:

Gregorian

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Material: European paper.

Dimensions: The codex is written in two columns. Ca. 200 mm x 300 mm leaf [each column: 75–80 mm x 260 mm written].

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil. Foliated in Arabic on verso and with Coptic Epact numbers on recto.

Lines per page: 43–45 lines/column/page.

Script: Naskh.

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings in gold, blue, and red.

Decoration: Before the beginning of Genesis on fol. 2r, there is an illuminated headpiece framing the basmala-phrase (bism allāh al-raʾūf al-raḥīm) in golden letters and floral patterns in gold, blue, green, and red colours. The rubric introducing the four books of Kings (i.e. 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings) on fol. 41v is framed, this time in a geometrical pattern in gold, green, blue and red. Before Psalms on fol. 162r, the title is framed with both geometrical and floral patterns in orange, green, purple, blue and yellow colours. At the beginning of the Prophets on fol. 216v, a pattern was prepared but the areas were never coloured. The headpiece introducing the first gospel on fol. 329r is similar to the one on fol. 2r, and so is the ones on fols. 339v, 347v, and 360r introducing Mark, Luke, and John respectively, yet there they are only half the size. Smaller headpieces are also found on fol. 369v, where Acts begins, and on 424v, right before Revelations. All pages in the codex are framed, mostly with blue and red lines, sometimes with golden lines. It has a golden fore edge.

Binding: British Museum binding.

Condition: Good.

Catchwords: Lower left margin of a verso.

Source of Acquisition:

Bought by Robert Curzon. Bequeathed by Darea Baroness Zouche 13 Oct. 1917.

Finding Aids:

Baker, Colin F. Subject Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library (London: The British Library, 2001), 400.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Related Material:

Selected Studies

Féghali, Paul. ‘The Holy Books in Arabic: The Example of the Propaganda Fide Edition’, in Translating the Bible into Arabic: Historical, Text Critical, and Literary Aspect, eds. S. Binay and S. Leder (Beirut: Orient–Institut Beirut, 2012), 37–51.

Löfgren, Oscar. Studien zu den arabischen Danielübersetzungen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der christlichen Texte nebst einem Beitrag zur Kritik des Peschitatextes (Uppsala: Lundequitska bokhandeln, 1936).

Vollandt, Ronny. Arabic Versions of the Pentateuch: A Comparative Study of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Sources (Leiden: Brill, 2015).

Zaki, Vevian. The Pauline Epistles in Arabic: Manuscripts, Versions, and Transmissions (Leiden: Brill, 2021).

Knutsson, Bengt, Studies in the Text and Language of Three Syriac–Arabic Versions of the Book of Judicum with Special Reference to the Middle Arabic Elements: Introduction, Linguistic Notes, Texts (Leiden: Brill, 1974).

Related Archive Descriptions:

Or 6486