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Al-Andalus 15 (1950), 289-296

THE VERSION OF THE GOSPELS USED IN MEDINA CIRCA 700 A. D.


usuws have always maintained that d i e apostleshiy ol Muhammad was foretold in the Scriptures,both in the Old and in thc New Testainmt, With stories about iridividuals ~ r h nclaimecl to sce in the Arabian pro het the prombed deIiverer we are not concerned. They have een disciissed b niast Oricntaliats nnd there ir litrle a imthing new to bc sniJabaur tllem. 3 u t in tlie earliest prose work in the Arabic laaguagc h a t has came down t o us, the Sira Nabaabyu of Ibn Isl!q, there is a citatiun fmm' the Gospel o! St. John in suppor t u l this clairn - a citation o quite unusual interest becausc it tells f us what text o die New Testament was knowii-in hlaliiia in the carlp 8th century A. D. Thtt it is a translatim, and not, ag might & fiwt sight sccm possiWc, D r l l e i v c quotatioii f m m mernory will bccorne certsiir as w e procecd. Siiice it iviil mve difricult, inot iinpossiblc, to sbuw Iiow uiJ whencc ancl y whoin this cupy of the Gospels becanic known in Mediiia it his worth whiIe to sat down ii the barcst i ciutIine the facts w e know about the author. Miilpminad ibri hhaq was die p n d s o n uf a inan - robabIy a Cliristiaii xho u r i aptured in I church I r 'P T a w in '1%. i p mii brtiught to MeJina. Ibn I ~ h a qwas torn C. 85/704 an at an dy J e v ~ t e dhimself to the study of tmdition not fmm age the point OE view ol a lawyer or the010 ian, but prirnariiy as ; i historian. I-k went to Egypt in search o information, returning t Mdina in 1$5/733. o Thme he completed his work, ptheriiig

his material from the eitizens o the town. Mlik ihn A m f detested him, probably because hc regarded him as a trespaaser an his preserves, and in &G controvergqr tbat arose Ibn I&q scrired some telling points apinst his enerny. However he fmad it wise ta quit his native ciay and ahcr enjoying the patronag~ uf the early Abbosid caIiphs he died in Baghdad c. 150/767+ The f ~ l l o w i n ~ extract. fram the Siru', therefore, may be said to represent a text ol ahe New Testament to which tAe author had access sometime in tho secund qrrarter o the 8th cen. f
tury A.

D.

E33

THi! VERSION O 'IHE GOSPELS USED IH MBDINA P

291

I venture ta transIatc tbis passagc because the vmy familiarity o che wnds may we!f cause us t13 overlook the didferent f meanfng which they would inevitably convq. to the ordinary Amb readtr:
son of

uAmong the thinp which have reached me about what Jeslrs M r stated i the Gos ol which hs received frbm God ay n fm thc fdlovcrs o the GQS~E!, in applying a term m delicribt the apostle o t God (Gad bless and reserve hipl), j a the hUo. wing; it is an extnrt ' from vhatfohn the A ostle x down r for them w h ~ n wrote the Gos el for them mrn the Testahe ment o Jesus snn ot M r (Peace e upon himl): U He that hateth f ay nie hatetk ehe Lord. And if I had not done in their presmce works wkich none other before me did they had not had sin: but from now t h q are puffed .U with prklc aid think that they will ovwome me and also t e Lord. But the ward that wncerns tlre Nmiis must bc fulfilled 'They hated me withmt a cause', i. e. witbout a reason. But when the Crrmfurter h35 come whum God will send to pou from the Lord's rwence, 2nd tlie spirit of truth which will have p n e torth m m thc Lord's presence, he (shaii beai.) wltncss of me, and ye also because ye have been with m e from the beginnirig. I have spoken ta siu about this that ye should not be in boubtn. The Menah ,emn (God bliss and preserve hirnt) in Syriac b Mulpm. mad; iii Greek he is the Paraclete s

In ordw to show the relation o khis text to the Tentus f

292

ALFRED GUILLAUME

14

at

Receptus I set out beIuiv the Latin Version wich differs hardly aii from the Syriac Peshitta Version:

23, Qui me adit et Patrum meum odit. 24. Si opera non fecissem i cis quae nemo alius lecit, peccatum non haberent: n iiunc autem et viderunt et oderunt er. me e t Patrem meum 25. Sed iit irnpleatur sermo qui in lege eurlini scriptus lest quia o & rne habuerunt gratis. Cum aiitcrn vmerit hracletus quem e o mittarn vobis a Patre, Spiritum vwitatis qui a Patre prucedlt, il e tmtimoiiiuiri pirli~tebi de'111~;-'27. .WS testimriniutn pert Et hibetii, quin ab initio rnecum estis. XVI, 2 , Haec locutus siim iwbis ut noii scandalizemini.

It will be apparent to the readcr that Ibn Isbiiq il qquting from somc Sainitic version o tke Gospels, otlierrvise rhe signi. f frcant ivwd m ~ r e f $ e n t & t ~ ~ u l d c not have IoYiid a pIace there This ward i s not to be.found in the Pesliitta version, and L i the Eastern atristic literature as wiIl appear beluw it js applied to aur Lclr Himself. Furtheunore die Peahitta, OId Syriac, and Philoxeniati versions 21 write the name ]ahn i n the form 1 Ybi baann, not in the Greelr. form Yrrtmwa~s, found iii the Arabic text. A c c o ~ d i n tol find a text uf thie GospeIs h i n which I ~ ~ b Ishq could havc drawn his quotation we must look tor n version wliich cliflers rumall others in dicpiayiag these characw ristics. Such a text js the Palestiniaii Syriac Lecticinary OE the Gospels T wliicli will canclusi~-dy rove that the Ambic writer haci a Syriac text befare Iiini whi he, or his inforinant, skilfully rnsnipulatedaci providc r l ~ a reading we have in the Sbra. In tlie following notes the peculfar rearliii s uf the Lectionary will be discussed first, and a diccussion o the Islamic tun wliich has been most skiIfuIly given to tlie t e x t will follow, togethcr with a flew obseruationa 'an the 'Syria~i' character o f

CR

!i

1 Errairgcfiarunr Hierq.olynri~attrrp,cd: Count F. M. Ertzzo, Verona, 1864; p. 347, and Thc Pafrs;iraian Srjridc Lediionay of tbc Grospck re-cdited frctrn t i v ~ Sinai MSS and from P. de L s a r d e r a edition a l thc Eun~igeliarrrm IJiernaolg~iia= num b y Agnw Smith Lcwjr and Margarct Dunhp Gkbson, Londdn, 1899, P 187, .

V!

THE VERSION QP.THE GOSPELS USED IN MEDINA

293

th~ Arabic. A arr from the. spelhg of the name Johannes, noted abovc, t e renderings af P a r a c f e ~ ~ Spirittcs.W&&and

t$ are crucial, It has

lung been r e c ~ ~ n i z e d thc Palestiniaci that Syriac Lectionary has been s t ~ . o n influenced by Jewish Ara~l~ maic and nowhere is tliis mom perceptibIe than in. their mir &ring o Paraclete w l k h the Syriac Versirins aiid tlie Vul ate f aimply tnnslitente, prycrring die original Greek termai &es the English BiMe in some Iaces.. The word ParacIttc Las becn oaturnlircd' in TJmudic Etcnturc and theretore i r i s strange that tlie Syriac traiiislators ot tlie Lectiunary aliauld iiave gon.~ out o dieir way to introduce an entireIy new renderinp, which f given its Webrew n~eaiiing lias, rd! strange- cuincidence, thc b~ meaning 'CoriitOlrter' OE tlic Eng idi Bible. (However i the Lcctionary was iiitended .for jewish convcrts tlie word iis nrit iil cboscn, for the verb in Isaiah 40' slx&m6a 1s traiislaced parahabitt f3y the LXX and consuhniimi by the Vdg~te),But in Urdinary Syriac no sucli iiieaning is known. Thare rm~za&em~ts mans '1ife.givcr' aiid esyecially one who, raises fruni die dead, whde n+ir~i& stands tor 're:esurrectioiiVn J a b 11, 9 4 ~'" Obviously this caniiot Le tlie nieariing oi riur Lor$s words in thc passage before US. JYiiat is ineant is one wha coiisdes and cornfarts peopic for tlie Ioas o oiie dear to thein, their advacate f md strengthener. a meaiiing that is attested by riummerous ci,tatbns in TalinuJic anJ Tagumic dictionaries, Sccondly ZQL' spi~itiltsveritads the best MSS ol Ibn IsIjq harre rGbu 'I-gist, nliich hter writers Iiam gratuiuiusly altered tci &,w'f.q~ds. ut gkt i~ nat 'truth*, tut ratlier 'equity' or 'jusfice'. Whence, tlieii, came tlic word? Tlrere i tio aridiority for s it in thc Old Syriac or Pesiiitta whiich r e d correctlg sbe~ara. P. ain the answer i s to be fauiid in the Lectionary wliich has ~, rad'gidrbfa, die corrcct iiieaning iii Jewisli Araniaic '.

Turniiig now to what we may caIl i n t e r d differentes in

T h ward ntnjjZn in 25 i s Syrisc and has ra be glassed by thc Arab.athor* but br our purpbe ft is neutral, as it is a giood S r i a c word dfte'n tri bc fottnd i a i rbo Pcshitia. Aiiotlacr indicatiafi oi a jcwlsh dialect Is meslirrflak in 26 where ehe Poahtta reads me~knddarfgr mittuirr,

the Arabic texa certairi alterations i the interest uf Islaniic n orthodoxy Ieap to the eyc: aba, father, (wkich can mean h father' in Syriac md Jewis Aramaic ') bceomes rabh Undvu tedIy the aheratiun is intentional becau~e,owin tu tht: carnal ass~ciadon fatherhoad of in Islam, father i s a blasp emous term to use in refmence t God a and bears the sti'gma of trinitarianism. Ra!& is simiIar in sound, and not entirely devoid of the same cmnoiaticm, for the vmb which Jenotes Iordshi~and mastery can be applied also to the. of children and thus in a sense a rabb can be an ah The usc o rabb hem seems tri point to a desire on the part of the translator tto keeP as near as possibie to the original text ot the Gospel. . b) In 24 the Arabic tent is corru t. The;rare ward buhi~ii is an obvims error h r riugatii, 'tliay aie sem', wbich ali versiona prmuppose. Wa-+arrnii 1ooks.likc a n d e r shot at the meaning from a mutiiated fragrnent of an ciri inal n a ~ a ~ . C ) Y ~ ~ u z a i i t z m canmt account for, al. Syr. has seprau, Ii and the Arabic tranalat~rhas twice rendered s e d corrlrctlp by ah8bada in the preceding Verse. cst d 25. Bp omitting da k~itbba qui.. , s e ~ i p k s and thc ) pronoun in ~ r d ~ a s k t t lege e o w m thc translatim given abuvs -in results and instead of the Receivad Text oChristendam we hau6 a mysterioirs prophecy about che Nlms which early Muslim cornmentators identified with Gabriel who is tlie Hol S idt. One cannot L ~ C ~ t h ~ r i r ~ ~ l u s jthat thc dtention fs LliLrate. Y C ~ ori c/ 26. By altai? 'whom I w d send to you from ths Father' to 'wTiom Go will send to you lrom the Lwd' a a impossible sentekt resultc. As tlie words stand the can only mean that God will send a Comforter frvm Himse f, but thrr laaguage in which thc Statement i s ex ressed is tartuous a d unnatural and can anly be the result o a vident alteration oi thc original text. fl I All but S ~ ~ L ; Anbs wmld understand rb& to mean 'doubt'; but aI1 versrqns agree in tlie rendming SC=

CHE VERSIONOF THB GOSPELS USED IN MBDINA

295

daic~rrninianJ this, too, is whzt W. Syr. has iierc. In eluaical Arabic s h k t can mein to limp, ba lame; but ta limp 1s wt to stumble 'atbaraf. In the dialect ol tlic Lebaiion eGarj? da& sti 1 rneans tu fa I h e a d l q and the Sprian Arabs knew the meaning 'scandalized' Thus it muId seem that the tranaIator was hiniself a Syrian Arab.
Tr~iatwortli~ inmmatiun about the Christians of Arabia befcire anJ immediate1 after the rise of Islam i s so scanty that it has seemed woreh w ilc to braw attention tci this citation fmm the New Testameiit iii such an early work as tlic Sim, in the hope tliat some schoHr niay toe able to pursue the enquiry fiir&er, How far did this version of die Malleite Cliurcli penetrate competing a9 ic inusr. yyitll thc far more pb dar Peshitta and thle mbably still cxisting OId Syriac versiai. It would scem unlithat i t aould havc movcd Iar outside ira wiginal Syrim orbit for tlic' obvious reason that ib stmngIy markerl Jewish Aramaic woiild makc it unintclligible in placcs to tlioac d a miliar with tliat dialect. Nothiiing more than a prohbilit can be hazarded; and it may weil be that Ibn Ish obtaine his infmnatio~i hom some S rian Cliristinn. Ayla r ieic therc was a bishop fcll to tlia duslimi befcrc tlie riPliei'a denth nd it was not so hr a i v y in St..Catliarincls lk&iinatery on Sird h a t d~e.two MSS ~f th6 Lectionar rvere discovered witliiii tlie last generation. Somewhere in t iis arm wtiuld sacni ta be the must likeIy provenance of the iext and une ran fecl rmsonably cstain t h t his informant was a Syi~iaii Cliristian from the use of the ward bbakk instead of 'dd 3.

Lly

t rr iny c o f l c q p c Dr, hljid Paklrr~. Simi[nrly in tlic Sdn todrv, niy colbgaz Dr. EI-Tayyib tclir me, 4 . 5 ~ undcr [f.), Tliis icrsien sctnls ta have been madc wjrh aii aye tri tha mrny Palestinian Iewewho j ~ l n c d Bysantine State Churcli undur pmi*iurefrom rhc the cmpcrar Justinian(527-565).Later it waa uscd in thc dioccre o Anitoch and f wailsa known in Damaicus and Egypr. Fr. Schultlieaa, Grammatik der cbriadich paMsi~tcMmA r a ~ d i d TBbIngen, 1924, p 1, a a t e s that theearliest MSS oi , rbe Lectionery are not aldcr than the bcginnine; of thc 9th ccntury. IE that be thcn Ibn IsSlqP8citation Es 1 century older than my knawn text.

I owe tids fahmadrin

Generally when Ibn 1. sq speaks o Jewish prophecia or f cxpectations olf ;x Messiah he gives the names o his informants f ar mme liint as to whence he got his inormatlon - but in our passage he uses die vaguest possible term Mdgban~,'it hap reached me'. Thus wc may erbaps infer that his infcirmant was n airistim. Had he b a n a kuslirn Ibn lsha d d havc givm his name. Possibly he askd a Cliristian w ether Christ bad prornised that someone shouid fdlorir him, He would be told uf the promisc 01 die desccnt OE thc Holy Spirit [which he would inrerpret tu mean GabriJ coming to Muhammad) and he would ask die Christian to translate tht passage lor him. He himsdf wodd edit die t e x t an3 tke result lies bebe us.

. P S. Professor Gibb has drawn my attention to thc notes m this pasrage in . the Ett9dapaedini Llarir (art. Indjil, p. 502), If my study is wund, ths. pm. waph tkem w~11nced carrtction. As we havc secn thc citation cannot b c l q i~
the 'vtiris~amischc arabisch-chrjstliche Schriftthum' as Sprengcr, Mokaiunrad, 1,131, thought in I861.

Das L c h brr

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