Sidney Griffith's much-awaited book, The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the "People of the Book" in the Language of Islam is now partially available as a preview on Google Books, here.
It can also currently be pre-ordered from Amazon at a pretty big discount, here. The release date is May 26.
I'll make more mention of it once I get my own copy, but the publisher's synopsis reads as follows:
It can also currently be pre-ordered from Amazon at a pretty big discount, here. The release date is May 26.
I'll make more mention of it once I get my own copy, but the publisher's synopsis reads as follows:
From the first centuries of Islam to well into the
Middle Ages, Jews and Christians produced hundreds of manuscripts
containing portions of the Bible in Arabic. Until recently, however,
these translations remained largely neglected by Biblical scholars and
historians. In telling the story of the Bible in Arabic, this book casts
light on a crucial transition in the cultural and religious life of
Jews and Christians in Arabic-speaking lands.
In pre-Islamic times, Jewish and Christian scriptures circulated orally in the Arabic-speaking milieu. After the rise of Islam--and the Qur'an's appearance as a scripture in its own right--Jews and Christians translated the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament into Arabic for their own use and as a response to the Qur'an's retelling of Biblical narratives. From the ninth century onward, a steady stream of Jewish and Christian translations of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament crossed communal borders to influence the Islamic world.
The Bible in Arabic offers a new frame of reference for the pivotal place of Arabic Bible translations in the religious and cultural interactions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
In pre-Islamic times, Jewish and Christian scriptures circulated orally in the Arabic-speaking milieu. After the rise of Islam--and the Qur'an's appearance as a scripture in its own right--Jews and Christians translated the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament into Arabic for their own use and as a response to the Qur'an's retelling of Biblical narratives. From the ninth century onward, a steady stream of Jewish and Christian translations of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament crossed communal borders to influence the Islamic world.
The Bible in Arabic offers a new frame of reference for the pivotal place of Arabic Bible translations in the religious and cultural interactions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
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1 comment:
Long awaited and so welcome.
May the good Lord reward your site for the good work AND the author's efforts
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