-
THE ARABIC COMPONENT IN MAINIMONIDES HEBRE\ry
Haseeb Shehdeh
lNtr r ltn ))lrf nbN 1r.t)
Moses ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides, was born in
Cordoba on March30, I135 and died in Fustat (old Cairo) on Deember
13,l2M. Maimonides is oneof the greatest scholars in Jewish
history, a prominent mcdieval Jewish philorcpher,a major figure in
the codification of the Jewish Law, spiritual and official leaderof
the Jewish community in Fustat and in distant communities, and Couf
Physicianro Al Malik Al-Afal Saladin rhe Ayyubite, rhe Vizier of
Egypt (l138-n93). Hisfathcr was a physician, rabbi, and judge
(dayyn). Maimonides' family lived atvarious times in a number of
different countries: Andalucia, Morocco, Palestineand Egypt.
Maimonides enjoyed prominence and displayed breadth and depth
ofscholarship in the three f,relds of religion, philosophy and
medicine.
Maimonides is well known in the Jewish heritage by the acronym
Rambm,which stands for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, whereas in Arabic
sources hc isreferred to by his Aabic name, Misa b. Maimfln
al-Qurgubi. Rambam is a uniquefigure for the Jews, one of the
greatest Jewish scholars since the prophet Moses;he was called the
great eagle and second Moses. He studied with one of thestudents of
Ibn Bla known in the West by the name Avenpace (d. I 138).
Shemutlben Yehuda lbn Tibbon (l150-1230), the Hebrew hanslator of
dlalat al-d,irn,designates Maimonides in his preface by the
epithets the great Rav, the divinephilosopher, unblemished crown
arav hag-gadol, hafilosof ha'elohi, han-nezerha1-ahor).
Maimonides pretended that he believed in Islam until the age of
thirty. In I160he and his family left Spain for Fs, Palestine and
frnally Egypt. Ibn Ahi Uaibi'a(1203-1269), a friend of Maimonides's
son, in his well-known book ,uyn al-anb'f tabaqt al-aibbd' ('the
prime of news in the classes of physicians') mentionsthat Rambam
was distinguished in medicine.r
' Ibn AH Uibi a" p. 6t?
Studla Oenta!a 99 (2004), pp. 323-340
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324 HASEEB SHEHDEH
Yet al-Qifti (l167-1248) did not share this view. [n medicine
Maimonides followedthe tadition of Hippocrates and especial
emphasis was laid on preventative medicine.He adopted the
Aristotelian school of philosophy through the mediation of theworks
of the philosophers al-Frbi, the second teacher, (873-950) and lbn
Sin(980-1037), known in the West as Avicenna.
The seven centuries of Arab domination in Andalucia left a deep
linguisticimpact on Spanish vocabulary , for instance the
loan-words as 'alcalde', 'alfaqui','adaraga', 'tarifa', 'arroba',
'alcohol', 'aljuba', 'alfayate', 'tahona', 'atroz',
'adive','jarra', 'abode', 'atabal'. Maimonides was a young man when
be wrote a heatiseon logic. In it he maintains that faith and
reason are the sources of revelation. lnhis opinion the most
elevated goal that a human being should strive to attain is
theknowledge of theoretical truth. He formulated the main doctrines
of Judaism inthirteen credal affirmations in order to differentiate
Judaism from both Christianityand Islam. The character of
Maimonides symbolizes a synthesis of tradition andreason, religion
and science, Israel and Greece.2 I the introduction to the
com-mentary on the Mishnah Maimonides states his belief that being
'a good and wiseperson' is the goal of life. Among the most notable
works of Maimonides areDallat al-H'ri (Moreh Nebukhim, 'Guide of
the Perplexed', I176-91); MishneTorh (MT) or Hay-yad Ha-azaqa
('Second Law', 'Strong Hand'); a commentaryon the Mishnah; the book
of religious duties and his responsa, and twelve teatiseson health.
ln these major compositions Maimonides attempted to reconcile
Judaismand philosophy. At the beginning of the Guidefor the
Perplexedthe aulhor presentsa synopsis of the religious duties of
Judaism, and at the beginning of MT he sumsup his philosophical
views. The theme of reconciliation between religion andreason in
general attracted the attention of several distinguished scholars
in theMiddle Ages. Suffice it, by way of illustration, to refer
here to the contribution ofRab Sa'adia Gaon (882-942) to Jewish
studies.3
It is an open secret that the study of secular sciences (nl:xn
ntn:n) was notencouraged by Rabbinate Jews, and even less by the
Karaites. It should be notedthat MT is the only Hebrew book by
Maimonides. Apart from this only a fewHebrew letters have been
found. It was written over a period of ten years, I 170-l
180.4Maimonides calleditthe composition (rt:n)x) and explained the
choice of MishnaicHebrew for it in his introduction to Sefer
Ham-mitzvot'. "I did not write it inBiblical Hebrew, since that
tanguage is not adequately mastered by us in order forus to
formulate all the laws through it. Neither did I write it in the
language of theTalmud, since only a very few understand it, and
certain words are strange anddifficult even for the experls. But I
am going to write it in the language of theMishnah in order to make
it easy for most people to understand".r In one of hisresponsa
Maimonides states that rendering MT into Arabic would lose all
its
Adar, p.14.Heschel (1943-19,14).The Responsa, first part, l;
Kafih, p. nrr.Cf. Chomsky (1967), p. 130.
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The Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew 325
lovelinesS.The Hebrew presented in this book is considered by
some scholars to be good,
accurate, simple, pleasant, and accurate Mishnaic styleT based
on all Hebrewsources. Some new Hebrew words were coined by him, for
instance ,nyt)f ,yJtil):n which mean formulation, hindrance, damage
respectively.s Kutscher says,"Arabic influence, too, is noticeable
in his writings. But apparently he neverappropriated any Arabic
root which did not exist in Hebrew, so the Arabic influenceis
resricted to the various gpes of loan translations. He also
succeeded in avoidingthe influence of Arabic in the domain of
syntax.'' Biblical and Mishnaic wordswere employed by Maimonides
with different meanings, and following theTibbonites and other
translators he coined new words such as tpD?, 'to take anouting',
perhaps under the influence of yahnazzah in fuabic. Such creative
linpisticinnovations on the part of Maimonides stimulated some of
his opponents, such asR. Awaham lbn David, to say, 'he comrpted our
language, modified the languageof our Sages.'ro
Maimonides' other compositions are written in so-called
Judaeo-Arabic, abranch of Middle Arabic. Friedlaender was, most
likely, one of the ftrst scholarsto disapprove of the
designationJewish Arabic: "The assumption of a specialJewish-Arabic
dialect, in the case of men like Maimonides who were
thoroughlypermeated by Arabic culhue, is utterly unfounded.rr"
MT was written 'only for God's sake' (N1rll orrnu ou)) and
towards the endof its preface the author touches on the method and
goal of his composition. Hegirded up his loins, relying on God and
his understanding of Jewish sources topresent a brief, organised
and clear Oral Torah for all.r2 Its style is utterly differentfrom
the Tibbonite language and style.rs
Moreover, MT describes how a Jew should carry out the
obligations of theTorah. It presents a comprehensive picture of
haditional Jewish life, the relationshipbetween man and his fellow
and between man and God. In the compilation of MTMaimonides drew on
several sources, such as the Palestinian and BabylonianTalmuds, the
different Targums, Halachic Midashic writings, such as
Mekhilta,Sifre and Sifra, Geonic literature and other literary
compositions still unknown to 1, nDtv) ))u tg> ,)tly lv)) tNtvn)
o)tt out Jr t)tx se, Maimonides' Collection of
Responsa. Leipzig 1E59, r ,tu 'nrr (Hebrew).? Avinciri; p. 459;
Cboms (1977\, p.201; Sarfatti, p. 1 56.
8 Chomsky (1977,pp.2Ol-202.e Kutr"h.t, p. 165 and cf. Sarfatti,
p. 156.'o Cf. Bacher (1903), pp. I 17, 128, 129, l3lf., 133f., 2E3,
290; Bacher (1914), pp. 281-282,
286; Sarfatti, pp. 156-165; Twersky, p. l7l.ll Friedlacndcr, p.
XV.12 t)x ))f tn)lrr xn Trl ryn )y rn:yurt ,Tltor rDttD r nvf' t)r{
,r)Jn lntyt) nl t)cD'
rNu oy,lil)t.NDpn ,'Dttn ltNn t)yt orllni )N ))D orl'fnDi ot'rft
rrn) rnrNl Drr,lN) NrU N)f )n r5f n.1O n)f nt )yJU nln NnV ly ,nl!p
1.t n'ttl t )1 o)) ,lnil !t)1...prrrC'.
rr Sce Zaidmau Sarfatri, p. 157.
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326 HASEEB SHEHADEH
us. unfurtunately, Maimonides does not refer, as a rule, to thc
sources upon whichhe based his conclusions and decisions.ra
Judaeo-Arabic was the mother tongue of Maimonides and all Jews
livingunder Muslim Arab rule in the Middle Ages. Arabic served as
rhe lingua francaand was the language of culture and science.ls
Hebrew, on the other hand, wasprimarily a written language for
approximately seventeen centuries, from 200 to1900 A.D. Needless to
say, during this long period Hebrew was heard in synagogueprayers
as well as when the or was read. Furthermore, sporadic evidence of
briefconversations in Hebrew between Jews coming from various
distant locations isfound. Yet the gap between such a situation and
a natural spoken language ishuge. Therefore, the assertion that
Hebrew was a spoken language in the MiddleAges is unjustified.
Generally speaking, mediaeval Jews from sa,adia Gaon onwere
accustomed to employ so-called Judaeo-Aabic in their prose
writings, whereasHebrew (as a rule, Biblical Hebrew) was adopted
for poery. The former languagewas called 'the serving maid' and the
latter 'mistress'- bel5on has-sira u-vellonhag-gevert.r6
As I have tried to show elsewhere,rT sometimes the attempt to
find the realreason for a specific linguistic usage is fraught with
difcultics. ln order to illustratethis phenomenon I discussed two
examples. The first of lhese is the occurrence ofthe imperfect with
the morpheme -un and in other cases with the short onc, -u.The
shift from the type yifalun to yifalu might be explained as
imitation ofmediaeval spoken Arabic but at the same time it should
be mentioned that thelong form is marginal in Biblical Hebrew and
does not occur at all in MishnaicHebrew. In sdadia's siddur the
only form used is the long one (due to theinfluence of lraqi Arabic
or Biblical Flebrew?), while in /(ru b al-Lugha the shortform is
utilised in both Arabic and Hebrew.rs
The second example was the adverb sham in the sense of "there
is, generarreality" attested in Mishnaic Hebrew and perhaps in
Ezekiel 3: 23 )x NrN orpN1v nnt 1tl) ur n)n vi2ln
-So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold,the glory of
the Lord stood there...re
At hrst glance one might consider this usage a natural
continuation of an olderlayer of Hebrew. Yet an in-depth look
cannot and ought not to ignore the frequencyof the usage under
discussion in Hebrew texts tanslated from Arabic, as well as
intexts written originally in Hebrew but under the influence of
mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic. It is important to note that sham = lhere
s is not attested in mediaevalHebrew texts \ryritten in Ashkenaz by
scholars such as Rashi who did not have any
Kasher.
Neuman.
Shehadeh (1998), pp. 800, 806-808.lbid, p. 809.This point in the
Tafsir and Kitb al-Amnil wa-al-l ti6dt requires examination.Holy
Bible; Goldenberg, column 1627; Friedlaender (1909, l95l)p. xix,
nore 2.
l4
IJ
l6
l7
IE
t9
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The Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew 327
knowledge of Arabic. In the light of this fact it stands to
reason to ascribe thisusage to the obvious influence of fuabic hunk
rather than of the typical classicalword 1amm. Moreover, neither
the Hebrew of the Haskala (Enlightenment) norModern Hebrew use
slm'o as a calque from Arabic (except perhaps in somemanifestations
of Hebrew written or spoken by Arabs).2'
To conclude this point, it is not superfluous to quote Shemu'el
lbn Tibbon'spoint of view expressed in his interesting preface to
his Hebrew translation ofMaimonides'2z Kib dalalat at-hdyin. Here
we refer to the major points madeby the resident of la Lune
(tnrrr), following the main ideas expounded by hisfather, Yehuda
the father of translalors. A translator's work is difficult, and
asuccessful translation requires three conditions: a profound and
comprehensiveknowledge of the original language, an equal knowledge
of the target languageand mastery of the subject matter. Everything
in translation is the result of fourthings: the doer, the material,
the fonn and the purpose (nr):n ,nrrs ,rntn ,)!ro).The doer is the
Fanslator, the material is the original lext, the form is the
anslationand the purpose is understanding. Ibn Tibbon would not
undertake the hard task oftranslation had the sages of his
province, and the $asid Cohen Rav Yehonatan attheir head not
insisted so strongly. In his translation lbn Tibbon relied on
twosources, hrstly the translations of his father, Arabic gfammar
books and otherbooks in Arabic at his disposal. Secondly, he asked
Maimonides. Occurrence oflinguistic errors in morpbology, syntax
and semantics as a result of similaritiesbetween Arabic and Hebrew.
Sometimes specifrc words are common, whereas inHebrew they are
rare, for example,'ala ra'y and vux x) r Jnvr )l (Job l0: 7)instead
of lafi or l
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328 HASEEB SHEHIDEH
something. By the word sn they point at reality. This is not
found in theHebrew language, and there are very many other meanings
and matters of differencebetween the two languages."
Ibn Tibbon continues his line of thought and refers to the
impact of the mothertongue or the language of culture, in this case
Arabic, on the written language,namely Hebrew.Ibn Tibbon concludes
his discussion onsham with the foltowing paragraph:
r:r) vru: o)Nn 1f,y nv"c N)f''t t{t't )t1)n flr )nt ,inf )vr:nn
Nrrx N) .,r:v tu) nN Tv,") Nnn lfnn r orlnN nDp,tf ylnn l9f nD)n
rl1l IryDyt t99,at luN i2l9 yrNll :ttf crll n,otpf ntf)t ou n)m vnv
n)n ,E nil or)r)yJrJ,n ou rN t,r) r:t :)n ltt't,tuNl rJt oy, ung'
y1r) nfn 1ny n1trn 1t9)'llt ty n xrr,) x) rr:y: t) ,tflyit ,rv):
Orn:nn tlfT lnN Ju/b) nt )r:r ,rr:)n nnXr)rf n)rll l"rv.,n nn
r"')Jf nN N'p JN tntx nrrp) y. nNtt \lN ru)Nrf uybu,u)n: x) rr:y
Iu): lf,n DN ,nrnx nt)Dl ntrnx nulv.): r) xyn: ,f ,,fnr illf,)J)N
,lnN P)nyn N) lt)ty tl ))tNU O"yt Oitt E r)r)yf, r5f lv,, fnX .tu)
lnN .luflrrnN Jurn n2nyilf, nlyrnnfl lt Ni IrOf rJty rl Nrnu Nrnil
n)bn prnyE t))b)
",rn)D nN lDD prnyp Niv/ v)n p:l"And how shall I not be fearful
of failure in this? and behold the great Rav, ourmaster and sage
Moses the servant of God, when he wanted to talk a little
aboutmatters of wisdom in the book of science and in other places
in that composition(MT) he followed the Arabic language in those
matters. He used the word sammentioned in many places. At the
beginning of the first chapter of the book ofscience "the
foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdoms is to know
thatthere is God (literally, a first existent). And at the end of
the second balakha, thatis to say 'there is no true existent except
Him'. In all this he followed the speechof learned men in the
Arabic language because this meaning does nol exist inHebrew so
thal few people in this country (France) knew how to read it but
(themajority) read it with fsere under the si and understood it as
an epithet of thecreator, blessed be He. Likewise, it is expressed
in other languages in otherwords. And if in the Hebrew language the
author did not get away from followingone language spoken by him in
these senses, althougb it was not in front ofhimand he was not
rendering it, how can a hanslator of the word in front of him andin
his spoken language when his mind is occupied in rendering it,
avoid followingthe meaning and the words of the language that he is
translating from."
In the attempt to find an explanation or reason behind a
peculiar linguisticusage it is necessary to know the identity of
the writer. To illustrate this point twoexamples are in order. lux
r)v vv and vr x)
-'his wife advised him' and .there
is not' respectively. Such examples in an anonynous text may
usually be explainedas reflections of Mishnaic Hebrew and ancient
palestinian piyyut, on the onehand' and Biblical Hebrew, on the
other hand (Job 9: 33). However, these twoexamples appeared in a
composition written by a palestinian Arab secondary
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The Arabic Component in Mamonides' Hebrew 329
school student in westem Galilee t 19'12," This piece of
information undoubtedlyleads to a different interpretation, namely
a confusion between pl and 1u, on theone hand, and a calque or
simple translation of r-3- f , on the other hand. v .r)is used, for
example, by the Samarilan High Priest Jacob ben'Uzzi (1899-1987)in
a letter to Isaac Ben Zvi in 1960," It should be mentioned that the
Samaritansbelieve only in the Torah.
One of the main goals of MT was to help the Jewish people firmly
grasp theLaw and to strengthen their faith. In the introduction to
his book Maimonideswrote: "I have entitled this work Mshne Torah
for the raon that a person whofirst reads the wdtten Law and then
this compilation will know the whole oralLaw without needing to
consult any other book.""
The choice of Mishnaic Hebrew as the language of writing was a
natural onebeing based on rabbinic sotrces in this trpe of Hebrew.
lt is a well-known linguisticfact that multilingual scholars chose
the language oftheir research on the basis ofthe nature of the
matter discussed.
The Arabic componnts of Maimonides' Hebrew are classified
according tothe usual branches of language, morphology, syntax and
lexicography or semantics.
A. Morphologyl) Y' al-nisba: though found in the Bible, Arabic
gave netfl life to it, and
Maimonides made great use of adjectives ending with this yod
derived fromnouns, such as gashmi (corporeal), runi (spiritual),
but such forms are notcommon in the Bible and the Talmudim."
2) The suffrx -nt: is not uscd by Sa'adia and is extremely rare
in Spanishpoetry. Esther Goldenberg claims that this suffix is not
an example of Arabicinfluence because it is bonowed from Aamaic
into Arabic. She forgets that, as arule, it came to render absbact
words in Arabic, verbal nouns (mardir). She addsthat -nr and -nr as
masculine is found in rabbinic Hebrew as takhlit nson
('firstpurpose'),prsut rabbani ('Rabbanite asceticism') and plural
concordsodof gedolot('great secrets'). It is unclear whether this
usage comes from Spain or is a case ofneglecting the rules.' Here
is a sample of -l words: nnr'N - 'having a guest'2t See Shehadeh
(199?) p. 46, notc 36 and p. 67, notc 42. lt is worth mentioning
that this
element, namely the identity of the informant, was touched upon
by the lenth-century Amblinguist, tbn inni in his work 'al-Kha'i$-
J-tJ .{4-^.; L" JS Jt ^i l ett{d J {,i.l U , GL-J I r rri3* . J( ,
c.r.r JL. - "beware of relying on everythingyou hear ut consider
the slate ofits producer and how is its position with regd to
eloquenceand then judge cither against him or in his favou .
(Muammad 'Ali al-Na!!r (ed.),Al-Ie'i by Abt al-Fattr'Uthrn bin
innl, vol. 2, Beirut 2nd cd., p. 10. )
21 See A. 8., Samaritan News 763-765,1.6.2000, p. 53.2t Durant,
p.409.26 Avineiri, p.459.27 See Goldenberg, column l40; Gottstein;
Friedlaender (1908) pp. 421-42E. {f words
used as feminine ars to b found in MT too: v n'retD nl) - 'exile
forgives sio' ,n'n) (,n"no
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330 HASEEB SHEHADEH
(Nt r;l ,til"il .ff,'il); tlNln nflr -
'in the appfOpfiate COVer' r r) ,J"n ,N"g); r,apl)xlur: nr)rDn
\l t)un n'ln -
'in the days of the second Temple apostasy blossomedin Israel' I
:N (,:r'r! ,y"g, Nt nlrl)n)-'asceticism is'(N ,x ,-t,,)t,9r9)e. )
nrn Nnlltrtv' :-'and if he had partnership in it'fl :t ,D,'i ,),,r;
nltlvr
- (m.) ,rent,
(t 'l ,t "n r,at" n rN ,n,'il pP,,D); nfOf (m.) -'rudeness' (l
:I ,N',it ,U,'l;
B. Syntarl) Asyndetic clauses are rare in the MT.'some examples:
orl:n r) ur llN xlnJfl Dltl - 'he says I have friends (who) want
that' (r :. ,),')rit ,tj,n)lrltn) f u,)lrn) n: nu orf1
- 'and it (a kind of deer) has features (which are) equal to
a
beast'1r :3 ,l)"il ,9'r).2) The demonsbative pronoun precedes
the substantive:.otl-rn l)x ): rrx:
'and the explanation of all these matters',t (,T,,n ,Drng it : r
,1 :) ;r,1 ,rr);t ,b,,ir,N" il :J ,l,,il Nrt : f)',JJlil ,N" 1 :N
,)',!fli ,NrrD Nt ,Jrryl ,l3rril l :lrl ,l3t'lil ,!" l:Nr ,N,tJ'
,i7t, N :l) ,l,tNil ,Prr lo:! ,D'hil ,lr' ! ;l ,llrrr ,l,r ;Nrlf,ll
!r :i ,fl',il pi)" )i t)yn nt t)tD
- 'and beCauSe of thiS matter' J :) ,),,trit ,Dtr)(f'l :)
,DttJil ltr) r fi ,nri2il ,lrg rN ,r,rUil ,".
3) Disagreement in number between the subject and the predicate:
1)iln,v/ p)n1f nlrn vDv1
-'and a paft that the sun and the moon move opposite to it'(r,)
,D'r
'rr"n); or)i2) norr Er)tp> v trn v/frr -'honey and wine are
bad for theyoung people and good for the aged' (:r ,1 ,J,n
,b,rir)t'; ilrli pnun nlfurnv,,nnDy', ir)rN uNl nrp
- 'drunkenness, much laughing and light-headness are not
happiness'() :t ,tt,'rv,,it ,t,D); otnr nyv, nD \tpn, - .hours
and days will begathered from them' () :h ,t',i) ,t")i n-lut nyv.,
nnr
-
.and her skin hair stoodon end' (J :h ,t"t{if ,ir',D); nor-tun n
nnN f, )) DN lt - .and so if one of thenon-kashers was born in it'
(N :) ,fr',Nit ,y',); nluy, N nnl N nf l) t:xv rn _'he who lost a
garment or an animal or deeds'(J :)r ,N,,)i-r ,),'); Dtlf.t l
lrnn)u, r)t1n - 'wine which includes sharp things' (r :N) ,),,\lit
,t,,J).
4) Disagreement in gender between the subject and the predicate
in verbalphrases: nlr! nJ ): lr::t
- 'and every form was fixed' 0 :r ,"rn ,Drn); Ert)
Y/ltn l2r nf, n{lt - 'and bodies in which coldness and dryness'
: ,J,,rit ,zr',i}( :l ;]i !t nNir Nf - 'the sign and the evidence
came' o :n ,trr"J lf,,ir). t,)'n!u) otrc:nn nu nlrfv - 'there are
sins which are immediately forgiven' ,nrn)(1 :X ,J"ili ilJln
'tsrtv,' ]i D lNYr) Dil
- 'and if many lines of the page remain'(t :l ,l"lltrir ,N');
Dtril Dlrv.rD
- 'when water increasest ( r ,f,ir .r"). t) nuy:l
n'nN n)Nr -'and another work was done for him' ( :N ,!u,'ir
,r"D); f) r nrflryt
2t A few lines late it appears s feminine.2e lt is used feminine
ibidem r ,r .!o Cf. Goldenberg, column 1632.3l
consider, on the other hand, such examples as: rtN oD'n - 'these
days, ir :) (,n'Dn ,r,,).tt nm-'this piecc of bread'( r
.ru',n ,r"r; >N nJxr - 'these lands'(ir :,tr',Dil,r,,9)." Foa
ftrrther examptes s91 ..r :) ,D',f.ri ,r,r;Nr:N ,u,,run ,re :n
,n,,ril ,Dr,il; 1 :1 ,nxrl ,D,.p
-
The Arabic Componenl in Maimonides' Hebrew 331
\, - 'so that his mouth tells what is in his heart' (ft rl ,tu"n
,9").An interesting example is fumished by considering the
irrational plural (fair
al-'qil) as feminine singular, for example: nl NJ)l Ert)lfn
olutn 1)il - 'arum,garlic, onion and the like'(n :fl ,tr'rl1it
,ll"ottt.
5) Masculine and feminine gender:(a) The masculine in Hebrew is
used as feminine because the equivalent
Arabic (written or spoken) word is feminine: nr)tD rNn - 'the
light (ftre) isconnected, ( 1 ,h"tlt ,"); tlfUJUt n)ufNl - 'and a
watermelOn that waS brOken'(n,) ,D,,n "D 1r ) ltJ"ir ,')r; N)D
Ntnut ntf - 'house which is full of ,t"o)(e :1 ,,'rvill PJtn 'lel
n)1 )v)) - 'in the case that a door is locked upon a baby'(rr ,l
,ru',n r"); f llpn nl txg, l1tn il, - 'what respect that has not
materialloss?' (: : ,i"lrr) ,rnDl"; Drt - 'an olive' (n :l ,D"Ni'
,yt'ri r2r2n)v rsn - 'a yardthat was spoilt"tl"r :NJ ,tv/',it ,t");
)it nltltt- 'the candle was extinguished' ,1"9(il:
,lt,'il ,l',9 ft ri'l ,Nt ,l :N ,!t'glit UtN'l $- 'head' (1 r!
,DttNil ,!"Dt.(b) Feminine in Hebrew is used as masculine as in
Aabic: llN -'stone' ,t")(t) ri' ,1\t/"iti rt f rNV, nDN - 'tntb
that has no blemish' (N ,n ,n"ri ,"nO)";
N)D )rrll -
'and his belly is rll' (r :i ,r',ir ,D"tD); ilnN ot) tN n)) n)f
ItJlul)-
'when building a synagogue they do not build it, l 'Nr ,f"Jn
,N"D); ,lrr nv'tll -
'a great disgrace* () :) ;1 :3 ,,rnil ,)"); D,arn nv,,u o"yN
nnrn)u tln - 'a big jarthat has been revealed and in spite ofthe
fact tbat they drank from it'"ulil ,1")e1r ,r; r:)n tDnfl lpyn)v ry
- 'until the rage is castrated from his heart' (n"noI :: ,T',i); )r
ny DTN t)l yu t/Dt{ tDtf - 'in human history people committed
agreat fault'() ,N ,x ,ry prrg)'r' tPt!) ln) ny1 ttit ox -'if he
had in mind torefurn to his place' 'I:N ,h"Dil) (,"tr, tgt) nyl'N/
r)u ;lfit nxf, , - 'in the sameglass; two/four glasses' | ,l :
,l!,rltit ,1" h r1 ,ut'tv,rJ ,1" ;Nr) (:N ,)"n ,"9; fnfnrlv/N
- 'square letters' (l2r ,x ,tt"f)tln ,N"l' nnltl yt)n oxr - and
if minah
(afrernoon prayer) came' (l :) ,lt,,i2it ,t',); \Jt) lxun - 'a
spark remains' ,1"9( :) ,!v"iti nlJ rnu - 'two candles' (t 1
rh,'llil ,l,r ;h ,l :r ,l),')uil ,lt'9)i 'll:yrv,, rynr)yn
- 'until the fast (Tabnit) passes' (:il ,!tfi"t ,t,'); yf,p
ny/nyn nNl - 'at
ll Butnr xsrrrr in: t ,N ,),r!;r ,!,9,14 Sometmes it is used as
masculine, s, rr ,Nr ;un ,t")g; in the same place oq 'poison',
is surprisingly used as feminine.15 lt is not a simplc matter to
guess which word was in Maimonidcs' mind, 'urma,
mahba, haiba, ubbaha, or'aama'.3 lt is diffrcult lo know which
word was in Maimonides' mind, perhaps .Lii Note that the
same word rrn is used as feminine at the end ofthe samc sentenc.
Such a henomenon canbe explained by the fact that Hebrew was a dead
language.
J1 It occurs also as mascutine p) l) - 'burning candle' 11 :t ,N
:i'r lu' ,r"ot;It lt is used as masculine and feminine io the same
sentnce. Rs is feminine in Egyplian
Arabic.l9 Seel ,, n,n,D,'9 | :r )ryn D,nD .'10 lt is employed as
feminine too, in r) ,D',hir ,)',g.ot S"" additional cxamples: .r
rxt ,v,,"N )f' ; :t ,)"fnn,il'D :N
''}lil D"n
-
332 H,ISEEB SHEHADEH
that time/fixed time'()r',tiil ,ll', f:D ,"pit t',D ; :N.)
,)"yit ,D,nft; uNl nNgu, rDnlpn Jor trre r))) NJ'
- 'he whose sideburn goes out towards his face like a
hammer' (N :h ,r"!t ,y"); ) rnf nN nuyu, nrJrs -
.a fringed garment made bya Cuthian (Samaritan) is disqualified'
l) :N (J"l ,N"); nyf,v/
-
.oath' ,f,y,,rit ,gtr)
(NrNi nlru -
'fault' (: r ,)"uit ,t,,)) ; nnv., Nipy, r.tf, -
'in order to have pause' ,t,,9(r :) ,h"piri )oru u pnl -
'instead of a tooth that fell oul"lt rrrr ,"); .Nt )n>)nil
- 'and the blue remained'* (T ,N ,J',it ,N"Dr.
6) Formal agreement is common": nlnN,/nn1o/ntf
nJ)rN'good/blooming/other trees'(it : ,J,'it r,'D ;lt :) ,]ril
,Nrg); nNyr tturlfn
-
.thelambs go out' (Nr :) ,!u'fit ,t,t; nrNlt JltD
-
.from the righrful alimony' ,),o(Nr 'Nf, ,hf :hr ,N,'irl
nrN/nlnN/nf n))Nb - 'good/other/forbidden dishes'*
rD ,)"l 1" l{r ,h : ,!U,til fr9 1f :Tt ,N"tl'l rp,,D Nr :N3
,N'rl ,),'D :lt ,!Trl Drrtg);N :l , ,trrri ,1p,,9 i ntlnN/ntfl
n)n)D
-
.many/other habits' ,),,9 ;N :t ,l,,it ,N,,0)(Nt :f rIt .Jr
,N"t; nJurrn n)tl2trl -
'the old treasures' ( :tt) ,Nr')l ,),rD);
nnpuf,np,vly1',/npnln,/nft,,
-'and in the neighbouring/distant/known/deepplaces''lr:l ,!,'Dl
,l";D,N r) ,N',i ,)"D;i ,T :t),(Fr,i2it ,li,;l :1 ,)r,)'lil ,
N,,);rn nl)pvr
- 'deficient weights' (N :r ,r,'ir ,),'t; )nf, rlru)n nJJtJn
-
.theremining sparks in the oven' :)t (,tuf it ,t,'; nphl lJ
rnv,,
-
,two burningcandles' (t :N ,lt,ur; rl',D)l hN,/llftyD nly
- 'tanned skins' ,fr rlt ,Irftit ,Nr)(n :i npn Jr)y
-'distant matters'(t)"n,9"). llf nrplnlil f|l!p rgr_ r*oedges
which are far apart' (r :N ,1,, ,D,'itD); o!toN/rltgN or)Nn
-
.prohibited figs'(il ;N ,)rti ,9tt); tJtlD Etttyf -
'at regUlar periOdS' (,NlDn ,pr,g ;)r :N 1l1 DrrilD
) ,r); grrurn,Erf,pn,or)DrJit or)lln -
.the medial, good, shaigbt ways, l,,ng(ir rN 't,i; prpr!)r tpnl
o)f,.
- 'distant and deep ways' 11 :Nt ,lt,rpit ,,); py1
)NyJr - 'the lambs go out' (Nr :J,!u,'t ,t"p); Ntt) Dr.Itnyu
c,rJgn -
.from years ocome' (1t r,ht,pil ,ltr).
An interesting phenomenon which displays profound and perhaps
subconsciousinfluence of the native language is the following.
Though the Hebrew word ismasculine plural, ending with the usual
sufix -m, the adjective that follows it is inthe feminine form -of
because the equivalent Arabic word is feminine e. g. rrn unu'5yn
ot)yn nN-'to rmove the mouldy leaves' 0 :N r1 ,,'). Had
Maimonides12 In lhe same context it is employcd as feminine, sge n
r) ,rp,pn ,r',g;1J It is used as feminine too, as io ln :f ,D"nn
,),Dr.u cf.lu ,r ,r,,,N') n)Jf rN n>t,1It Cf. on the other hand
we find structues that lollow normative grammar, such as: )){Dn
o!rn- 'the good foods' lx 'l ,r',n Jonr' o)rvln ornuDn Dv/n
nrrpn - ,the strangc,
ugly voices and names'p :o ,r,yn ,r:p,or; nnu oxn - .black figs,
(u , ,un ,,Dr; ortynnrNJrr - 'thc goat$ go out' (trr
') ,v',n ,r,ol nr)rlpn o!)rx u)v - .lhree round stones' ,r,,r,(1
;r) ,!r"ir Yet we also find such stnctures: n){n o"o) - 'rightfirl
money' :f), (,N,,n J,gt), here clcar Arabic influence is
possible.
16 Yt Drln n))NDr are to be found too, e. g. (N :l ,-.
,D,,ner;47 Yet ornnn ntnpnl are to be found too, e. g. (x' rr ,1,,n
,rt,no);
-
The,4rabc Component in Maimonides' Hebrew 333
compleely followed the Arabic structure he would have written
nucvbn ot)vilo.7) The preposition govmed by the verb:-l Nl
- 'to bring' (t :f ,)D,'n ,u"o); tt r )rr )lnnn'l - 'and they
started in this
mannef' (f ,N ),'!i1 ,'nD; )y rpn -
'to examine' (l) :9 1 rNr ,rv'Pi ,lt'9); otytlltl)N trtl1n y1t)
h)tv n )) nN
-'and they inform him about evrything he canknow from lhese
things' (u , ,) ,l rt ,l"Nl ,P"9 i1 :1 Nr :1 ,"rn ,D"n); Jttngt
crrN'l] otylt
- 'person known, know about' (ll ,nr ,l"Nn ,p" l rl ,n"rn ,"n);
-f NJr
-'to take out'(Nr :)r ,N'r ,)--D t'f N),1 ,l ,N :t ,!vl,'t
,r,g); tl ctu, rt)y NJt-'a badreputation spread about him' (r rr
llt"il ,"); )lP ntry NJt -'bcame widespreadthat she"t l ,r ;N) ,Dr
: ) :t? J,Nt i2t,D l) :l) ,N,,il ,t'); f1 )y nu:) -'to namea thing'
( rx ,1),'r ,g,,ot; )N ntltt fl ) N)nD - 'full of these features'
(,n"noN :t ,rrrri)' n)t'I1r lt t) 1nN E tnt), tN - 'they do not
allow him to live in the city'(N :t ,1r,il ,D"n); DDD tN o tlrfn
Prln)- 'to cause harm to his fend physicaor financially' (n , ,1,'n
,/J,'n); -) Jtv - 'needs, fequires' (t N ,!ui1 ,r"o) - thoughit
occurs in Mishnaic Hebrew, its common use in MT may be ascribed to
Anbic;ilNlrf nrtnf ,lv/tf ,f)3 ,r1 Etinfn tnN ))D )1) ntiltu, JtlJ
- 'should (the higbpriest) be gratr than all his brothers, the
priests as to beauty, po\ryer, wealth,wisdom and appearance'(N ,n
,y'rtln ,y"g).
l'tN tyrrl3- 'to support them' (Nr ,h ,',ru ,t',9); iJDl P9nturj
-'when theyafe content with it' (t) :) ,pu,'it ,"); ltry )p - 'easy
for you' lN lft ,n'rPil ,");,Nyrr tnil nNlp
- 'you called him Israel' ln"ltt ,{"); lt t y lnxr lll2 -
'nearly eleven days' {r :N ,ft'i7rl ,"); o!'f,'In n lllP -
'close to the matters' ,t"o(r :r ,h,pi50; nrb rlp N nvry, otDf,n rN
nltr - 'thus the sages have to do orsomething similar to il' (l :it
,!t'fit ,,'91; JrlnrN )yD PnlrJ - 'and we becomeremote from our
land' (x,':): ,N,'); t! Pr - 'void of (l ,l ry"n ,"D); onufo:rnn)
Iry'D fit l) )Nv, xtn ,oltnn) r)xtur - 'and when they ask the
translator,he asks the Rabbi and he ans\ryers' () ,1 ,n"nil ,D");
nrl N l)nn 1t)9 q -'and they dO nOt reqUest Sip and prOof frOm him'
t ,y,'nn ,ll',9 :il ,),,!il ,,'il)(nr
8) The omission of ef, the sign of the accusative is very
common'r: ofrl )nvrlnrn h1n lPryn
-'and planted in their hearts this great principle' Q 'N )'yn
D"ile);rf, ,y 11il nxl- 'sees the matter properly' {t ,t t")l
,D"lo}' l5l: nlf,n) - 'toheal his body' {: r} T,,; ,tritg)' 1tf
otrpnp trm) rrrn)n nyvrl )'P yttlgtn ,f -'he who learns aloud his
snrdy is fulflled' (3r rl ,n,'trr ,n"tg); lttnit l,ttNu)4t Cf.
Shehadeh (1997), pp. 6l-62 and such structures as: o'Nrn)l nvnn '
'the money
found' np : ,pu,'n ,r,'o); ntot >u ornyr - 'thal his
palm-hees are beutifrl' 11 ,P')) I,l"ip; trlttn onr: - 'pretg
clothes'(t :t ,D"it,u''o).
4e lt rcminds me of lhe Arabic expression tli''alha $l',50 Cf.
Sarfatti, p. 159.5l For rther examples see:
;l) r ,}'ltli ,N" ;lD ,N | ,U"pi ,N"g ) N ,}'!il ,"n9.;l ,1r :
,tY'ii 'Dril ,l ,N
:1 '1"i 'D"il
1" :) ,yn'il ,1,'9 1 :l ,D"llil ,l'9 ;t) ril ,"t{.rn '1" ;9r :)
,!llJ"il ,1"9 N r ,l"il 'N"ll l 1 rl
il ,lrrn ,D', f) r! ,l,n ,ll'g ;J r)) ,)"Nn ,i)" r ,r :1 ) :l
,l"i !" ; :1r 'Nln J'g N:n ynn
.l !1 r>f}rl ,lr/9
-
334 Hnr,a Snenoan
y) ortl:1n -
'and when the translator delivers the matters to the people'
,r,'1D)() :T ,fi"lli[ ]) llrnnl fln nDfn ltgtD,! r'lrD)n - 'the
stUdentS increaSe the
knowledge of the Rabbi (teacher) and widen his heart')i ,n ,"
,,',nr; y-t' N)ttf )y l'n- 'he did not know the matter well' (i :it
,tl't ,tf',iD).
ln a few cases this particle of the direct object is employed,
for example rrrrnn nN D) - 'he brought down the manna for us' (x !n
,"ri.t ,D,nD); DUn nN )))n
-
'profaned the name of God' () :ir r'n D,'n); rf, tN ot)rt3 lrro)
- 'thereforethey invi the Samaritan' 1r , ,u,ng (t"t2." '
The appearance ofet before indefinite nouns is also to be found,
for instance:lv Nrnvrf l le nx rnN' x)r-'and should not hold a book
of(the) Torah'(, :r ,r"gIlllil |trt)tl.
9) nn + imperfect instead of infinitive: ):Nr rn l) nrn x) oN
-
.if he did nothave anything to eat' ()b,rn u,r9 )r :t ,"iuit ,,
N :.t ,ilr,t ,l,r :1 ,!,,ttil ,D,Dt)N :f :J Vtyt itD y.It Nh
-'and they did not know what to do'(n :) ,h"p ,t,,).l0) nrnr *
active particple: n)rfn n)il'ur ru) ):: ynv, nN DTN Nltp- .a
person
reads the Shema, in any language he understands'; )r:r rp:n
nrilr -
.the cows willbe able to' f ,) ,rrgr ( ,t',).
I l) Partitive 'min', indicates division into parts: nrrx,D ,il)
1y l)tr '-t-r.nu,N nN)yrr1 ntf nlturr nrnu-'lhings that the body
needs zuch as eating, drinking,sitting at home and marriage with a
woman' tr ,) ,ril ,),,D ;trl l rr9,..
12) ru + imperfect: n)tfx D1p J)u ry o1x )fNr N) -
.one has to have a walkbefore eating' (l,T T',n D"lp)'; ntnu
n)tf,N ::yr x)u 1y nJi2 n)r x)x
-
.but heshaves some of it (safam = moustache) so that it does not
hinder eating anddrinking'(h :Jr ,),')rit ,n"n);
13) The usual status constructus is used, for instance vrn D
-
'the book ofknowledge', whereas the split state of the construct
(samftut paruda) is rare, forexample DNrfJn )r )v pr
- 'the mastcr of all prophets' ( .t Jl,,rit ,b"no); nnN n)D)ntg
,v/
- 'one word of temptation' ( ,t 1"n ,D',tl; r.t! )ur lizry
n,t
-
.and this isthe essence of confession' lN ,N ,n,' ,nt,ntt, vxr
)v r)ton - .head phylactery'(X :T ,tt'flnit ,Nr); 'f'I )u t)):utr:p
- 'briefly' Jt :f) ,Nr)t ,)'r ) (rr ,f". ,N,,D;nrlnu )v, ynu
nNtp-'the recitation of the morning Shema.' nDl)
,,,,nil,t,,Dnrrnift; ul) )u llr:v
- 'Lot's drunkenness' (Jt :N ,t),n ,o,'D irtt :1 ,N',it ,)")i
)
rr )v - 'a glass of wine' (Nr .N ,t:',il ,g"); nl)! 5v )o -.a
basket (tull) of fruits'
s2 Furrher examples: : ,y,,nr ,lt"g ;n ),n ,J,'D;N , ,N"n ,JrD
:f ,)rgrn ,r,, N :l ,D,,nn ,r,Er.l rN ,)',r!il ,tt',D ;il :l :l
lrFor further examples see:.r l ,rur,'ir ,t', ;Jr r ,!11,,t ,t,'u
N,'lf)t ,N,'gMaimonides'view of tbe physical human helth and the
images and similes used deservea separte study. suffice it hee to
indicate that Maimonides wams rhe husband to be alwaysavaitable to
his wife as a cock bul il is recommended lo have sexual inlercourse
oncc a weekon saturday night. Further examples of partitive 'min':
rr ,, ,v"i' ,v,q another simile is: .heshools lhe issue of semcn as
an arrow'(N : ,N" ,I,g).Cf. Goshen-Gottstein, pp. 262-263.For
further examplcs see: (t :t yn,, ,t',g, nlts >u o1N reminds us
of the Arabic phrase"sirit banedam", 'an image of a human
being'.
5l
54
J'
5
-
The Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew 335
(t :N ,"it ,)p',); rt )u nt lnln -'this wine-cellar' n :tr ,tJ"t
,)P"D).14) The use of numerals: Maimonides follows the biblical
Fadition of reading
from right to left as in literary Aabic, for example: nN ot:)vtl
tlll E ttu'vl irvllNn unn
- 'twenty-four things hinder repentance' (x :1 ,i" ,tlt',t9);
EtrYtrut nutnn
r:rr -
'thirty-ftve dinars' (tt (N ,y,n ,t,'o ; E t otvlu,t itutn nxn
u)u - 365 days(1 : ,t"pit ,t,o). ln several cases there are
deviations from the norm of usinggender: nr 'uy t)vrn )N
- 'and these are the twelve forms' I :) ,tt"tn) (D',i;
nflf uy nrrrn -
'nineteen 6lgggings' (h : r :T ,),'1!i ,Nr9rt,15) The annexed
noun in the constnct state comes with the defnite article:
fDt r)yln t)x - 'these crippled people' (tr :t ,D,']it )t"1.
C. Semantics and style
Goldenberg statcs 6rst "In vocabulary also, the Hebrew
Maimonides (sic) tends tobe free from Arabic influence". A few
lines later she adds: "There are undoubtedlytraces of Arabic
influence in the language of Maimonides, but they nearly allderive
from Aabic features in Hebrew texts written by his predecessors,
and mostof them have thei roots in Hebrew.""
A careful and comprehensive reading of MT leads to a different
conclusion.The impact of the mother tongue of Maimonides, a sort of
Middle Arabic knownin scholarly research by the unsuccessful
desipationJudae-Araic, as well as, ofAl-'Arabiyya, thelinguafranca
ar the language of culture, on the Hebrew of MTis profound, clear
and general. Suffice it here to add the usage of1)vn) in thesense
of 'subtract' on the basis of 6-tL, which means 'to subtract' in
addition to'to thtro\r"'. Maimonides has under the influence of
Aabic broadened the semanticfield of Hebrew words. The verb Vts in
pi"el has the sense of 'veriS', 'approve'as in y:u: ll'rir pl:) nf
= 'in order to approve, authorize the matter by an oath'n rN,
(,turl o/9. Moreover, lnl l) in the sense of 'magnanimous',
'goodheared'utilized in MT is most probably based on Arabic, and
Even Shoshan gives anexample of it ftom Bialik."
l) Usage of synonyms: nttt r5) - 'bodies' ( ) 't ,Nr ,t:N ,n,'ti
,,rn), Pt lp ,t)ln - 'end' (,N ,fl"rn ,n"nD), nlJ n,'t - 'form' (,N
,rutr .,atx9);57 For firther examples see: nu>g';(X:l ,ltrn,9" N
,n'r9Dnn,N) r)Dl!1/orfit ylN
:l{f ,l',Nil P"9, orDYt58 Goldenberg cotumn 1633 and she
mentions as examples: prefixed ) to indicate causc,
prcfixed n- for exemplication (sic!), formal agreement,
grammalical gender according toArabic,ln pcnon meaning "be doubtl
about", or)r) trrtv ("idol worshippers")' )'vn = 'tounderstnd from'
cl..ri, p'ntn = 'to hand down by tradition' from li-i. It seems
lhatGoldenbcrg's articlc was written first in Hebrew and then
translated into English. It isunclear on what grounds these
statemnts are based. Almost two decades lter lhe same viewis
rcpeated by Senz-Badillos, pp.262-263.
59 ryvn r)D> tDN 'rnt nnx ilyurlvn ornsr .)N Dtp>nil lD
\lpntu) - 'when 1080 isassembled from the parts subtract one hour
and add it to the number of hours' ,lt'g.r ltr ( fl :t l , ,i ,1 r
,1) ,1 ,r,9:,t'i2i
60 Even-Shoshan, vol, 2, p. I 126.
-
336 HASEEBSHEHDEH
rlb cttn - 'rryise' (Nr ,T lr :l ,p'ti ,D'i) E rfl oritu -
'pure' (N r) ,tT'rit ,,rrilD);):unt nyr
- 'knowledge' (u ') ,n,,ri ,D,n); ortNor ornlun - 'praise'
(,nrrfl ,,,n
u rr); rnt):t nt)1 rrtun 1n!t ttt -
'fear his humiliation' (f,r ,r ,n,'r ,D',;tD);Dnt i2t' ,tt)) nu
- 'shame', 'emp$t' (fr ,r ,nlr ,rn); tvrnr rf,il, - 'togfasp'(x :
,n,,t;l ,,,nD),
2) Calque from fuabic:ylln t.ltN
- 'sexual organs' (ft : ,D[tl ,ytro); tnN - 'letter' (1r :N
,!g"it ,trl; lnN
)xrvr nryn: l)Du y -
'a slave born among Israelites' (l :N ,D,'l ,N'); l!t1 ,fN -'to
use up a dinar illegally'( :)),N,'t ,J"l; ltrx N)x ... - 'there is
no ... exceptyou'" ( ,t"ftro,N',g)i n)r)fl r:nf { n)r)n )nn: rx x)x
ohy) rx
- 'it is always
either at the beginning of the night or in the middle' (1 :
,tr,t; (ntrit, txrfn N)vt>v
- 'it (the field) did not produce a third' r rt ,)r,'zt) ("tr;
t)tf
-'average'(1 ,N ,T"n ,n,,iD); Jtn tf - 'outside the houge' ()
r'f f,ril tl"n); rpt/N r )rr -'through/ via Ashkelon' (t :l ,l,'pi
,t',Df, ') Irtnt - 'to turn his face",u"pn) (t', l :il ,)"]fl N,'
:)i itltl ntlnR tNU nfttnt t'- 'and the best benefit' ,n"nEl(l :h
,Il"ili Orlntl llfttt - 'to be blessed and elevated' (lr ,N ,tr"rit
,n,,no); t) Urnn t)rx-'he owes him money' (Nr ,r , ,:uttt ,orr; uyn
lnt - 'less' ,)"vn ,lr9(l :i l) + perfect l (:D ,N',it ,),,; n)r1t
in the sense of 'town' is attested inMishnaic Hebrew, yet its
frequent use in MT can be ascribed to its commonArabic equivalenf
(,1,' 1 ;N ,h?rDit ,t,D ;l :it ,nr ,n,it ,N : ,tr 11 ,r'it D"itil
:N ,1)tti ,"1' r)J ,N,l ,yrg IrN ,h,tl ,ft l) :il ,!,il ,lrt9 i) r)
rlut,il ).1fX) .n -'abroad, outside Israel' (u :r ,f,' {,'r,);
lrnnu ry nrnu)r )r:x) rml - 'and it ispermitted to eat and drink
until it grows dark"t l't ,) ,rur,'t ,t"); n)fNyr oru)tlvrnu 1y
n'ltv,l
- 'women who eat and drink until it grows dark' t :N ,!,'ut
,t")
( ;l :l ,"i2il ,1"; YtgJ NynV, ry -
'Until he dieS' (lr : ,D"t ,1")6';1J Jf lvry - 'anddo so and so'
(l ,N ,)r'yn ,"n); Drn itott tn) - 'as a drop in the sea' (n"noNr:l
,tr,r) yrr
- 'to learn to know' (l,l ,tt"tn ,rnt; lnl f)
- 'magnanimous',
'tolerant'()r:T ,r,ril ,tf,n)"; t)y) urf)u)- 'when he puts on
shoes' ,t ,f,'lnn ,N,g)(to; )xrun ): u) )y tr)y lrn )rn 'n:
- 'a higb priest confesses on the he-goat in
the name of all Israel' (J :N ,rr't ,b',n); n),flD,b ,- -
'bcause of/him/her' ,)"(l :it ,lu,'r ,!" :D ,N"iiirtg) nn - 'and
this is its wording, formula' ,N',Dtt Thit reminds us of ill atrt';
itl with pronominal sulfixcs such as illk is mentioned by
$bawaihi, but I havc been unable to frnd the efercnce; sec,
howeve W. Rigbt, part three $186, Rem. e. It is to be tound in
modern Arabic literature, e. g., l.tannfl Mina, giktyatubahhr.
Beirut 4th d., p. 274;Zskiyya,fibd al-Qedi, mina (Novel). Tunis
1983, p. 55.
62 Consider'raddawafhahu'.' lt rerninds us of'asana mba,dal
asana'.a Ya il is to be found too, (x ;l) ,t.r ,9'Dt.5 I assume
that lrxn and I t '.J I were in lhe mind of Maimonides.6 Though
such verses as Gen 35: lE, Job 26: 4 and Cant 5: were welt known to
the
Nesher, thc inllucnce ofthe mother tonguc 'tl,a(i)t rbu, can
hardly be excluded.67 Considersa'atal-adr.t Cf, (u ,t
.N,it ), ;n :r ,tr'vi ,r',o) )r)D/)1Jgn nN >ty)>.
-
The Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew 337
(N"t)).,N"0 ,t")9, n)t9it - 'to miscarry' (N) :r ,1,'Ni ,P"9) ;
o)yn ll - 'at theend of the world (extremely far away)' (l :il
,tl"til ,D"nP); n)l! - 'circle' ,t"o)() ,l rnr ;N :12 ,h',pt )yD
,n)yl - 'degree', 'degrees' l :It N l! ;l :N)
'lI'Pl ,lt't(t,t ,ur: ytf nnt tl)t1 ilytn-'nine dinars minus a
quarter'(3t rx 'y";,1")'
lunn lror lunil JJrt rtt lun ilurpn -'the meat becomes hard and
decomposesand the oven bcomes cold and spoils the meat'0t :l ,3u"l
,1"); u9 -'prevalent'()r :)) ,N"it ,)"D); J'lnn) nf,p Ntnyt nlx -
'earth which is about to disintegrale'(1 :) ,!U'ri ,"9;l)il ty -
'by the eye of the heart' (l ,T ,n"rn ,D"n); nm ln )y-
'in this manner' (N :r ,r"ir ti"ilrt0; ; ou ) ryn - 'named it"o
(,n,,r ,D,n:Irnyu, ],ryut EtlNf
- 'as a person whose hair stood erect (pale face)' ,,o'nil
,l')
()t :n; otflD Dlt)t)y Crtuy,ar DlNn t'fl tlt -
'let the words of the human being befeW and their meanings
ntunerous'7 (1
'f ,1',it ,n,n), t)y - 'meaning' (1"n ,lrrio ;i :N ,l),rl ,9rr )
l) )tll ,N,to l : ,llrtil tttltt it :Nt ,)"yl ,D"9 ; ,'r :l );
f'yn)nny - 'to mingle with them' (N : 1,il ,D'nD); lV.,)y -
'One-tenth' (l : ,n"Pil l't9);or )) lgngn ?nn - 'the king shaves
every day' ln .J ,>n"i1 ,u"); otl olN 1J -'and in the case that
a pefson catches fish' ,Jp"r :i' ,D't)il ,") :l
'l)'rtgrl ,')(t :N D"ritl 'g l) ln)tYt l]y lvP -'agreed with him
to write him a book' ,r"o(!
,Nr : ,!V,t,'n; nyDu,it tPtiyn - 'thOSe WhO tranSfer the
traditiOn"r :N ,tl"!r ,llt'til)(f' ,t7, tnrr 11)u 1y Nnuv, ,'vfl-
'a food that syed overnight and stank' (,b"n9
:'r ,'1,'n); nNtol- 'for good health' tl :1 ,J"til (n'no); Tlln
tN , Itnr - 'makesroom for him' (n :r) ,J"uln ,t")); ilnv, luf -
'meat of a slaughtered (animal, incon6ast to a corpse'/r t , ,',3
,p,,D :1 1"il /tf ilo); llln )y ,Jy Jr)v,r )N -'and he should not
thron, himself into the community' (rt :t ,y"l ,l"Dr; olnnyl
ny'Dv,,t,
- 'a wise man whose reputation is bad' (;rr'rr : ,tl'ti ,D"i)74;
yu'tl-
'one-ninth' 1) (: ,f'rilir ,"g; 'w of state: ly' Nrl yfu Nn olN
)yfr N) - 'a manshould not have sexual intercourse when he is
satisfied or hungry' , ,"l ,lf i)(Pr'
3) Repetition of the word: yrl nyr ): r - 'and not every
knowledge' (,n"nolr:l ,n")n); ):)r ):) )r-'every sphere' (tr
') ,n"til ,"ilo) ; i7)n 2)n )l'everypart' 0 :) ,tr,tl ,"nD) ;
lnNl InN ): - 'everyone' 1r ' ,,r ,D"nD); li nJ )f -'every shape'
(r ,) ,t?"l ,"n); E Yr ou )rl - 'and every nfime' ( :1 ,r"ril
,D"nD);lplf pf,l
- 'really in the morning' t :1 1"i "n); n)9n n>5n )l -
'very
prayer' (.{'l))t ,N'); lJn lJn )f - 'every yard' ()r :il ,!"il
,1"9); lylP) 'lyl2) oN -
'and if they were torn, they were tom' (1f :)) ,!u"i ,1"915; ngr
il9t n)tr -'and hesalted well' ( : ,NrtDit ,P").9 On )v in tbe
seose of
'o), cf. Sh, Ibn Tibbon's preface to More Novuim' tbn Tibbon'
p.73. Further examples: )
'N ,t "pn ix"oConsider: 4laqt'alihi ism.It reminds us of 'm qall
wa-dalla' and cf. Eccl 5:2.Cf. 'naqala', which means'to
hansfer'and'to translate'.Cf. dabtra in written and spoken Arabic
alike.
Cf. Ps. I 12:7.For other cxamples of verbs see: f :nl ,Ntu',n
,t"o
70
7t
,7l
11
15
-
338 HASEEB SHETADEH
A great scholar like Maimonides, who was conversant with both
semiticlanguages, Arabic and Hebrew, could not avoid the impact of
his vemacular andthe language of sciences and culture when he wrote
his only book in Hebrew. Apassive or theoretical knowledge of a
language is onething and an active knowledge,including the four
skills of hearing, speaking, reading and writing, is somethingelse.
only through theoretical and practical knowledge of a given living
tanguagecan a profound and comprehensive understanding of its
culture and literature beachieved. Ourera of globalization rcquires
an expert in a language and its civilizationto achieve rhe fifth
skill, thinking in that language. The era of passive knowledgealone
in academic studies of living languages, such as fuabic and Hebrew,
is ahistory.
List of abbreviationsu: nr:)n,nfnN loo
n)rn nu)n,nfiN.oir:rs nt:)t,nfiN loD
yDu nxrlp nr:)n ,ifnN .loot)n) nrllt n)gn n)n ,nffl{ lD
nln 5D nt,o r))!n ntl)l ,n:ax roonry:,Nit r:r:i : nuJ nt ,lnN
log
n)v'il )) nl)n tp,iflN ltnyr tlf)n ,y1t l5
tltt rrtgt nl:)n ,y%n looon)nirn t:ff n'Ily nl)n ,y.tn rlun
m:),yrrln g
nrrn lur)n nu)n ,!lcn toonJ \bn nf)ir ,or:tot too
rllry n)rfl ,or)Et D:unt n)rD nt))il ,or)l:t outnn y/J1p
ttf)n,orjl o
n:vr nr:)n ,rt),Dt lo
lt2 Err nnr:u nl:)n,ot)Dt !gl)t n) roru nt)n ,or)Dt lt
U/Y nntfv't l )il ,Dt)Dl 5or)pv, nf)n ,!,r)nt tnrr:y nll)n
,ot)bt tgorx): p) ,ryt l9ruyn nr:) ,rrtlt lD
ortty nt)nn n)ir ,ryil too):p ngrnt, ntl)n ,Ortrtt tggnrrr>v
nt:)n ,orgub g
nlurN nl:)n ,o)u) lorglllr) mf)n ,OtU) -Ditf,r)) til))n ,rPt)
l9
r.n:xl nt Dr:)n ,,rpr 199prt,rl )ftn n))n ,}pr 199
D'3 tptl nrl)n ,rzr 19uro)n n.rnvr n:rl il>)n ,r2ft) .tD
nltn rlrN nu)n ,nr:! toourrPnn nNtl nt:)n ,nl:! tol: o)'rfyn
urpnn r)r nt:)n ,t1:! too
nD:'lpt nuyn nt:)n ,ilTtly ItD
f,il ,Nr"i ,NrrJ[il ,Nr
yrlp. ,Nr,
Jr,llll ,Nr'n"DDnn ,Nr9Nrl))l ,R,,t,1,'Jtt,NrDIrtil ,D'ril
lrr ,D"J)ry ,ri9nrrn ,Drn
Jl,nn ,iay'ilt)"ll. ,rr
y".1 ,Ir
nrDil ,l"Dn'Pn
'1"lurr'l ,lr,gl)"tu. ,'r9)rgg,rrtly,rutil
,l"gPUr' ,lryn"il
,,),' ,ll"DDttil ,l"y,Dn,llr
trruil ,1,9
'Y)rrn ,n,r,g
Nr,. ,J,'Dr,' r)"
,r ,l)rt,N")il ,)r'Dl3r,ll ,lJ"tal");l ,l)"D
)r'vrlt ,l)"t,rJ"Nl ,y,'g,f,"fi.l ,ygy"Dln,y"Di2,'nn ,y,
-
The Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew
orlfn r fy nf)n ,n1ly tDnyrlu nlrn ,nN)n l9
or1) r))n ,nN)9il 9otr n))n ,ilN)9n
nrt tErrN nl)n ,nyrTP 199nnN n))ND tlf,)il ,nulP D
il)nD nrtt nt))n ,}p 199tt) ntl)n ,r)P l9
nu nfrfl ,tlDllPn lsDor',a ntl)il ort259r 9
,N nfrn ,otu5Yt loo)n n))n ,o)!lu, loot))r, n)rn ,o)t25u t
339
Irrry' ,yrrfgr,;l r"1)rrl ,trrI)rr' ,5[
l'rxil ,PrN"Dil ,pzrD,ln,JP"lt"l ,)2rru!,n ,1Pnnnfl tu)noNrl
,v.rtttJrrl urr9
5Dr1 ,u)uo
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