The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the "People of the Book" in the Language of Islam

Sidney H. Griffith

Jul 2013 · Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World Book 48 · Princeton University Press

About this ebook

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.

Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Ratings and reviews

Sidney Griffith is a brilliant scholar and he presents his work in a very effective manner with all the appropriate references. The subtitle of the book is "The Scriptures of the 'People of the Book' in the language of Islam." I feel this to be a very appropriate subtitle, because the book is just as much about Islam and the Arabic Qur'an as it is about the history of the Arabic Bible, because the two simply cannot be divorced or talked about in isolation. What I loved about the book were the initial chapters which touched on 'The Bible in pre-Islamic Arabia' and 'The Bible in the Arabic Qur'an', which were great to read. What I didn't like as much were some of the latter chapters. Even for someone like myself who loves history, I found myself waning in enthusiasm towards the latter half of the book because it was more about presenting the facts rather than trying to tell an overarching story. Overall, this book is still thoroughly enjoyable and I would highly recommend it to all.

Amazing book, it is a well researched work by Sydney griffin

Liars

About the author

Sidney H. Griffith is Ordinary Professor in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures at the Catholic University of America. His books include The Beginnings of Christian Theology in Arabic and The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque (Princeton).