| Title | The Arabic Counterpart of the Byzantine Karaite Treatise Marpe la-ʿAṣem |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Gregor Schwarb (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0464.15 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0464/chapters/10.11647/obp.0464.15 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Gregor Schwarb; |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2025-03-07 |
| Long abstract | The article investigates the Arabic source text underlying Marpe la-ʿAṣem, a significant eleventh-century Byzantine Karaite Hebrew theological manual rooted in Baṣran Muʿtazila doctrine. It highlights the treatise’s role within the broader ‘Byzantine Karaite Literary Project’, focusing on its dependence on Arabic models and its adaptation to suit Hebrew-speaking audiences. The study identifies and compares fragments of the Arabic source with the Hebrew text, demonstrating shared structures and content, particularly in sections on divine justice, prophecy, and eschatology. The Hebrew adaptation exhibits creative modifications, including explanatory notes and illustrative examples tailored to a pedagogical context. By reconstructing these interconnections, the research underscores the significance of Arabic compositions in shaping Karaite theological discourse and sheds light on the translation and adaptation practices of Byzantine Karaite scholars. |
| Page range | pp. 459–488 |
| Print length | 30 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Landing Page | Full text URL | Platform | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0464/chapters/10.11647/obp.0464.15 | Landing page | https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0464.15.pdf | Full text URL |
Gregor Schwarb (PhD, University of Freibourg) is a Research Fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and is engaged in several research projects related to manuscripts from the Second Firkovitch Collection at the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg. He studied theology, philosophy and Jewish studies in Freiburg (CH), Jerusalem and Damascus. His research focuses on trans-denominational intellectual thought in the pre-modern Islamicate world. Recent publications include (co-edited with Lukas Muehlethaler) Theological Rationalism in Medieval Islam: New Sources and Perspectives (Peeters, 2018), ‘Early Kalām and the Medical Tradition’, in Philosophy and Medicine in the Formative Period of Islam (The Warburg Institute, 2018), and ‘Abū l-Ḥasan al-Ṣūrī’s Kitāb fī bāb al-qibla and its Qaraite Refutation’, in Samaritan Languages, Texts, and Traditions (De Gruyter, 2021).