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 March

30, I135 and died in Fustat (old Cairo) on Deember 13,l2M. Maimonides is one
of the greatest scholars in Jewish history, a prominent mcdieval Jewish philorcpher,
a major figure in the codification of the Jewish Law, spiritual and official leader
of the Jewish community in Fustat and in distant communities, and Couf Physician

Al Malik Al-Afal Saladin rhe Ayyubite, rhe Vizier of Egypt (l138-n93). His
fathcr was a physician, rabbi, and judge (dayyn). Maimonides' family lived at
various times in a number of different countries: Andalucia, Morocco, Palestine
and Egypt. Maimonides enjoyed prominence and displayed breadth and depth of
scholarship 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 is
referred to by his Aabic name, Misa b. Maimfln al-Qurgubi. Rambam is a unique
figure 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 the
students of Ibn Bla known in the West by the name Avenpace (d. I 138). Shemutl
ben 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 divine
philosopher, unblemished crown arav hag-gadol, hafilosof ha'elohi, han-nezer
ro

ha1-ahor).

Maimonides pretended that he believed in Islam until the age of thirty. In I160
he 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'

tabaqt al-aibbd' ('the prime of news in the classes of physicians') mentions

that Rambam was distinguished in medicine.r
' Ibn AH

Uibi

a"

p. 6t?

Studla Oenta!a 99 (2004), pp. 323-340

324

HASEEB SHEHDEH

Yet al-Qifti (l167-1248) did not share this view. [n medicine Maimonides followed
the

tadition of Hippocrates

and especial emphasis was laid on preventative medicine.

He adopted the Aristotelian school of philosophy through the mediation of the

works 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 linguistic
impact 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 heatise
on logic. In it he maintains that faith and reason are the sources of revelation. ln
his opinion the most elevated goal that a human being should strive to attain is the
knowledge of theoretical truth. He formulated the main doctrines of Judaism in
thirteen credal affirmations in order to differentiate Judaism from both Christianity
and Islam. The character of Maimonides symbolizes a synthesis of tradition and
reason, religion and science, Israel and Greece.2 I the introduction to the commentary on the Mishnah Maimonides states his belief that being 'a good and wise
person' is the goal of life. Among the most notable works of Maimonides are
Dallat al-H'ri (Moreh Nebukhim, 'Guide of the Perplexed', I176-91); Mishne
Torh (MT) or Hay-yad Ha-azaqa ('Second Law', 'Strong Hand'); a commentary
on the Mishnah; the book of religious duties and his responsa, and twelve teatises
on health. ln these major compositions Maimonides attempted to reconcile Judaism
and philosophy. At the beginning of the Guidefor the Perplexedthe aulhor presents
a synopsis of the religious duties of Judaism, and at the beginning of MT he sums
up his philosophical views. The theme of reconciliation between religion and
reason in general attracted the attention of several distinguished scholars in the
Middle Ages. Suffice it, by way of illustration, to refer here to the contribution of
Rab 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 not

encouraged by Rabbinate Jews, and even less by the Karaites. It should be noted

that MT is the only Hebrew book by Maimonides. Apart from this only a few
Hebrew letters have been found. It was written over a period of ten years, I 170-l 180.4
Maimonides calleditthe composition (rt:n)x) and explained the choice of Mishnaic
Hebrew for it in his introduction to Sefer Ham-mitzvot'. "I did not write it in
Biblical Hebrew, since that tanguage is not adequately mastered by us in order for
us to formulate all the laws through it. Neither did I write it in the language of the
Talmud, since only a very few understand it, and certain words are strange and
difficult even for the experls. But I am going to write it in the language of the
Mishnah in order to make it easy for most people to understand".r In one of his
responsa 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.

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 Hebrew
sources. 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 never
appropriated any Arabic root which did not exist in Hebrew, so the Arabic influence
is resricted to the various gpes of loan translations. He also succeeded in avoiding
the influence of Arabic in the domain of syntax.'' Biblical and Mishnaic words
were employed by Maimonides with different meanings, and following the

Tibbonites and other translators he coined new words such as tpD?, 'to take an
outing', perhaps under the influence of yahnazzah in fuabic. Such creative linpistic
innovations on the part of Maimonides stimulated some of his opponents, such as
R. Awaham lbn David, to say, 'he comrpted our language, modified the language
of our Sages.'ro

Maimonides' other compositions are written in so-called Judaeo-Arabic, a

branch of Middle Arabic. Friedlaender was, most likely, one of the ftrst scholars
to disapprove of the designationJewish Arabic: "The assumption of a special
Jewish-Arabic dialect, in the case of men like Maimonides who were thoroughly
permeated by Arabic culhue, is utterly unfounded.rr"

MT was written 'only for God's sake' (N1rll orrnu ou)) and towards the end
of its preface the author touches on the method and goal of his composition. He
girded up his loins, relying on God and his understanding of Jewish sources to
present a brief, organised and clear Oral Torah for all.r2 Its style is utterly different

from the Tibbonite language and style.rs

Moreover, MT describes how a Jew should carry out the obligations of the
Torah. It presents a comprehensive picture of haditional Jewish life, the relationship
between man and his fellow and between man and God. In the compilation of MT
Maimonides drew on several sources, such as the Palestinian and Babylonian
Talmuds, the different Targums, Halachic Midashic writings, such as Mekhilta,
Sifre and Sifra, Geonic literature and other literary compositions still unknown to

?
8
e
'o
ll
12

1, nDtv)

))u

tg>

,)tly lv)) tNtvn) o)tt out Jr t)tx

Responsa. Leipzig 1E59,

Maimonides' Collection

of

Avinciri; p. 459; Cboms (1977\, p.201; Sarfatti, p. 1 56.

Chomsky (1977,pp.2Ol-202.

Kutr"h.t, p. 165 and cf. Sarfatti, p. 156.

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.
Friedlacndcr, p. XV.

))f

tn)lrr xn Trl ryn )y rn:yurt ,Tltor rDttD r nvf' t)r{ ,r)Jn lntyt) nl t)cD'
t)x
rNu oy,lil)t.NDpn ,'Dttn ltNn t)yt orllni )N ))D orl'fnDi ot'rft rrn) rnrNl Drr,l
N) 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

se,

,tu 'nrr (Hebrew).

Sce Zaidmau Sarfatri, p. 157.

326

HASEEB SHEHADEH

us. unfurtunately, Maimonides does not refer, as a rule, to thc sources upon which
he based his conclusions and decisions.ra

Judaeo-Arabic was the mother tongue of Maimonides and all Jews living
under Muslim Arab rule in the Middle Ages. Arabic served as rhe lingua
franca
and was the language of culture and science.ls Hebrew, on the other hand, was
primarily a written language for approximately seventeen centuries, from 200 to
1900 A.D. Needless to say, during this long period Hebrew was heard in synagogue
prayers as well as when the or was read. Furthermore, sporadic evidence of brief
conversations in Hebrew between Jews coming from various distant locations is

found. Yet the gap between such a situation and a natural spoken language is
huge. Therefore, the assertion that Hebrew was a spoken language in the Middle
Ages is unjustified. Generally speaking, mediaeval Jews from sa,adia Gaon on
were accustomed to employ so-called Judaeo-Aabic in their prose writings, whereas
Hebrew (as a rule, Biblical Hebrew) was adopted for poery. The former language

was called 'the serving maid' and the latter 'mistress'- bel5on has-sira u-vellon
hag-gevert.r6

As I have tried to show elsewhere,rT sometimes the attempt to find the real
reason for a specific linguistic usage is fraught with difcultics. ln order to illustrate
this phenomenon I discussed two examples. The first of lhese is the occurrence of
the 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 of
mediaeval spoken Arabic but at the same time it should be mentioned that the
long form is marginal in Biblical Hebrew and does not occur at all in Mishnaic
Hebrew. In sdadia's siddur the only form used is the long one (due to the
influence of lraqi Arabic or Biblical Flebrew?), while in /(ru b al-Lugha the short
form is utilised in both Arabic and Hebrew.rs
The second example was the adverb sham in the sense of "there is, generar
reality" attested in Mishnaic Hebrew and perhaps in Ezekiel 3: 23 )x NrN orpN
1v nnt 1tl) ur n)n vi2ln
I arose and went out into the plain, and behold,
-So
the glory of the Lord stood there...re

At hrst glance one might consider this usage a natural continuation of an older
layer of Hebrew. Yet an in-depth look cannot and ought not to ignore the frequency
of the usage under discussion in Hebrew texts tanslated from Arabic, as well as in
texts written originally in Hebrew but under the influence of mediaeval Judaeo-

It is important to note that sham = lhere s is not attested in mediaeval

Hebrew texts \ryritten in Ashkenaz by scholars such as Rashi who did not have any
Arabic.
l4
IJ
l6
l7
IE

t9

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.

The

Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew

327

knowledge of Arabic. In the light of this fact it stands to reason to ascribe this
usage to the obvious influence of fuabic hunk rather than of the typical classical
word 1amm. Moreover, neither the Hebrew of the Haskala (Enlightenment) nor
Modern Hebrew use slm'o as a calque from Arabic (except perhaps in some
manifestations of Hebrew written or spoken by Arabs).2'
To conclude this point, it is not superfluous to quote Shemu'el lbn Tibbon's
point of view expressed in his interesting preface to his Hebrew translation of

Kib dalalat at-hdyin. Here we refer to the major points made

by the resident of la Lune (tnrrr), following the main ideas expounded by his
father, Yehuda the father of translalors. A translator's work is difficult, and a
Maimonides'2z

successful translation requires three conditions: a profound and comprehensive

knowledge of the original language, an equal knowledge of the target language
and mastery of the subject matter. Everything in translation is the result of four
things: 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 anslation
and the purpose is understanding. Ibn Tibbon would not undertake the hard task of
translation had the sages of his province, and the $asid Cohen Rav Yehonatan at

their head not insisted so strongly. In his translation lbn Tibbon relied on two
sources, hrstly the translations of his father, Arabic gfammar books and other
books in Arabic at his disposal. Secondly, he asked Maimonides. Occurrence of
linguistic errors in morpbology, syntax and semantics as a result of similarities
between Arabic and Hebrew. Sometimes specifrc words are common, whereas in
Hebrew they are rare, for example,'ala ra'y and vux x) r Jnvr )l (Job l0: 7)
instead of lafi or l<af, meaning in my opinion Even the great scholar Maimonides
failed in writing Hebrew to avoid following the patterns of Aabic giving different
renderings of the same word in different contexts and following the model of
Arabic in coining new forms and words as 1u)on:. There is also the division of
Moreh Nevukhim into chapters. Ibn Tibbon gives a brief survey of the differences
between fuabic and Hebrew, and an estimation of the influence of the former on
the latter:

)l'ylv., ou n)nf ,onn ot)t)yl tlf,yf, NvDt N)v, nl)n: or:rly nlirf tl'yl rpgrt ))1...
ntpl OrD. ,.fn ll1 OV VrUt lDNrrnN f'I NJn)l lX O)ry: UrV.r rnl) Otp)nn lltUf,
tl ,1ln VlVr IND O)lt rtll Ot)rJy nt f)t ,rl1y tU): X:nf nt rN ,nNtsnn )X OU
...nJlv/)il )nu

"Likewise they express by Arabic words some meanings which are lacking in
Hebrew, such as the word shamin Arabic. Whenever scholars wish to say that
there is something in the world or in existence, they say 'that there is there'
20

h is common in MT in places such si ,N',9; ,t :t tp'it ,D"it ; :t ;t t ,'t

) :N .p"D ,!" ; rl'l , ,Dt'1 ,!"Il X:il ,trltril ,1"0l ,N rN ,lU"n,l"9 it rft ,f'ln ,

2t

The usage of ou in the Hebrew of the Arabs in tsrael is not rellected in the works of

:N

,nrtn Drno

Doron and Shehadeh (1997).

t7

Il deserves to be tanslated into a European language in order tomake

wider readership.

il

avaitable for

328

HASEEB SHEHIDEH

something. By the word sn they point at reality. This is not found in the
Hebrew language, and there are very many other meanings and matters of difference
between the two languages."
Ibn Tibbon continues his line of thought and refers to the impact of the mother
tongue 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 IryD
yt t99,at luN i2l9 yrNll :ttf crll n,otpf ntf)t ou n)m vnv n)n nil
or)r)yJ
,E
rJ,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 nnX
r)rf n)rll

l"rv.,n nn r"')Jf nN N'p JN tntx nrrp) y. nNtt \lN ru)Nrf uybu,

rr:y
u)n: x)
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 .luflrr
nN 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, our
master and sage Moses the servant of God, when he wanted to talk a little about
matters 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 sam
mentioned in many places. At the beginning of the first chapter of the book of
science "the foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdoms is to know that
there is God (literally, a first existent). And at the end of the second balakha, that
is to say 'there is no true existent except Him'. In all this he followed the speech
of learned men in the Arabic language because this meaning does nol exist in
Hebrew so thal few people in this country (France) knew how to read it but (the
majority) read it with fsere under the si and understood it as an epithet of the
creator, blessed be He. Likewise, it is expressed in other languages in other
words. And if in the Hebrew language the author did not get away from following
one language spoken by him in these senses, althougb it was not in front ofhim
and he was not rendering it, how can a hanslator of the word in front of him and
in his spoken language when his mind is occupied in rendering it, avoid following
the meaning and the words of the language that he is translating from."

In the attempt to find an explanation or reason behind a peculiar linguistic

usage it is necessary to know the identity of the writer. To illustrate this point two
examples are in order. lux r)v vv and vr x)
wife advised him' and .there

-'his

is not' respectively. Such examples in an anonynous text may usually be explained

of Mishnaic Hebrew and ancient palestinian piyyut, on the one

hand' and Biblical Hebrew, on the other hand (Job 9: 33). However, these two
examples appeared in a composition written by a palestinian Arab secondary
as reflections

The

Arabic Component in Mamonides' Hebrew

329

school student in westem Galilee t 19'12," This piece of information undoubtedly

leads to a different interpretation, namely a confusion between pl and 1u, on the
one 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 Samaritans
believe only in the Torah.
One of the main goals of MT was to help the Jewish people firmly grasp the

Law and to strengthen their faith. In the introduction to his book Maimonides
wrote: "I have entitled this work Mshne Torah for the raon that a person who
first reads the wdtten Law and then this compilation will know the whole oral
Law without needing to consult any other book.""
The choice of Mishnaic Hebrew as the language of writing was a natural one

lt is a well-known linguistic
oftheir research on the basis of

being based on rabbinic sotrces in this trpe of Hebrew.

fact that multilingual scholars chose the language

the nature of the matter discussed.

The Arabic componnts of Maimonides' Hebrew are classified according to

the usual branches of language, morphology, syntax and lexicography or semantics.

A. Morphology

l) 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 from
nouns, such as gashmi (corporeal), runi (spiritual), but such forms are not
common in the Bible and the Talmudim."
2) The suffrx -nt: is not uscd by Sa'adia and is extremely rare in Spanish
poetry. Esther Goldenberg claims that this suffix is not an example of Arabic
influence because it is bonowed from Aamaic into Arabic. She forgets that, as a
rule, it came to render absbact words in Arabic, verbal nouns (mardir). She adds
that -nr and -nr as masculine is found in rabbinic Hebrew as takhlit nson ('first
purpose'),prsut rabbani ('Rabbanite asceticism') and plural concordsodof gedolot
('great secrets'). It is unclear whether this usage comes from Spain or is a case of
neglecting 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 Amb
.{4-^.; L" JS
linguist, tbn inni in his work 'al-Kha'i$- J-tJ
, GL-J I r rri3* . J( , c.r.r JL. - "beware of relying on everything
d J {,i.l
you hear ut consider the slate ofits producer and how is its position with regd to eloquence
and 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. )

Jt ^i l ett{

21
2t
26
27

See A. 8., Samaritan News 763-765,1.6.2000, p. 53.

Durant, p.409.

Avineiri, p.459.
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

330

HASEEB SHEHADEH

,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 blossomed
(Nt r;l

in Israel' I :N (,:r'r! ,y"g, Nt nlrl)n)-'asceticism is'(N ,x ,-t,,)t,9r9)e. ) nrn N

nlltrtv' :-'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. Syntar

l)

Asyndetic clauses are rare in the MT.'some examples: orl:n r) ur llN xln
'he says I have friends (who) want that' (r :. ,),')rit ,tj,n)lrltn) f u,)l
rn) n: nu orf1 - 'and it (a kind of deer) has features (which are) equal to a

Jfl Dltl -

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 :l
rl ,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)n
1f 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 the
young 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
.hours
happiness'() :t ,tt,'rv,,it ,t,D); otnr nyv, nD \tpn,
and
days
will
be
gathered from them' () :h ,t',i) ,t")i n-lut nyv., nnr .and her skin hair stood
on end' (J :h ,t"t{if ,ir',D); nor-tun n nnN f, )) DN lt .and so if one of the
non-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 verbal
phrases: 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' :n
o ,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
2e
!o
3l
"

A few lines late it appears

lt

s feminine.

is used feminine ibidem

r ,r .

Cf. Goldenberg, column 1632.

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) is
connected, ( 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 material
loss?' (: : ,i"lrr) ,rnDl"; Drt - 'an olive' (n :l ,D"Ni' ,yt'ri r2r2n)v rsn - 'a yard
that was spoilt"tl"r :NJ ,tv/',it ,t");

(il: ,lt,'il ,l',9 ft

ri'l ,Nt

,l

:N

,!t'glit

)it nltltt- 'the candle was extinguished'

$- 'head' (1 r!
,DttNil ,!"Dt.

,1"9

UtN'l

(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 jar
that has been revealed and in spite ofthe fact tbat they drank from it'"ulil ,1")e
1r ,r; r:)n tDnfl lpyn)v ry - 'until the rage is castrated from his heart' (n"no
I :: ,T',i); )r ny DTN t)l yu t/Dt{ tDtf - 'in human history people committed a
great fault'() ,N ,x ,ry prrg)'r' tPt!) ln) ny1 ttit ox -'if he had in mind to
refurn to his place' 'I:N ,h"Dil) (,"tr, tgt) nyl'N/ r)u ;lfit nxf, , - 'in the same
glass; two/four glasses'

| ,l : ,l!,rltit

,1" h r1 ,ut'tv,rJ ,1" ;Nr) (:N ,)"n ,"9;

fnf

nrlv/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,, ry
nr)yn 'until the fast (Tabnit) passes' (:il ,!tfi"t ,t,'); yf,p ny/nyn nNl - 'at

ll
14

Butnr xsrrrr in: t

Sometmes

,N

,),r!;r ,!,9,

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'.

lt is diffrcult lo know which word

was in Maimonides' mind, perhaps

.Lii

Note that the

rrn

is used as feminine at the end ofthe samc sentenc. Such a henomenon can
be explained by the fact that Hebrew was a dead language.
same word

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
l9
'10
ot

Arabic.

Seel ,, n,n,D,'9
lt is employed

as

:r )ryn D,nD

feminine too, in

S"" additional cxamples: .r rxt

,v,,"N

r) ,D',hir ,)',g.

)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, rD
nlpn 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 by
.oath'
a Cuthian (Samaritan) is disqualified' l) :N (J"l ,N"); nyf,v/
,f,y,,rit

,gtr)

'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
)
,");
(NrNi

nlru

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 .the
lambs go out' (Nr :) ,!u'fit ,t,t; nrNlt JltD - .from the righrful alimony'
,),o
(Nr
:hr ,N,'irl nrN/nlnN/nf n))Nb - 'good/other/forbidden dishes'*
,hf
'Nf,
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/deep

places''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 .the
remining sparks in the oven' :)t (,tuf it ,t,'; nphl lJ rnv,, ,two burning
candles' (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*o
edges 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

'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 o
(ir

rN

come' (1t r,ht,pil ,ltr).

An interesting phenomenon which displays profound and perhaps subconscious
influence of the native language is the following. Though the Hebrew word is
masculine plural, ending with the usual sufix -m, the adjective that follows it is in
the feminine form -of because the equivalent Arabic word is feminine e. g. rrn u
nu'5yn ot)yn

12
1J
u
It

16
47

nN-'to

rmove the mouldy leaves' 0 :N r1 ,,'). Had Maimonides

In lhe same context it is employcd as feminine,

It is used

as

sge

n r) ,rp,pn ,r',g;

feminine too, as io ln :f ,D"nn ,),Dr.

cf.lu ,r ,r,,,N') n)Jf

rN n>t,1

Cf. on the other hand we find structues that lollow normative grammar, such as: )){Dn
o!rn- 'the good foods' lx ,r',n Jonr' o)rvln ornuDn Dv/n nrrpn - ,the strangc,
'l
ugly voices and names'p :o ,r,yn ,r:p,or; nnu oxn - .black figs, (u ,
,un ,,Dr; ortyn
.lhree
nrNJrr - 'thc goat$ go out' (trr
round stones' ,r,,r,
') ,v',n ,r,ol nr)rlpn o!)rx u)v (1 ;r) ,!r"ir Yet we also find such stnctures: n){n o"o) - 'rightfirl
money' :f), (,N,,n J,g
t), here clcar Arabic influence is possible.

Yt Drln n))NDr are to be found too, e. g. (N

Yet ornnn ntnpnl are to be found too, e. g.

:l

,-. ,D,,ner;

(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 can
know 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 bad
reputation spread about him' (r rr

llt"il ,"); )lP ntry NJt -'bcame widespread

that she"t l ,r ;N) ,Dr : ) :t? J,Nt i2t,D l) :l) ,N,,il ,t'); f1 )y nu:) -'to name
a thing' ( rx ,1),'r ,g,,ot; )N ntltt fl ) N)nD - 'full of these features' (,n"no
N :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 physica
or financially' (n , ,1,'n ,/J,'n); -) Jtv - 'needs, fequires' (t N ,!ui1 ,r"o) - though
it 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 higb
priest) 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 they
afe content with it' (t) :) ,pu,'it ,"); ltry )p - 'easy for you' lN lft ,n'rPil ,");

- '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 or
something similar to il' (l :it ,!t'fit ,,'91; JrlnrN )yD PnlrJ - 'and we become
remote from our land' (x,':): ,N,'); t! Pr - 'void of (l ,l ry"n ,"D); onuf

,Nyrr tnil nNlp

o: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 )nvrl
nrn h1n lPryn -'and planted in their hearts this great principle' Q )'yn D"ile);
'N

rf, ,y 11il nxl- 'sees the matter properly' {t ,t t")l ,D"lo}' l5l: nlf,n) - 'to
heal 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
4e
50
5l

Cf. Shehadeh (1997), pp. 6l-62 and such structures as: o'Nrn)l nvnn

'

found' np : ,pu,'n ,r,'o); ntot >u ornyr - 'thal his palm-hees are beutifrl'
; trlttn onr: - 'pretg clothes'(t :t ,D"it,u''o).

11

lt rcminds

me of lhe Arabic expression

'the money
,P')) I,l"ip

tli''alha $l',

Cf. Sarfatti, p. 159.

For rther examples see:
,N" ;lD ,N | ,U"pi ,N"g ) N ,}'!il ,"n9.;l ,1r : ,tY'ii 'Dril ,l ,N :1 '1"i 'D"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) r

,}'ltli

1"

.l

:) ,yn'il

!1 r>f}rl

,lr/9

334

Hnr,a Snenoan

y) ortl:1n

'and when the translator delivers the matters to the people'

,fi"lli[ ]) llrnnl fln

() :T

,r,'1D)

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 rrrrn
'he brought down the manna for us' (x !n ,"ri.t ,D,nD); DUn nN )))n

n nN D)

'profaned the name of God' () :ir r'n D,'n);

rf,

tN ot)rt3

lrro)

'therefore

they 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 not

have 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 will
be able to'

,) ,rrgr ( ,t',).

l)

Partitive 'min', indicates division into parts: nrrx,D ,il) 1y l)tr '-t-r
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,..
I

.nu,N nN)yrr1

n)tfx D1p J)u ry o1x )fNr N) - .one has to have a walk

before eating' (l,T T',n D"lp)'; ntnu n)tf,N ::yr x)u 1y nJi2 n)r x)x .but he
shaves some of it (safam = moustache) so that it does not hinder eating and
12) ru + imperfect:

drinking'(h :Jr ,),')rit ,n"n);

13) The usual status constructus is used, for instance vrn D 'the book of
knowledge', whereas the split state of the construct (samftut paruda) is rare, for

example DNrfJn )r )v pr - 'the mastcr of all prophets' ( .t Jl,,rit ,b"no); nnN n)D
.and
)ntg ,v/ - 'one word of temptation' ( ,t 1"n
this is
,D',tl; r.t! )ur lizry n,t the 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,,D
nrrnift; ul) )u llr:v - 'Lot's drunkenness' (Jt :N ,t),n ,o,'D irtt :1 ,N',it ,)")i )
rr

s2

)v

54

'a glass of wine' (Nr .N ,t:',il ,g"); nl)! 5v )o

Furrher examples:

.l
5l

rN

,)',r!il

,tt',D

,y,,nr

,lt"g ;n ),n

;il :l :l lr

-.a

,J,'D;N , ,N"n ,JrD

basket

:f ,)rgrn

(tull) of fruits'

,r,, N

:l ,D,,nn

,r,Er

For further examples see:.r l ,rur,'ir ,t', ;Jr r ,!11,,t ,t,'u N,'lf)t ,N,'g

Maimonides'view of tbe physical human helth and the images and similes used deserve
suffice it hee to indicate that Maimonides wams rhe husband to be always
avaitable to his wife as a cock bul il is recommended lo have sexual inlercourse oncc a week
on saturday night. Further examples of partitive 'min': rr ,, ,v"i' ,v,q another simile is: .he
shools lhe issue of semcn as an arrow'(N : ,N" ,I,g).
a separte study.

J'
5

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'.

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 irvllN
n 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 using
gender: nr 'uy t)vrn )N - 'and these are the twelve forms' I :) ,tt"tn) (D',i;

nflf

uy nrrrn - 'nineteen 6lgggings' (h :

15) The annexed noun

fDt r)yln t)x

r :T

,),'1!i ,Nr9rt,

in the constnct state comes with the defnite article:

'these crippled people' (tr :t ,D,']it )t"1.

C. Semantics and style

Goldenberg statcs 6rst "In vocabulary also, the Hebrew Maimonides (sic) tends to
be free from Arabic influence". A few lines later she adds: "There are undoubtedly
traces of Arabic influence in the language of Maimonides, but they nearly all
derive from Aabic features in Hebrew texts written by his predecessors, and most

of 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 known
in scholarly research by the unsuccessful desipationJudae-Araic, as well as, of
Al-'Arabiyya, thelinguafranca ar the language of culture, on the Hebrew of MT
is profound, clear and general. Suffice it here to add the usage of1)vn) in the
sense 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 semantic
field 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'

(,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 an
n

rN,

example of it ftom Bialik."

l) Usage of synonyms: nttt r5) - 'bodies' ( ) 't ,Nr ,t:N ,n,'ti ,,rn), P
t lp ,t)ln - 'end' (,N ,fl"rn ,n"nD), nlJ n,'t - 'form' (,N ,rutr .,atx9);
57
58

59
60

For firther examples see: nu>g';(X:l

:l{f ,l',Nil P"9, orDYt

,ltrn,9"

,n'r9Dnn,N) r)Dl!1/orfit ylN

Goldenberg cotumn 1633 and she mentions as examples: prefixed ) to indicate causc,
prcfixed n- for exemplication (sic!), formal agreement, grammalical gender according to
Arabic,ln pcnon meaning "be doubtl about", or)r) trrtv ("idol worshippers")' )'vn = 'to
understnd from' cl..ri, p'ntn = 'to hand down by tradition' from li-i. It seems lhat
Goldenbcrg's articlc was written first in Hebrew and then translated into English. It is
unclear on what grounds these statemnts are based. Almost two decades lter lhe same view
is rcpeated by Senz-Badillos, pp.262-263.

ryvn r)D> tDN 'rnt nnx ilyurlvn ornsr .)N Dtp>nil lD \lpntu) - 'when 1080 is
assembled 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
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, - 'to
gfasp'(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 ... except
you'" ( ,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) Ur

nn 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 in
Mishnaic Hebrew, yet its frequent use in MT can be ascribed to its common
Arabic equivalenf (,1,' 1 ;N ,h?rDit ,t,D ;l :it ,nr ,n,it ,N : ,tr 11 ,r'it D"it
il :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 is

permitted 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

'Until he dieS' (lr : ,D"t ,1")6';1J Jf lvry - 'and

itott tn) - 'as a drop in the sea' (n"no
Nr: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

,"i2il ,1";

do so and so'

(l
tt

(l

YtgJ NynV,

ry

,N ,)r'yn ,"n); Drn

:it ,lu,'r ,!" :D ,N"iiirtg) nn

62
'
a
5
6
67
t

'and this is its wording, formula'

,N',D

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, giktyatu
bahhr. Beirut 4th d., p. 274;Zskiyya,fibd al-Qedi, mina (Novel). Tunis 1983, p. 55.
Consider'raddawafhahu'.

lt rerninds us of'asana mba,dal asana'.

Ya il

is

to be found too, (x ;l) ,t.r ,9'Dt.

I assume that

lrxn

and I t '.J I were in lhe mind of Maimonides.

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.
Considersa'atal-adr.
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 the
end 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 decomposes
and 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'

'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 be
feW and their meanings ntunerous'7 (1 ,1',it ,n,n), t)y - 'meaning' (1"n ,lrrio
(1

:) ,!U'ri ,"9;l)il

;i :N ,l),rl ,9rr )

ty

'f
l) )tll ,N,to l : ,llrtil tttltt it :Nt ,)"yl

,D"9 ; ,'r

:l

); f'yn)

(l : ,n"Pil l't9);
nny - 'to mingle with them' (N : 1,il ,D'nD); lV.,)y - 'One-tenth'
.J
otl olN 1J day'
every
king
shaves
ln
lgngn
'the
,u");
,>n"i1
or ))
?nn :i'
pefson
fish'
catches
,D't)il ,") :l 'l)'rtgrl ,')
'and in the case that a
,Jp"r
'g
(t :N D"ritl
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 - 'makes
room for him' (n :r) ,J"uln ,t")); ilnv, luf - 'meat of a slaughtered (animal, in
con6ast 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; oln
nyl 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 man
should not have sexual intercourse when he is satisfied or hungry' , ,"l ,lf i)
(Pr'

yrl nyr ): r - 'and not every knowledge' (,n"no

lr:l ,n")n); ):)r ):) )r-'every sphere' (tr ') ,n"til ,"ilo) ; i7)n 2)n )l'every
part' 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);
3) Repetition of the word:

- 'really in the morning' t :1 1"i "n); n)9n n>5n )l - 'very

(.{'l))t
prayer'
,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 he

lplf

pf,l

salted
9

well'

( : ,NrtDit ,P").

On )v in tbe seose of 'o), cf. Sh, Ibn Tibbon's preface to More Novuim' tbn Tibbon' p.
73. Further examples: )
,t "pn ix"o
'N

70

7t

,
7l

Consider:

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.

11

Cf. Ps. I 12:7.

15

For other cxamples of verbs see:

f :nl ,Ntu',n ,t"o

338

HASEEB SHETADEH

A great scholar like Maimonides, who was conversant with both semitic
languages, Arabic and Hebrew, could not avoid the impact of his vemacular and
the language of sciences and culture when he wrote his only book in Hebrew. A
passive or theoretical knowledge of a language is onething and an active knowledge,

including the four skills of hearing, speaking, reading and writing, is something
only through theoretical and practical knowledge of a given living tanguage
can a profound and comprehensive understanding of its culture and literature be
achieved. Ourera of globalization rcquires an expert in a language and its civilization
to achieve rhe fifth skill, thinking in that language. The era of passive knowledge
else.

alone in academic studies of living languages, such as fuabic and Hebrew, is a

history.

List of abbreviations

u:
yDu

ot)n)

nr:)n,nfnN loo

n)rn nu)n,nfiN.o
ir:rs nt:)t,nfiN loD

nrllt

nxrlp nr:)n ,ifnN

.lo

n)gn n)n ,nffl{ lD

nln 5D nt,o r))!n ntl)l ,n:ax roo
nry:,Nit r:r:i : nuJ nt ,lnN log
n)v'il

on)nirn

)) nl)n tp,iflN lt
nyr tlf)n ,y1t l5

tltt rrtgt nl:)n ,y%n loo

t:ff n'Ily nl)n ,y.tn r

lun m:),yrrln g
nrrn lur)n nu)n ,!lcn too
nJ \bn nf)ir ,or:tot too

rllry n)rfl ,or)Et D

:unt n)rD nt))il ,or)l:t o
utnn y/J1p ttf)n,orjl o
n:vr nr:)n
lt2

l)t

Err

,rt),Dt

nnr:u nl:)n,ot)Dt

n) roru nt)n ,or)Dt

U/Y

lo

!g
lt

nntfv't l )il ,Dt)Dl 5

or)pv, nf)n ,!,r)nt t

nrr:y nll)n ,ot)bt

tg

orx): p) ,ryt l9
ruyn nr:) ,rrtlt lD

ortty nt)nn n)ir ,ryil too

):p ngrnt, ntl)n

,Ortrtt

tgg

nrrr>v nt:)n ,orgub g

nlurN nl:)n ,o)u) lo
rglllr) mf)n ,OtU) -D
itf,r)) til))n ,rPt) l9

r.n:xl nt Dr:)n

,,rpr 199

)ftn n))n ,}pr 199

tptl nrl)n ,rzr 19
uro)n n.rnvr n:rl il>)n ,r2ft) .tD
nltn rlrN nu)n ,nr:! too
urrPnn nNtl nt:)n ,nl:! to
l: o)'rfyn urpnn r)r nt:)n ,t1:! too
nD:'lpt nuyn nt:)n ,ilTtly ItD
prt,rl

D'3

f,il ,Nr
"i ,Nrr
J[il ,Nr

yrlp. ,Nr,

Jr,llll ,Nr'
n"DDnn ,Nr9

Nrl))l

,R,,t,

1,'Jtt,NrD
Irtil ,D'ril

lrr

,D"J

)ry ,ri9
nrrn ,Drn

Jl,nn ,iay'il
t)"ll. ,rr
y".1 ,Ir
nrDil ,l"D

n'Pn

'1"
lurr'l ,lr,g
l)"tu. ,'r9

)rgg,rrtl
y,rutil ,l"g
PUr'

,lr

yn"il ,,
),' ,ll"D
Dttil ,l"
y,Dn,llr
trruil ,1,9
'Y)rrn

,n,r,g

Nr,. ,J,'D

r,' r)"

,r

,l)rt,

N")il ,)r'D

l3r,ll ,lJ"
tal");l

,l)"D

)r'vrlt ,l)"t,
rJ"Nl ,y,'g
,f,"fi.l ,yg

y"Dln,y"D

i2,'nn ,y,

The

Arabic Component in Maimonides' Hebrew

orlfn

fy nf)n ,n1ly tD
nyrlu nlrn ,nN)n l9

Irrry' ,yrr
fgr,;l r"
1)rrl ,trr
I)rr' ,5[

or1) r))n ,nN)9il 9

nrt

339

otr n))n ,ilN)9n

nl)n ,nyrTP 199

l'rxil ,Pr
N"Dil ,pzr

tErrN

nnN n))ND tlf,)il ,nulP D

il)nD nrtt nt))n ,}p 199

D,ln,JP"

tt) ntl)n ,r)P l9

nu nfrfl ,tlDllPn lsD

lt"l ,)2rr

u!,n ,1Pn

ntl)il ort259r 9
,N nfrn ,otu5Yt lo
o)n n))n ,o)!lu, lo

nnfl

or',a

ot))r, n)rn

,o)t25u

Nrl

tu)no
,v.rtt

tJrrl urr9
5Dr1 ,u)uo

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