A Genizah Fragment of Saadya Gaon’s Bible Translation Copied by Mevōrākh b. Nāthān in the 12th Century

Abstract

The article discusses JTS ENA NS 69.12, a Genizah fragment of Saadya Gaon’s translation of Numbers 27.18-22, 28.2-7, whose scribe can be identified as Mevōrākh b. Nāthān, a well-known scribe active in Fusṭāṭ in 1150–1180 CE. The article includes its transcription, a critical apparatus, and its philological and linguistic analysis. This Genizah fragment shows similarities to other fragments of Saadya’s translation copied in the 12th century and reflects various Middle Judeo-Arabic features but also follows in various aspects the version found in the earliest dated inclusive manuscript of Saadya Gaon’s translation of the Pentateuch known to us, MS St. Petersburg RNL Yevr. II C 1, copied by Samuel ben Jacob in the beginning of the 11 th century.