The Rendering of Unclean Birds in an Arabic Translation of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14

Abstract

This article examines the lists of unclean birds (Lev 11:13–19; Deut 14:12–18) based on a Christian Arabic translation found in twenty medieval manuscripts. While previous research has discussed the bird lists in the Hebrew and Greek traditions, very few studies have analysed the Syriac and Arabic versions. The present essay first demonstrates that the tradition represented by these manuscripts goes back to a single translation, which is itself a fairly literal rendering of the Peshitta. Since the Arabic list, like the Syriac, omits five prohibited birds, the article then turns to explain their omission by comparing the Syriac list with other late antique and early medieval Jewish sources. Finally, it draws several conclusions for the transmission of the bird lists and more generally for the study of Arabic Bible translations.