A note on the energicus in a Coptic-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch
A note on the energicus in a Coptic-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch

Summary/Abstract: The Energicus is an important emphatic form in Classical Arabic “that survived rarely [and] came to be rare or completely absent” in Mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic and Christian-Arabic. In this article I shall discuss some cases of the Energicus in a Christian-Arabic version of the Pentateuch from the 14th century (MS Paris BM copte 1) which is set in parallel columns with the Coptic version. The choices of the Arabic structures similar to the Coptic ones (such as the functions of the Energicus parallel to the Coptic optative and the causative imperative) show the skills of the translator in finding suitable translation solutions. As far as the Energicus is concerned, its usage (although rarely) is also a part of the general trend to cling to classical norms in this Arabic version. The findings of T. Zewi concerning the Energicus in Saadya Gaon’s translation of the Pentateuch fit well into our discussion, both in the methodology and in the conclusions.

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