ALFASI, DAVID BEN ABRAHAM
- ALFASI, DAVID BEN ABRAHAM
- ALFASI, DAVID BEN ABRAHAM (Ar. Abu Suleiman
Dāʾūd ibn Ibrahim Al-Fāsī; tenth century), Karaite
grammarian and commentator.
Alfasi, who came from Fez, Morocco, spent a number of years in Ereẓ
Israel where he composed a Hebrew-Arabic lexicon of the Bible
(Kitāb Jāmiʿ al-Alfāẓ). The dictionary is extant
in both a long and a short version, which was published in a critical
edition by Skoss (see bibl.). The exact relationship between the two is
not clear yet and needs further investigation. The dictionary consists
of 22 chapters, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The entries
are arranged according to the principle of bi-literal roots. He cites
the translations of Onkelos and Jonathan b. Uzziel by name or refers to
them as al-Targum, al-Suryānī, or al-Mutarjim. He
also quotes the Mishnah and the Talmud, the masorah and the Rabbanite
siddur. Alfasi mentions saadiah twice as
"al-Fayyūmī," but he frequently uses and criticizes his
commentaries without mentioning his name. He often designates the Bible
al-Qurʾān or al-Kitāb (the Scriptures)
and the Jewish scholars, al-Rabbānīn or
al-Rabbūnīn, as was customary among Karaite authors.
Alfasi's dictionary is one of the earliest and most important for the
investigation of the history of Hebrew philology. The author reveals a
fine sense for language and a profound, and, for his time,
comprehensive, knowledge of ancient Hebrew linguistics. One of the
important aspects of the dictionary is the comparative one: He quotes
numerous parallels between biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, Arabic (both
literary and spoken), and mishnaic Hebrew, many of which tally with
those found in the Risāla of Judah b. Quraysh (whom the
author does not mention), and many which have been accepted by
present-day philologists. Alfasi explains many roots by metathesis or
permutation of letters. He follows the Tiberian systems and the
Palestinian grammarians as to the masoretic text, vocalization, and
accents. The dictionary contains a wealth of information pertaining to
early Karaite Bible exegesis as well as historical and material
conditions in Ereẓ Israel in Alfasi's time. Compendia of the short
version were compiled successively by levi b. japheth , Eli b.
Israel, and ali b. suleiman (and were incorporated by Skoss in the
apparatus of his edition). Alfasi's commentaries on the Psalms and the
Song of Songs have not been preserved.
-BIBLIOGRAPHY:
S. Pinsker, Likkutei Kadmoniyyot, 1 (1860), 117 ff., 223 ff.;
S.L. Skoss, Hebrew-Arabic Dictionary of the Bible of David Abraham
al-Fasi, 1 (1936), introd.; 2 (1945); EJ, 3 (1929),
273–5 (includes detailed bibliography). ADD.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Maman, Comparative Semitic Philology
in the Middle Ages: From Sa'adiah Gaon to Ibn Barun
(10th–12th c.) (2004), passim, esp.
182–275; G. Khan, in: M. Polliack (ed.), Karaite Judaism: A Guide
to Its History and Literary Sources (2003), 291–318.
(Solomon Leon Skoss)
Encyclopedia Judaica.
1971.
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