Judah ibn Kuraish ( he, יהודה אבן קריש, ar, يهوذا بن قريش), was an Algerian-Jewish grammarian and
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoretica ...
. He was born at
Tiaret in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
and flourished in the 9th century. While his grammatical works advanced little beyond his predecessors, he was the first to study
comparative philology
Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness.
Genetic relatedness i ...
in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
, and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
. He recognized that the various
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...
are derived from one source and that although they are different in their development, they are subject to the same linguistic laws. Judah's grammatical researches were original, and he maintained his views regardless of the ''
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tora ...
'' and the ''
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
'' so he has been erroneously considered a
Karaite
Karaite or Qaraite may refer to:
* Karaite Judaism, a Jewish religious movement that rejects the Talmud
** Crimean Karaites, an ethnic group derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Karaite Judaism in Eastern Europe
*** Karaim language, Turkic ...
.
''Risalah''
His ''Risalah,'' a letter in Arabic but written in the
Hebrew script,
Introduction of Risalat Yehuda Ibn Quraysh - مقدمة رسالة يهوذا بن قريش
/ref> to the community at Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
(ed. Bargès and Goldberg, Paris, 1857), is the earliest known contribution to the critical study of the Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...
. The work is divided into three sections, with an introduction. He warns the community not to neglect the study of the ''Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
im'' since they are important for a correct knowledge of the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, which contains many Aramaisms. In the first section, he compares biblical words to similar Aramaic words. In the second section, he compares biblical words to later Rabbinic Hebrew
Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (al ...
. He makes the comparison for 17 words even if they do not have a direct comparison. The third section is structured differently from the other two in that he does not deal with individual words. Instead, he deals with the larger relationship between the three Semitic languages. He explores ideas such as the interchange of letters or pronunciation, the presence or loss of certain weaker letters in roots like the Nun, the changes of letters used in tenses, changes in gender in names and number and additional vowels or the lack thereof. An additional section is attached to the third section in which he examines the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew. In particular, he notes the alternations of Aleph
Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez .
These let ...
with Ayin
''Ayin'' (also ''ayn'' or ''ain''; transliterated ) is the sixteenth letter of the Semitic scripts, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac ܥ, and Arabic (where it is sixteenth in abjadi order only).
The letter represen ...
, Ayin
''Ayin'' (also ''ayn'' or ''ain''; transliterated ) is the sixteenth letter of the Semitic scripts, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac ܥ, and Arabic (where it is sixteenth in abjadi order only).
The letter represen ...
with Ghain, Zayin
Zayin (also spelled zain or zayn or simply zay) is the seventh letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Zayin , Hebrew Zayin , Yiddish Zoyen , Aramaic Zain , Syriac Zayn ܙ, and Arabic Zayn or Zāy . It represents the sound .
The ...
with Dalet
Dalet (, also spelled Daleth or Daled) is the fourth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Dālet 𐤃, Hebrew Dālet , Aramaic Dālath , Syriac Dālaṯ , and Arabic (in abjadi order; 8th in modern order). Its sound value ...
, Tsade
Tsade (also spelled , , , , tzadi, sadhe, tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ṣādē , Hebrew ṣādi , Aramaic ṣāḏē , Syriac ṣāḏē ܨ, Ge'ez ṣädäy ጸ, and Arabic . Its oldest phon ...
with Teth, Shin with Taw
Taw, tav, or taf is the twenty-second and last letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Tāw , Hebrew Tav , Aramaic Taw , Syriac Taw ܬ, and Arabic ت Tāʼ (22nd in abjadi order, 3rd in modern order). In Arabic, it is also gives ri ...
, etc.
He is also said to have written, in addition to the ''Risalah,'' a dictionary and a book on the Commandments
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...
. However, little is known about them. Although he mentions his dictionary in the ''Risalah'', nothing remains of it or his other book.
Sources
*Goldberg, preface to the ''Risalah,'' Paris, 1857
* Gustav Karpeles, ''Geschichte der Jüdischen Literatur,'' i. 435 et seq., Berlin, 1886
*Winter and Wünsche, ''Die Jüdische Litteratur,'' ii.142-144.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuraish, Judah Ibn
10th-century rabbis
Medieval Hebraists
Year of death unknown
People from Tiaret
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Algerian Jews