An ancient MS, of the Samaritan Liturgy.
By G. Margolionth.
• The Tmstees of the British Museum acquired in the course
of last year an ancient Samaritan MS. which deserves to be made
widely known, mainly on account of the not inconsiderable light
which it throws on the earlier form of the Samaritan Liturgy, but
also — though in a much smaller degree — on account of various
interesting peculiarities which it displays. 1 wül, therefore, without
further preface, proceed to give a detailed description of both its
outward appearance and its contents, holding fast the principle — so
weU exemplified by the late Prof. Wright in his British Museum
Catalogues — that in a description of a MS. one should aim, purely
and simply , at producing in the mind of the student as clear an
idea as possible of the volimie as a whole and of every constituent part of it.
The material used is vellum, the dimensions being about IO1/4
in. by 71/2, and the number of extant leaves 72. There are for
the most part two columns to a page, with 27 to 32 lines in each.
The numbering of leaves by means of Samaritan letters in the
earlier part of the MS. is stiU largely preserved, thus ^ on fol. 7 a, (U on fol. 8 a, i} (i. e. 11) on fol. 9 a, etc., the last two being
both on fol. 18b and fol. 19a, and A (i. e. 22) in fol. 20a. This
enumeration shows that only two entire leaves are missing in this
portion, and as one leaf is wanting after fol. 4 (vide infra), not
more than one whole leaf has been lost at the beginning. But
the MS. is very badly mutilated at both ends. The remainders of
foil. 1, 2 are mere strips, and foil. 3—5, 69—72 are also more
or less seriously damaged. There are lacunae after foil. 4, 32, 52,
69; and leaves are also missing at the end, besides the lost folio at
the beginning. The writing is in dilferent hands of the XIII*'' cen¬
tury, the greater part (foil. 1—50) being dated according to six
different eras {vide infra) of which the last but one is A. H. 656
(A. D. 1258).
The contents form a large fragment of an ancient Samaritan
Service book, containing the following liturgical portions. All the
hymns (except where otherwise mentioned) are in the Samaritan
dialect, accompanied by an Arabic translation (in the Samarit.
character) in parallel columns.
I. A small fragment of Marquah's hymns. Fol. la. Besides
some small portions on the mutUated leaves at the beginning, there
is an alphabetical hymn (also imperfect) with the opening words
(on fol. 4a): — HNT'n-' a-^nb«
(for ian) -lay nzy n-ibn
n. A collection of hymns composed by Amram Darab. Pol. 6 a.
General heading: — nmi nni3 Dinsb
Beginnings of hymns: —
Fol. 6a (alphabetical): — ln;Km D^nbN (1)
'j-'ttnia "ipan
Pol. 8 a:— NbN nbt* n-'b itt (2)
Db»b nnn
Fol. 8 b:— 1172 y--a: "jb (3)
Fol. 9 a:— nb-in Nin bvn (4)
Fol. 9 b:— m-ip-i mnN (5)
Pol. 10 a:— Dbyb I'^vz-i nau (6)
Fol. 10b:— nbai3 bsbi nabw (7)
Fol. lib:— nb n-^ED nba lüsw (8)
Pol. 12 a:— nma n-'b-] nb« (9)
Pol. 12 b:— -ipiN a-1 ip'^N nN (10)
Over No. 2 is the heading (mutilated)nbN Dia bs .
Over No. 3 is written in what appears to be a later Arabic hand:
jji^c XJLJ , but the distribution of the hymns over the days
and nights of the month is not supported by any other indication
in the MS.
in. A shorter series of hymns in the following order: —
Fol. 13 b (alphabetical, author unknown *)):—
niB-'-ip nana unN (1)
Pol. 15a (alphabetical, unique, author unknown): —
nnNfflc; yy^o n« (2)
nm-inNT nbbM • • •
Fol. 16 b (also alphabetical and unique, without an author's
name): — nrNcoo yyno nN (3)
nans n-nyn •\-q
bD-in Nbn lira
1) I owe a considerable amount of information on the authorship of the hymns to Mr. A. Cowley (of the Bodleian Library, Oxford) who also kindly pointed out to me the hymns which are not found in other MSS.
Fol. 18 b (alphabetical, and ascribed in another MS. to
Marquah): — nnNi23E3 yvyo rtN (4)
nans n-'nyn -,73
bs'^WT T^nyn ^^^<•>
The invocation : — nSMp nsiai nbN Dffi by is written at the
beginning of this portion. The phrase: — HHN NbN nbN n^b stands
at the end of several of the hymns. It is also to be noticed that
(i. e. nac, for the Sabbath) stands over No. 1, but it is apparently due to a later hand.
rv. Hynms for the night of the New Moon and the consecutive
Sabbaths of the month, followed by a hymn for times of great
distress and another for the first night of the week (i. e. the night
following the Sabbath). Fol. 21a.
The liturgical directions are in this part given as a rule both
m Samaritan and Arabic, each over its respective column of text
or translation.
Fol. 21 a :— heading : - ^)nn''3bn piDW nbN Bffl by
Arabic: — "^aNbnbN ybü73 nbbN ooa
Beginning of hymn: — nana ina bT-i; (1)
Fol. 21b: — heading: — nill5i ■'b-'b lU-itt
^)iU,uaXJ! j^jiJt (for ^i^äj) liUij
Beginning: — innNT o-'yT' aiu (2)
ni^byn nuop
Fol. 22a: — heading: — nana •'ibs by "ittNnTa
L.w..Ji ^jLiy^S ^»J'läKJ! ■^JJmS Ci^'Sj jLftJ
Beginning: — ban nan nana ijnN (3)
nasb nampi nmar
Fol. 22 b :— heading (looks, however, like the subscription
to the preceding hymn): —
j^ÄJt ^ !^^\ o..^! nn-'NJip nnaia
Beginning: — nan nana i:nN (4)
nan n-^as pa-'Nn
On the same page: — heading: —
j-j^! ii}!
Beginning (though, perhaps part of the preceding hymn) :—
n73^:T ibna ^lo: (5)
nnn: nana nboa ■■nN
1) The Syriac word /LOC^l. is stated to mean "sermocination, coallocutio".
The Samaritan word in this place denotes the nO-'a (ßijfift), or raised platform, from which the Law is read.
2) The Arabic of the headings has no diacritic points in the MS.
3 6«
Fol. 23a: — heading: — nniSSDI fianob j ^ «W!l ^.yA Ci«.**» ^jl iÜlM-uiXJt goyCCJ
Beginning:— iT^ariDNb rtNaitt ^bax (6)
Fol. 23 b :— heading :— nnisirn nnao
y^,w.Jt KjJUüI c<'->,^»^l-i
Beginning: — pNb mab b^yu (7)
"^b "ijm
Fol. 24a:— heading: — yibb Itbvn
Beginning:— nbsn bybl naü (8)
On the same page :— heading :— iians ^iba by Ittnu
v_ÄJ JiJt V_ji^Äji V_>ljXil v.A.ij' küöj liliij
Beginning:— ^Niayb Diau D'bbü (9)
Fol. 24b: — heading:— nnTi^bn innaffl
KmouiX!! ^^ÄJ L« kivJLiJt c>->.^t
Beginning: — pNb rtiMnian iiab (10)
Fol. 25 a:—headiQg: — yibb tTDV2i2
o!^!. J^! J\
Beginning:— nan nana i:nN (11)
nan nsbn ejibint
On the same page: — heading: — nni2-:n nnaiB
j5 X-o'iiJ! i>i><.*-««J!
Beginning: — y?:«5N rfJ^iffla bpn (12)
Fol. 25b:—heading: — rtrTiibn nnaw
JjjjJl j jiiÜLäJ! va*.xwJ!
Beginning: — nan nbin yTiTN (13)
Fol. 26a:—heading:— nniyiai nnao
iijjÄJt j5 ivxjtjit ci».x.*«Jl
Beginning: — nncn nimiDT iiab (14)
On the same page: — nnioinn nnao
j iLi»««LS\J! (;>>.*j»Jt
Beginning: — nyiTT nni «nrian (15)
Fol. 26b:—heading: — nana ibji na uanu
ljLäJ! (.IJö I—>LxXJ! oi^i-J' JL«J
Beginning:— nan nanasn (16)
Fol. 27a:—heading:— pTNl innn nxian p
an ynbn
iU-fc^ac ÄJbLbj ä^XXi c>>-Sj i^LfiJ i_JLLiJ!
U*s »oL*J! . . . US' ^Ut ^ jÄJj (for i^^^c '^«H^'i'^ ) L^'ui ^!
Beginning (alphabetical): — lb n-'b •[-\^2 i^by p^-ü (17)
P'DN "iDi?:
At the end of this hymn (in large characters) : —
-rb?;; • • (erasure) • • sbi p7j "jb nay npn::
Arabic :— N'jnNCNa'i nxsn Nbi NJan N:b byjN -bxny
Fol. 30b: — heading: — ba nnoay ^b-b
Beginning: — nnno oi-' nbo bTN
bsno^b nan nb^ba
At the end of this part, in large character, is the following
which appears to be the heading of a portion which has been lost :—
cr!-i2N -|72 pns^n noc
Arabic: — nnnsN vaN pnoN ybno
i. e. "The deliverance of Isaac from his father Abraham"
(referring to the intended sacrifice of Isaac).
Most of the hymns included in the above portion are due to
unknown authors. No. 17 is by Marqah, No. 18 by Manah b.
Marqah, and No. 8 is unique.
V. A Lectionary') for the days of the week, consisting of a
large number of verses from the consecutive books of the Penta¬
teuch ; defective at the beginning. Fol. 33 a.
Of the portions for the night following the Sabbath only a
fragment has been preserved; first extant verse: Gen. XVIU, 25*).
The first verses of the various following lections are as follows : -■
First day of the week: morning: — Gen. XXVIII, 3.
Second day of the week: evening''): — Gen. L, 24.
Second day of the week: morning: — Ex. XIH, 13.
Third day of the week: evening:— Ex. XVUI, 10.
Third day of the week: morning:— Ex. XX, 21.
Fourth day of the week: evening:— Ex. XXXII, 11.
Fourth day of the week: morning:— Ex. XXXIX, 43.
Fifth day of the week: evening: — Num. X, 10.
Fifth day of the week morning: — Deut. I, 8.
Sixth day of the week (nrainy): evening: — Deut. Vü, 6.
Sixth day of the week: morning: — Deut. XI, 29.
1) This Lectionary has hitherto been unlinown, but Mr. Cowley informs me that he has come across traces of it in a MS. at the Vatican.
2) The chapters and verses all refer to the printed te.xt of the Samaritan- Hebrew Pentateuch, and not to the Massoretic text.
:i) It is to be remembered that the evening of the second day is what we call the close of the first day and so with regard to the other days. In Genesis I the order is npn in-'-i a-y ini-).
Bd. LI. 33
The readings for the Sabbath -—aiai, nn3T25 icap)
run through the whole Pentateuch once more, beginning with
Gen. II, 3, and ending with Deut. XXXIII, 1.
The first "Tärikh" contained in the MS. is in the usual form
of the Samaritan cryptogramconsisting of the letters of the
Biblical text placed separately between the columns of the MS.
It begins on fol. 43 b, and ends on fol. 50 a. The following is a
transcription of it: —
-utt'jj 13 :i3T' -)3 qbn nnsiNi raiKO npno nsianxb
nNi:p ynn p n^ ub bbsm nmrs V2f> qipnn*) ans nmairo -snOTS
-rn nNsb D-ro lobisi njus mw: yasm D^obN n:o nnn p: ut ^ qpw
D-insm: bLsnw
This MS. was, therefore, written for the chiefs Sadaka bar
Samuka and Halaf bar Yusuf bar Shamti Nmalio ■':no72 ^), and
it was finished on the 12*'' day of Rabl' I = the 19*'' day of Adar,
in the year 2903 of the Exodus. Prom the date of the Mahom-
medan era (A. H. 656 = A. D. 1258) given below it follows
that the Samaritans of that time placed the Exodus in the year
1645 B. C.
Dates of five other eras are given on fol. 50 a: —
1) D-i:N''Dbpnb DiynoT D-roi mw: yiam qbs n:© wn 'unpbs
;anpbN -nbj: bion i. e. "The Coptic era; it being the year 1972 of Diocletian, the last of the kings of Egypt".
The era of Diocletian, or of the Martyrs, of which the above
is a very confused account, began on the 29*'' of August, 284 A. D.
In order to make some sense of the statement, one must subtract
the 1000 from 1972; for 972 in the era of the Martyrs agrees
with 1256 A. D., thus bringing us near 1258, the actual year in
which the MS. was written.
2) p nnanT-ib D^iaboi iDizm ms?: laiai r\ba nDO N-n • onsbN
jonobN iDbn bion nN-innia
i. e. "The Persian era; it being the year 1635 of Yezdegerd, the son of Shahriyar, the last of the Kings of Persia".
Here again, take ofi' the 1000. The reign of Yezdegerd IH.
began in the year 632; and if 635 years are added to this number,
we again obtain an approximately correct date, regard being had
to the diiference in the length between the Eastern and the
Western year.
1) See, e. g., the description of Pl. XXVIII in the "Oriental Series of the Palaeographical Society".
2) One should expect anDHN.
;ij Apparently meaning: "invested with authority" (Würdenträger).
3) njsoNbb sattT bi»a«i niNa isttm qb« rsio «""n •mib«
:nwmT rnaip inon Dib^B
i. e. "The Greek era; it being the year 1577 of Alexander,
the son of Phllls (thus for PhiUppos), the two-homed one, the
Greek".
The era of Alexander began in 325 B. C, and of the contracts
(if that be meant) in the year 311. We, therefore, again reach
an approximately correct date.
4 & 5) ira mabttb ^DVS^ Di«Km nivn idtd n:iD N-'n -aiyb»
üimNiay piana • • • • «im bsynttji
i. e. "The Arabian era; it being the year 656 of the Kingdom of the Ishmaelites, which is ' ■ • ' of the Hebrew reckoning.
The year 656 of the Hijrah answers to A. D. 1258. The
Hebrew date at the end it not clear.
Some additional calculations with regard to the various dates
are written in the margin in Arabic.
No. 1 and 2 show the lamentably confused state of Samaritan
chronology in the middle of the Xlli"" century.
On the lower part of fol. 50a the scribe wrote as follows: —
nbsn nNT *]ma -n.^a nnans
!iby nbo^i Nipi o-i nb itt p-n n^rST
:"]aaba y-ii bs -^^zü nnana
•.'^ainab irnbs nboi -n:Nn ia N-ipn nyi
Foil 50 b — 52 b may be regarded as a kind of later appendix.
They contain two well-known complete hymns written in different
hands :—
1. (in Hebrew in the Samaritan character, without an Arabic
translation, showing the acrostich qoii*) at the beginning,
and then continuing in alphabetical order): —
Beginning: — lab nbo Qinn-in Di
2. (in Samaritan and Arabic: heading: — nxm , i. e. "belonging to the Durrän of Amram Dai'ah") : —
Beginning: — ibpa y72T2J ni:-) nbin
At the end of 2 is the illegible beginning of another hymn,
with the heading: — niiyn: by piy.
VI. An imperfect series of hymns, accompanied like the rest
of the MS. by an Arabic translation in parallel columns, but written in a different, and somewhat later, hand.
1) i. e. Joseph the High Priest, who flourished about the middle of the XIII*'' century.
38*
The following are the extant beginnings: —
Fol. 53a (the prayer of Joshua b. Nun): —
nbbN 173 bm=i) (1)
Fol. 54a [in Hebrew]:- —
Pol. 54 b:—
Pol. 55 a:—
Pol. 55 b:—
Fol. 56 a:—
Ibidem :—
Pol. 56 b:—
Ibidem :—
Pol. 57 a:—
Ibidem :—
Pol. 57 b:—
Fol. 58 a:—
Fol. 58 b:—
bbn:i -jias (2) pya:i bnan
-bna iro: (3) nbN nnNi ";b -i73'':t
V7:i"73 -;ii3ny (4)
r-n-N y-b 237; (5)
1172 r^a: i-. (6) -jo: -|-7:pT
■jibua-i Nb (7)
■)-':n7: -7: ■i:-'7:7:s
rn^n ibna (8)
-i7:-ip -i7:n-n ■|ib7:yb (9)
na^op n:N^n (10)
ITN 30: n':-:
"ian:: ■'7:p (11)
Vn^D o-ya i:n
ry3K "N -jb (12) npya:: ^-\yiz\a nN
n7:by ■'7:p (13) 1313 -Iir;
ni-n3-iy3 nN (14)
"im3-i " ■ ■
Nos. 3 to 9''') are the hymns known as the prayers of
Holy Angels. The authors of these 14 hymns are not known.
Fol. 59 a (author also unknown)
Pol. 60 a:—
Fol. 61a:-
Fol. 62 b:—
UOp3T T|-'S:N3 (15)
Nb -ON "11-13 (16) 3-!7: i31l: qo-
n-!N by ina-iaN (17)
□■"nn (for n33) naj -ion -51-13 (18)
cn:o 'pino7: laiu
1) Friigmriitary ; see Heidenheim, Samaritanisclie Liturgie, p. 132.
2) 01-, perh.ips, 3—14; comp. Heidenheim, op, cit. pp. 134—5.
Fol. 65 b:— i^t^^n^ nns ",1-13 (19) IIB« liinb«
iDnbi:j aia
Fol. 67 a:— mn- nnN -jina (20)
bs N-na -imbN
Nos. 16 to 20 are probably all by Abulhassan the Tyrian
(i-nsn mon laN). It will be observed that they are all in
Hebrew, and not in the Samaritan dialect. Before No. 16 is a
fragment of another hymn by the same author, there being a
lacuna after fol. 51. This hymn bore the number A, for No. 16
to 20 have the enumeration — ^. At the end of each of
these compositions stands the formula nnN NbN nbN "jiN , varied
once by nnN ■'d nbN pN.
The conclusion of No. 18 (from ^MJnp nmn, fol. 65a, 1. 3)
is wanting in the Vatican MS.') which exhibits a considerable
amount of likeness to the present Codex.
Collated by Mr. A. Cowley in preparation of his forthcoming edition of the Samaritan Liturgy.
Aus einem Briefe von M. Cl. Huart in Konstantinopel.
M. H. Vamb6ry, daas sa notiee sur Eine legendäre Ge¬
schichte Timurs (ZDMG. Bd. LI, p. 215), a rencontre, entre
autres, un vers persan (p. 217) qu'il donne ainsi:
oLlit Ijji ^Us jt jOt j gOj U
et qu'il traduit (p. 220): ,Wir sind fünf Brüder aus dem Stänune
Kaba, wir sind das Meer für das Herz der Sonne", ce qu'il est
assez difficile de comprendre malgre la note 1 de la p. 217 oü
dili äfitäi, compare ä dili äsmän, signifierait ,Herz der Sonne,
Herz des Himmels, Mittelpunkt, Quintessenz (?)".
Je crois que l'explication de ce passage est beaucoup plus
simple. Au lieu de iw»LÄst il faut Ure dans le texte i^JJCst Jo,
les Persans et en particulier l'auteur suivi par-M. V. ayant con-
tractö l'habitude d'ecrire la copule par un zamma au Heu d'un
J
wäw, exemples: P. 218, 1. 8: ^^U*/i jLo .h^^ ji ,nous sommes
6prouves par la famine et le besoin" ; p. 220, 1. 2 et 1. 5 ^yii ^j ,das Ehepaar". Le vers cite plus haut signifierait donc:
jNous sommes trois frferes de la race de Kaba; nous avons
le coeur aussi large que la mer, l'esprit aussi öclatant que le soleil".
Le mfetre reste le mfeme dans les deux interpretations.
Meme endroit, p. 217, note 2, lire koSäden au lieu de
keäiden.
Gl Huart.
