Genizah Fragment Possibly Copied by Moshe B. Levi Ha-Levi and Its Version of Saadya's Introduction to the Tafsīr and Gen. 1:1–3:5

Tamar Zewi; Amir Ashur

doi:10.1093/jss/fgaf031

Genizah Fragment Possibly Copied by Moshe B. Levi Ha-Levi and Its Version of Saadya's Introduction to the Tafsīr and Gen. 1:1–3:5

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Abstract

The article presents a critical edition and discussion of the Genizah fragment MS Oxford Bodl. heb. e 27.1–6. This Genizah fragment includes Saadya Gaon's Judaeo-Arabic introduction of his translation (tafsīr) of the Pentateuch and translation of Gen. 1:1 – 3:5. The scribe who copied this Genizah fragment is probably the Genizah scribe Abū l-Bayān Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (d. 1212), based on his handwriting in various documents including correspondence with Maimonides, his maqāma and several poems, drafts of letters that he wrote to Jewish leaders in Egypt and Yemen, and more.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	11-38
Number of pages	28
Journal	Journal of Semitic Studies
Volume	71
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgaf031
State	Published - 1 Mar 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026, © The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact [email protected].

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cultural Studies
Language and Linguistics
History
Religious studies
Linguistics and Language
Literature and Literary Theory

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10.1093/jss/fgaf031

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title = "Genizah Fragment Possibly Copied by Moshe B. Levi Ha-Levi and Its Version of Saadya's Introduction to the Tafsīr and Gen. 1:1{\textendash}3:5",

abstract = "The article presents a critical edition and discussion of the Genizah fragment MS Oxford Bodl. heb. e 27.1{\textendash}6. This Genizah fragment includes Saadya Gaon's Judaeo-Arabic introduction of his translation (tafsīr) of the Pentateuch and translation of Gen. 1:1 {\textendash} 3:5. The scribe who copied this Genizah fragment is probably the Genizah scribe Abū l-Bayān Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (d. 1212), based on his handwriting in various documents including correspondence with Maimonides, his maqāma and several poems, drafts of letters that he wrote to Jewish leaders in Egypt and Yemen, and more.",

author = "Tamar Zewi and Amir Ashur",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026, {\textcopyright} The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site{\textemdash}for further information please contact [email protected].",

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N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026, © The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact [email protected].

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Genizah Fragment Possibly Copied by Moshe B. Levi Ha-Levi and Its Version of Saadya's Introduction to the Tafsīr and Gen. 1:1–3:5

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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