Miriam L Hjälm | Stockholm School of Theology (original) (raw)
Books by Miriam L Hjälm
Edited Volumes by Miriam L Hjälm
Strangers in the Land: Traveling Texts, Imagined Others, and Captured Souls in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions in Late Antique and Mediaeval Times, 2024
Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation ... more Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation and use of the Bible in Arabic among Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims from the early Islamic era to the present day. In this volume, edited by Miriam L. Hjälm, scholars from different fields have joined forces to illuminate various aspects of the Bible in Arabic: it depicts the characteristics of this abundant and diverse textual heritage, describes how the biblical message was made relevant for communities in the Near East and makes hitherto unpublished Arabic texts available. It also shows how various communities interacted in their choice of shared terminology and topics, and how Arabic Bible translations moved from one religious community to another.
Conferences (organizing) by Miriam L Hjälm
Session 2 Reception of the Bible in Christian Arabic Sources Chair: Grant White 14.00-14.30 Aurél... more Session 2 Reception of the Bible in Christian Arabic Sources Chair: Grant White 14.00-14.30 Aurélie Bischofberger, "Understanding the Origin of Textual Variants and Refining the Classification of Arabic Manuscripts of the Bible: The Example of Christian-Arabic Translations of Leviticus based on the Peshitta" 14.30-15.00 Fr. Peter Gadalla, "Reception of Greek and Syriac Isaiah in Arabic: Translation Techniques in Diez A fol 41 and Vat ar 445" Coffee Break 15.00-15.30 15.30-16.00 Anna-Liisa Rafael, "Arabic versions of the story of the mother and her seven sons as snapshots of encounters and exegesis: preliminary observations based on a research project proposal"
In honor of Professor Andrew Louth 12-15 December 2019, Sigtuna Sweden, Hosted by Sankt Ignatios ... more In honor of Professor Andrew Louth
12-15 December 2019, Sigtuna Sweden,
Hosted by Sankt Ignatios Academy/Stockholm School of Theology
For more information: http://www.lingfil.uu.se/kalend/konf/
Blog posts by Miriam L Hjälm
British Library Blog, 2022
https://biblia-arabica.com/the-qur%ca%beanic-subtext-of-early-arabic-bible-translations/
Articles in journals by Miriam L Hjälm
Collectanea Christiana Orientalia 21, pp. 1-28, 2024
The present article discusses the Muslim legal scholar and theologian ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Bājī (631-7... more The present article discusses the Muslim legal scholar and theologian ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Bājī (631-714/1233-1314) and his polemic against the Pentateuch, which he read in at least two Christian Arabic translations that were in use among Rūm Orthodox Christians (Melkites). It aims to identify the recensions of the Pentateuch that al-Bājī had access to, and to understand how the differences between these recensions contributed to his view that the shared Jewish and Christian scripture had undergone changes. The article suggests that al-Bājī used a combination of arguments to undermine especially the Christian reception of divine revelation, pointing out apparent inconsistencies and illogicalities in the biblical stories themselves as well as text-critical cruxes caused by discrepancies between different versions that circulated side by side within the Eastern Christian communities. Finally, some of the “irrationalities” he describes seem to be particular of the copies of the texts he had in front of him.
CCO 17, 2020
https://www.uco.es/servicios/publicaciones/revistas/index.php/cco/article/view/1148/1021
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Collectaea Christiana Orientalia, 2018
This article discusses the use of " Islamic " vocabulary in Christian Arabic Bible translations c... more This article discusses the use of " Islamic " vocabulary in Christian Arabic Bible translations composed around the 9 th century. It suggests that there is a link between such use and the translation's Vorlage dependence, function, and the general translation technique attested in it. The article further proposes that a function of translations containing a notable and seemingly deliberate use of Islamic-sounding vocabulary was to show that the Christian Scriptures were able to absorb the message of Islam, just like early Christian Arabic theologians promulgated the idea that Christian dogmas permeated the Qurʾān. Thus, instead of shielding their Scriptures from a competing religion by dressing them in a more neutral linguistic register, these translators and authors presented a Christianity essentially elevated beyond words and contexts and therefore portrayable in any of them.
This article presents a study of Ezekiel 1 in five unpublished Christian Arabic manuscripts dated... more This article presents a study of Ezekiel 1 in five unpublished Christian Arabic manuscripts dated from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries. We will demonstrate that the manuscripts, in principal, represent two different versions. Both versions are based on the Syriac Peshiṭṭa but various degrees of influence from the Septuagint are evident. Our main aim is to examine the approach to translation exhibited in the manuscripts. In general, the earliest witness represents a literal translation which pays attention to structural affinity but allows for minor deviations, mainly omissions for the sake of the target language. In the younger manuscripts, an increasing number of additions are introduced as a means of commenting, clarifying and ornamenting the biblical narrative. It appears that texts in the traditional liturgical languages were still in use, which explains their non-literal and target-oriented character.
The aim of this article is to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Christian Arabic Book of Dani... more The aim of this article is to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Christian Arabic Book of Daniel. I will present extant versions, discuss their variegated canonical constellations, show the fluidity of text units in the various versions and describe how they have even come to absorb liturgical practice. Special attention will be paid to the deuterocanonical narratives related to the Book of Daniel that have almost completely escaped scholarly scrutiny. The fluctuating and vivid character of Arabic Bible translations is particularly evident in the rendition of Daniel, yet in many aspects these findings are characteristic of the Arabic Bible enterprise at large. Arabic translations appear to have functioned alongside texts in the established liturgical languages which continued to serve as the measuring standard of the biblical narrative. Thus, the value of the Arabic Bible renditions lies foremost in their ability to capture a less formalized, spontaneous, and uninhibited practice and understanding of the religious heritage.
Articles in edited volumes by Miriam L Hjälm
Strangers in the Land: Traveling Texts, Imagined Others, and Captured Souls in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions, edited by Miriam Lindgren Hjälm and Marzena Zawanowska (Studies on the Children of Abraham; Leiden: Brill)., 2024
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
The present study offers a comparative analysis of colophons written in Arabic by Christian scrib... more The present study offers a comparative analysis of colophons written in Arabic by Christian scribes at the monasteries of Saint Chariton, Saint Sabas, and Saint Catherine in the ninth and tenth centuries CE. These monasteries have played a crucial role in the formation of the early Christian Arabic manuscript tradition. The colophons of these manuscripts provide the most immediate access to the socio-cultural milieu of their producers. The present study is based on a selection of 20 colophons, which are explicitly connected to one of the three monasteries. Our main aim is to draft a typology of early Christian Arabic colophons as a means to investigate the various issues surrounding emergent Christian Arabic scribality. Additionally, we will discuss paleographical features of the handwriting of the scribes who authored the colophons discussed here. As we will show, these can be used to connect anonymous colophons and manuscripts without colophons, at least with some probability, to the workshops of these monasteries. Overall, our aim is to highlight the microhistorical significance of early Christian Arabic colophons, which not only offer spatio-temporal, prosopographical, social, intellectual, and, to some extent, economic coordinates for the
contextualisation of early Christian Arabic manuscript production, but also allow us to catch a glimpse of early Christian Arabic scribal self-perception.
urnhout: Brepols Publisher, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc by-nc-nd 4.0 license.
Strangers in the Land: Traveling Texts, Imagined Others, and Captured Souls in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions in Late Antique and Mediaeval Times, 2024
Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation ... more Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation and use of the Bible in Arabic among Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims from the early Islamic era to the present day. In this volume, edited by Miriam L. Hjälm, scholars from different fields have joined forces to illuminate various aspects of the Bible in Arabic: it depicts the characteristics of this abundant and diverse textual heritage, describes how the biblical message was made relevant for communities in the Near East and makes hitherto unpublished Arabic texts available. It also shows how various communities interacted in their choice of shared terminology and topics, and how Arabic Bible translations moved from one religious community to another.
Session 2 Reception of the Bible in Christian Arabic Sources Chair: Grant White 14.00-14.30 Aurél... more Session 2 Reception of the Bible in Christian Arabic Sources Chair: Grant White 14.00-14.30 Aurélie Bischofberger, "Understanding the Origin of Textual Variants and Refining the Classification of Arabic Manuscripts of the Bible: The Example of Christian-Arabic Translations of Leviticus based on the Peshitta" 14.30-15.00 Fr. Peter Gadalla, "Reception of Greek and Syriac Isaiah in Arabic: Translation Techniques in Diez A fol 41 and Vat ar 445" Coffee Break 15.00-15.30 15.30-16.00 Anna-Liisa Rafael, "Arabic versions of the story of the mother and her seven sons as snapshots of encounters and exegesis: preliminary observations based on a research project proposal"
In honor of Professor Andrew Louth 12-15 December 2019, Sigtuna Sweden, Hosted by Sankt Ignatios ... more In honor of Professor Andrew Louth
12-15 December 2019, Sigtuna Sweden,
Hosted by Sankt Ignatios Academy/Stockholm School of Theology
For more information: http://www.lingfil.uu.se/kalend/konf/
British Library Blog, 2022
https://biblia-arabica.com/the-qur%ca%beanic-subtext-of-early-arabic-bible-translations/
Collectanea Christiana Orientalia 21, pp. 1-28, 2024
The present article discusses the Muslim legal scholar and theologian ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Bājī (631-7... more The present article discusses the Muslim legal scholar and theologian ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Bājī (631-714/1233-1314) and his polemic against the Pentateuch, which he read in at least two Christian Arabic translations that were in use among Rūm Orthodox Christians (Melkites). It aims to identify the recensions of the Pentateuch that al-Bājī had access to, and to understand how the differences between these recensions contributed to his view that the shared Jewish and Christian scripture had undergone changes. The article suggests that al-Bājī used a combination of arguments to undermine especially the Christian reception of divine revelation, pointing out apparent inconsistencies and illogicalities in the biblical stories themselves as well as text-critical cruxes caused by discrepancies between different versions that circulated side by side within the Eastern Christian communities. Finally, some of the “irrationalities” he describes seem to be particular of the copies of the texts he had in front of him.
CCO 17, 2020
https://www.uco.es/servicios/publicaciones/revistas/index.php/cco/article/view/1148/1021
[
Collectaea Christiana Orientalia, 2018
This article discusses the use of " Islamic " vocabulary in Christian Arabic Bible translations c... more This article discusses the use of " Islamic " vocabulary in Christian Arabic Bible translations composed around the 9 th century. It suggests that there is a link between such use and the translation's Vorlage dependence, function, and the general translation technique attested in it. The article further proposes that a function of translations containing a notable and seemingly deliberate use of Islamic-sounding vocabulary was to show that the Christian Scriptures were able to absorb the message of Islam, just like early Christian Arabic theologians promulgated the idea that Christian dogmas permeated the Qurʾān. Thus, instead of shielding their Scriptures from a competing religion by dressing them in a more neutral linguistic register, these translators and authors presented a Christianity essentially elevated beyond words and contexts and therefore portrayable in any of them.
This article presents a study of Ezekiel 1 in five unpublished Christian Arabic manuscripts dated... more This article presents a study of Ezekiel 1 in five unpublished Christian Arabic manuscripts dated from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries. We will demonstrate that the manuscripts, in principal, represent two different versions. Both versions are based on the Syriac Peshiṭṭa but various degrees of influence from the Septuagint are evident. Our main aim is to examine the approach to translation exhibited in the manuscripts. In general, the earliest witness represents a literal translation which pays attention to structural affinity but allows for minor deviations, mainly omissions for the sake of the target language. In the younger manuscripts, an increasing number of additions are introduced as a means of commenting, clarifying and ornamenting the biblical narrative. It appears that texts in the traditional liturgical languages were still in use, which explains their non-literal and target-oriented character.
The aim of this article is to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Christian Arabic Book of Dani... more The aim of this article is to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Christian Arabic Book of Daniel. I will present extant versions, discuss their variegated canonical constellations, show the fluidity of text units in the various versions and describe how they have even come to absorb liturgical practice. Special attention will be paid to the deuterocanonical narratives related to the Book of Daniel that have almost completely escaped scholarly scrutiny. The fluctuating and vivid character of Arabic Bible translations is particularly evident in the rendition of Daniel, yet in many aspects these findings are characteristic of the Arabic Bible enterprise at large. Arabic translations appear to have functioned alongside texts in the established liturgical languages which continued to serve as the measuring standard of the biblical narrative. Thus, the value of the Arabic Bible renditions lies foremost in their ability to capture a less formalized, spontaneous, and uninhibited practice and understanding of the religious heritage.
Strangers in the Land: Traveling Texts, Imagined Others, and Captured Souls in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions, edited by Miriam Lindgren Hjälm and Marzena Zawanowska (Studies on the Children of Abraham; Leiden: Brill)., 2024
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
The present study offers a comparative analysis of colophons written in Arabic by Christian scrib... more The present study offers a comparative analysis of colophons written in Arabic by Christian scribes at the monasteries of Saint Chariton, Saint Sabas, and Saint Catherine in the ninth and tenth centuries CE. These monasteries have played a crucial role in the formation of the early Christian Arabic manuscript tradition. The colophons of these manuscripts provide the most immediate access to the socio-cultural milieu of their producers. The present study is based on a selection of 20 colophons, which are explicitly connected to one of the three monasteries. Our main aim is to draft a typology of early Christian Arabic colophons as a means to investigate the various issues surrounding emergent Christian Arabic scribality. Additionally, we will discuss paleographical features of the handwriting of the scribes who authored the colophons discussed here. As we will show, these can be used to connect anonymous colophons and manuscripts without colophons, at least with some probability, to the workshops of these monasteries. Overall, our aim is to highlight the microhistorical significance of early Christian Arabic colophons, which not only offer spatio-temporal, prosopographical, social, intellectual, and, to some extent, economic coordinates for the
contextualisation of early Christian Arabic manuscript production, but also allow us to catch a glimpse of early Christian Arabic scribal self-perception.
urnhout: Brepols Publisher, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc by-nc-nd 4.0 license.
Four Kingdom Motifs before and beyond the Book of Daniel, edited by Andrew Perrin and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, 2020
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Wisdom on the Move: Late Antique Traditions in Multicultural Conversation: Essays in Honor of Samuel Rubenson, edited by Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Thomas Arentzen, Henrik Rydell Johnsén and Andreas Westergren (Leiden: Brill; Vigiliae Christianae, Supplements, Volume: 161). , 2020
At least two versions of the Arabic Prophets are possibly traceable to the ninth and tenth centur... more At least two versions of the Arabic Prophets are possibly traceable to the ninth and tenth centuries. The ninth-century monk Pethion from Mesopotamia is believed to have translated the Prophets into Arabic from a Syriac Vorlage (6–9.1.4; 6–9.2.4) and the tenth-century priest al-ʿAlam of Alex…
The book of Daniel was translated into Arabic no later than the early ninth century. In the follo... more The book of Daniel was translated into Arabic no later than the early ninth century. In the following centuries, several idiosyncratic or interrelated translations appeared. In addition to the corpus transmitted in MT (Daniel 1–12), most manuscripts further contain the Add…
Several ninth-century translations of the book of Job have been identified among our earliest Chr... more Several ninth-century translations of the book of Job have been identified among our earliest Christian Arabic texts. We may therefore surmise that the sufferings of Job intrigued Arabic-speaking Christians more than many other books in the Christian Old Testament. In contrast, based on the number of extant manuscripts, few n…
By the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries, at least two disparate versions of the Arabic bo... more By the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries, at least two disparate versions of the Arabic book of Proverbs had appeared. One version represents a free translation from the Syriac Peshiṭta (12.3.4) whose earliest text witness is dated to the year 1002 C.E. The second version appears to be translated from LXX (12.3.1) and transmitted in liturgical collections. The earliest representative of the latter is …
Textual History of the Bible, Nov 2015
The Arabic versions of the two books of Chronicles are yet to be thoroughly studied. In his well-... more The Arabic versions of the two books of Chronicles are yet to be thoroughly studied. In his well-known work on Christian Arabic literature, Georg Graf mentions a few manuscripts as containing the Chronicles only in passing.1 Samir Khalil Samir supplements Graf’s work and furnishes a provisional class…
The book of Daniel was one of the most widely studied biblical books during the Middle Ages.1 Thu... more The book of Daniel was one of the most widely studied biblical books during the Middle Ages.1 Thus, it is of no surprise that by the tenth and eleventh centuries, several Judeo-Arabic translations of the book of Daniel had appeared. Saadia Gaon b. Joseph al-Fayyūmī (882–942 C.E.) translated Daniel and supplied it with a commentary for the benefit of …
Phd thesis (2015). A survey of Christian Arabic translations of the book of Daniel dated between ... more Phd thesis (2015). A survey of Christian Arabic translations of the book of Daniel dated between the 9th and 13th centuries, including a partial comparison with other Christian Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic translations.
Manuscript Cultures in Medieval Syria Towards a history of the Qubbat al-Khazna depository in Dam... more Manuscript Cultures in Medieval Syria
Towards a history of the Qubbat al-Khazna depository in Damascus (Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften/Freie Universität Berlin, June 2017)
Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 2013
The aim of this contribution is to review some of the major areas of current research on the Arab... more The aim of this contribution is to review some of the major areas of current research on the Arabic Bible, along with the factors and trends contributing to them. Also we present some of the tools that are currently under development in the Biblia Arabica team, Munich.
Miriam L. Hjälm (ed.), Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition. The Bible in Arabic among Jews, Christians and Muslims., 2017
This paper discusses new findings on the Karaite Yefet ben ʿEli’s translation of Job, focusing o... more This paper discusses new findings on the Karaite Yefet ben ʿEli’s translation
of Job, focusing on translation techniques and showing that Yefet resorted
to Islamic terminology whenever this usage fit his needs, had various strategies
for proper names and that he normally used the word allāh for “God” but also
other epithets and names. Such differences – to a certain degree – correspond
with the script used for a specific manuscript (Hebrew or Arabic).
For more information: http://www.lingfil.uu.se/kalend/konf/
On the occasion of the 80 th birthday of Sebastian P. Brock, Sankt Ignatios Theological Academy &... more On the occasion of the 80 th birthday of Sebastian P. Brock, Sankt Ignatios Theological Academy & Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden, are hosting a major conference on " The Future of Syriac Studies. " Sebastian Brock has agreed to be present and participate and it is expected that this will be a significant and memorable event for Syriac studies. Papers are now being invited and solicited from senior and junior scholars for a limited number of spaces in general sessions. Papers should be 20-25 minutes in order to give time for discussion, and may concern any topic in the broad range of Syriac studies. Please keep in mind that the theme of this conference focuses upon new directions and methodologies, as well as to forge new resolutions to traditional issues. The deadline for submittal of a title and abstract (ca. 200 words) is 1 February 2018. The conference committee will notify those whose papers have been accepted by 1 March 2018. During the concluding session, Sebastian Brock will be awarded the Order of Sankt Ignatios for his long and valued contribution to all matters Syriac, along with his mentorship to so many scholars. In addition to the plenary and general sessions, events of Syriac song and poetry are being planned, as well as a round-table discussion of the future of Syriac studies. Housing and meals will be available for all participants at the Sigtuna Conference Centre or in the close vicinity. Sigtuna is one of the oldest settlements in Sweden and is located only 20 minutes from the Stockholm Arlanda Airport. A registration form will be available shortly at www.sanktignatios.org.
Brill, 2017
Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation ... more Senses of Scripture, Treasures of Tradition offers recent findings on the reception, translation and use of the Bible in Arabic among Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims from the early Islamic era to the present day. In this volume, edited by Miriam L. Hjälm, scholars from different fields have joined forces to illuminate various aspects of the Bible in Arabic: it depicts the characteristics of this abundant and diverse textual heritage, describes how the biblical message was made relevant for communities in the Near East and makes hitherto unpublished Arabic texts available. It also shows how various communities interacted in their choice of shared terminology and topics, and how Arabic Bible translations moved from one religious community to another.
https://biblia-arabica.com/bibl/
Textual History of the Bible
Collectanea Christiana Orientalia
The present paper presents an overview of the types of writing that were used by Christian Arabic... more The present paper presents an overview of the types of writing that were used by Christian Arabic scribes during the long ninth century. It categories them into three groups consisting of several subcategories and discusses the traits of such categories. It further aims at collecting extant shelf marks of early Christian Arabic manuscripts and research relating to these findings, add to the search for disjecta membra, and contribute to our knowledge of individual scribes and scribal activity relating to the early Christian Arabic manuscript production.
Online Conference, Newman Institute, Uppsala
Medieval literary translations happened at many places and in many contexts, with large urban cen... more Medieval literary translations happened at many places and in many contexts, with large urban centres building up strong competences which often depended on the extraordinary linguistic capabilities of individual translators (both lay and ecclesiastic). Attracting people of various backgrounds, monasteries also became centres of translation, not least because they housed speakers (and readers) of several different languages. Two important such centres from the mid-tenth to the late eleventh century were Mt Athos and Antioch with its environs. This was the period in which Athos was established as a monastic area, with Greek but also Georgian presence from the beginning, and soon attracting also users of Latin and Slavonic. After the Byzantines reconquered Antioch from the Hamdanids in 969, Greek language and literature rose again to prominence on a local level, but also encountered other rich literary traditions, such as Arabic, Armenian, Syriac and Georgian. Both on Mt Athos and on the Black Mountain, these monastic communities engaged in large-scale translation projects of the entire Biblical and Patristic heritage (including hagiography, ascetic literature, homilies, commentaries, etc.). At the same time, the city of Antioch itself fostered a new intellectual environment in which Graeco-Syro-Arabic translations could take place.
Although some of the translators’ names are known, scholars have only recently begun to study these translation activities and projects in more detail. Focusing on the cases of Antioch (incl. the surrounding monastic landscape) and Mt Athos (incl. its interactions with Thessaloniki and Constantinople), this workshop will address the following questions: Who are the main individuals, groups and institutions involved in these translations? What kind of evidence about these translations is still available today (narrative sources, manuscripts, etc.) and how can it be analyzed? Can the work of translator teams be detected in the extant sources and how can we study their translation techniques and methods? What is the relationship between the monastic and the urban translation centres? Are there any translation practices shared between Athos and Antioch that could indicate mutual influence and exchanges?
In addition, the workshop will explore other cases of monastic translations in the Eastern Mediterranean, such as the reception of the corpus of Antiochene translations during the Copto-Arabic Renaissance, or the later Graeco-Slavonic translations on Mt Athos.
Participants: Alice Croq (Université Paul Valéry - Montpellier), Joe Glynias (Harvard University), Miriam Hjälm (Sankt Ignatios College (EHS)/Uppsala University), Christian Høgel (Lund University), Habib Ibrahim (University of Tübingen), Joshua Mugler (Hill Museum & Manuscript Library), Sandro Nikolaishvili (University of Southern Denmark), Adrian C. Pirtea (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna), Lewis Read (University of Vienna), Daria Resh (Swedish Institute at Athens / SDU), Marijana Vukovic (University of Southern Denmark)